|
The
Mad Professor's Shooting Bible I thought that a
little peek into my actual Shooting Bible might give you a little more insight into what
is required to consistently bring home the REAL MONEY! I give each one of my shooting-methods its own name so the Table Notes that I make after each session make better sense. Today well be taking a look at my Low, Slow & Easy throwing method. If you want to see a sample of what a typical set of my session-notes look like, youll see them in Mad Professor's Shooting Bible Part I. Before we jump into
todays method, I want to revisit what I consider to be one of the critical reasons
for my crap-shooting success. Taking
actionable notes make winning-shots more easily repeatable, especially if Ive been
away from a particular casino table for some time. This
brings us to how professional Precision-Shooters actually develop their own Shooting
Bibles. Using a Blackberry
or Palm-type Device You dont need
to invest a lot of money to have all of your information handy. Some people use a small spiral-bound notepad and a
Bic pen. I keep track of well over 250
casinos worldwide with more than 1100 craps tables in them, so a paper notebook becomes a
little unwieldy. If you play at less than a
dozen gaming-houses, then paper would be fine. The
important thing is that I want you to make notes that are useful in improving your game. Ive invested
a few shekels in steadily miniaturizing the format where I keep all of my Table Notes
information. While the size of hand-held
Palm-type devices has shrunk over the past number of years, capability has
increased manifold. The ability to store and
access vast amounts of data and distill it into instantly accessible info is amazing. This is useable information that you can retrieve
right before stepping up to the game-table by using a Blackberry or Palm-type device. If you want to make detailed picto-drawings of
sweet-spots, etc., then an HP tablet-type device may better suit your needs. These links will
give you an idea of what is currently available:
Whether you choose
paper or e-notes, you dont want to be fiddling with it at the craps table. Even if you dont care about looking like a
geek, you want to be putting your full concentration on the game, not
buried in a notebook or e-pad. How My Database
Works Ill give you
an example of how I use my Table Note information: Lets say that
Ive been away from Ballys Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas for a couple of weeks. I walk in and see
that four tables are open. Two $10
tables are jam-packed. The $15 table is quite
busy and the only open spot is on the L-4 hook.
The $25 table only has three players, and all of my favorite table-positions
are open. I take a quick look
at my hand-held database where I keep notes on every table that I play at. I see that the table closest to the east-escalator
and parallel with the casino-cage is definitely the highest-profit producer for me in this
particular casino. This also happens to be
the $25 table that I have my eye on. In looking at my
playing notes, I realize that the SR-1, 2 and 3 positions are good revenue-producers, but
surprisingly the SL-2 position at this particular craps table is superior
not only in dollars-generated, but also in consistency with the highest SRR-rate for this
specific table. I look up and
reconfirm that the SL-2 position is still open, at which point, I look at the following
information for that player-position, again, it is specific to that one table: Ideal dice-grip for
that particular position. Ideal
dice-target(s) for that particular table. Ideal trajectory
for that particular layout. Other pertinent
shooting information (see next item). Remember that
Ballys uses very wide, velour-covered bolsters (arm-rests) on their tables, so that
your stance may be a little more out of balance with your normal shooting stance. You might have to adapt your throw to overcome
that off-kilter relational difference. Instead of having
to decipher loads of data, I do a quick-scan of the throw that produces the ideal results
for that table. In this case, its my
Low, Slow & Easy toss (L, S & E) that works best. Instead of having
to read reams of data, I know that Ill be using a specific pre-determined grip,
target(s), and trajectory for this particular table.
Thats another benefit of using prioritized data-based knowledge to
help make timely and fully-informed decisions. I then move towards
the table to make my buy-in. Having reliable
Table Notes means that I dont have to rely upon memorizing what works best on each
table. That way, I can focus on good throwing
techniques instead. That whole process
from spotting the craps pit, seeing which tables were open, surveying available
table-positions, scanning my electronic table-notes, and deciding upon a course of action,
generally takes less than a minute. Most importantly, I
go armed with vital shooting-information that I consider to be success-focused
reconnaissance and intelligence. That is data
collected in the heat of real-money battles on a specific table. It is later deciphered and processed into easily
understandable reckonings that indicate which Precision-Shooting methods get the best
results. I find this invaluable for building
ever-increasing consistency and profit into each subsequent session at the same table. Being able to refer
to accurate and actionable notes definitely helps with my on-axis, primary-face shooting
reliability. And after all, if you can keep
them on-axis with primary outcomes (your original dice-set faces), and do it consistently
enough
well, thats where the real money is! The Low, Slow &
Easy Toss That leads us
further into todays discussion. We want
to talk about the Low, Slow & Easy toss that is one of the most reliable
weapons in my current casino-arsenal. I've long said that
one-throw for all tables DOES NOT work. Adapting to tables is crucial. That being said; when you have a super-hard
erratic table surface, a lower-trajectory throw usually does the trick in steadily keeping
the dice on-axis. In essence, a lower,
S-L-O-W-E-R throw usually tames a wild table. The Low, Slow &
Easy method has proven to be a real bread 'n' butter
earner that brings in some consistent profit from otherwise "unbeatable" tables. The Grip The dice-grip that
you choose for this toss doesnt really matter.
What matters is the way you throw the dice, how you release them, and where
you throw the dice to. I personally favor
the two-finger O-Ring grip that Irishsetter covers
here for this type of
throw. However, the three or four-finger
front or top grips can work just as well. What
is most important is the release-energy that you expend, and how the dice maintain their
low-trajectory flight. Of all the tosses that
I use, this one uses the least amount of throwing speed and energy. The Throw Low, Slow &
Easy starts off about 6 to 8 inches off the table, but by the time you fully extend your
arm past the stickman, the dice are only about 4 to 5 inches off of the felt. Important success
factors are:
Remember, of all
the tosses that I use, this one requires the least amount of throwing-speed and has the
lowest trajectory.
Remember, the dice
are thrown and released about 4 to 5 inches above the table surface with minimal backspin. This defines my Low, Slow & Easy
type of toss. How Much Rotation? Well, it all
depends on the table. Each table (or similar
type) demands a different amount of backspin. For example, the
14-footers at Mirage need one-half to one-full turn of backspin. If you add too much from either the SR-1, 2, 3 and
4 positions, or the SL-1, 2, and 3 positions; then the dice can actually HOP about
6-inches forward and slam into the back-wall at the exact and precise WRONG spot. The usual result is an exact and precise 7-Out
virtually EVERY freaking time!! It's gotten to the
point where I can actually "call" the 7-Out while the dice are still in mid-air. I don't actually say it out loud, but I know it in
my mind. The Mirage tables have coughed up a
golden fur-ball of cash when Ive used this particular L, S & E toss over the
past number of years. Sweet-Spots A Sweet
Spot is a dice-target area on the craps table, and should not be confused with the
lovely young exotic dancer of the same name. The
craps variety of sweet-spot makes you money, while the human variety wants your money. Its a subtle difference, but one worth
noticing. Just as with tennis
rackets, golf clubs and baseball bats, each table has a sweet-spot that responds the best
to each particular type of toss. This is true
with my L, S & E method. Now we know that
sweet-spots vary from table to table and casino to casino. But some generalizations can be
made for each type of toss. You have to
tailor it to your table position, felt condition, as well as the age, type and state of
the actual dice.
For this method, I
usually use the double-white line between the Pass-Line and the Dont Pass just as it
starts to curve at the corner of the table as my "shooting lane". The sweet-spot is an imaginary rectangular box on
the felt-layout that is about two inches wide, and it extends about 3 to 12 inches from
the back-wall. Those 18-square inches of
green felt real-estate produce some of the sweetest casino-honey that these lips have ever
tasted! Now, here is the
critical thing...you must NOT permit the dice to bounce more than three inches high
between that initial touch-down area and the back wall. Why? Because the dice
will either hit the back-wall too high and splatter, or, the high 3"+ bounce will
give them too much rebound-energy on their second touchdown. On that second hit, they have a tendency to bounce
off-axis if their rebound-energy is too high, and of course that leads to a random-roll
B-A-D thing. Critical Landings When you launch the
dice, I also want you to SLIGHTLY reduce the angle-of-incidence of the dice off-of-flat. By that, I mean that you have to consider the
flatness or "squareness" of the dice in relation to not only the BACKWALL, but
also the flat table surface. Upon release,
the dice should be "square" to both surfaces (horizontal and vertical). Upon their initial
touchdown, the bottom-faces of the dice have to be at a very low, but not completely flat
angle to the table surface. The amount of
"wedge" should be about 15 degrees, with the "fat" edge facing the
back-wall. That angle allows energy to be
dissipated, while at the same time allowing for "forward-axis" rotation instead
of "sidal" off-axis movement. In Summary The Low, Slow
& Easy toss is one of the most reliable weapons in my current casino-arsenal. By now you know that
adapting to varying table conditions is crucial for success, and on super-hard erratic
table surfaces this throw is a steady on-axis, primary-face performer. In essence, the
Low,
Slow & Easy method can tame wild tables and bring in some
consistent profit from otherwise "unbeatable" layouts. Good Luck &
Good Skill at the Tables
and in Life. Sincerely, The Mad Professor
|
|