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Ask the Mad Professor
That
particular marathon session was at a high-denomination table where high-rollers were
coming and going (and dropping huge loads of money in a very short time) during a
casino-sponsored fight weekend. Despite
the ultra cold conditions that were killing all the other players, the dice were doing
everything I wanted them to do nearly every time I got my hands on them. Concurrently, I was also betting against
nearly everyone else who came to the table. That
didnt help to lighten any of their moods either.
What surprised me was that during this entire period, not one of the big-bet
players ventured onto the darkside with me even once.
The blood-letting was excruciating to watch.
Guys
were buying in for $3,000 to $5,000 at a time, and others were pulling down markers for
$10,000 to $50,000, and most of their losses were quick and catastrophic. Only the fact that it was their money that
they were losing, and not mine, made it barely tolerable to watch. To
my mind, I couldnt afford to leave, and my winnings were still well
within the comfort-level of that particular casino (Mandalay Bay). They were, and still are, very loss-tolerant. The only reason I left was because I had a
commitment in Laughlin early in the morning (today had magically turned into the tomorrow,
and I still had to pack my bags before making the 90-minute drive). Now
that marathon session obviously is an extreme example of a long session for me, but
it illustrates what can happen when you combine your own consistent Precision-Shooting and
everyone elses random, but cold-trending results, in a casino that is loss-tolerant
of sizeable sums to one player, and only too happy to clean out nearly everyone else. Viewed another way, Mandalay Bay still earned
a gross-profit of nearly $200,000 off of my table during that 16-hour period in spite of
what my own net-profit take was. Clearly,
there is rarely a confluence of perfect storm events like that which will keep
me at the table for such a long marathon session.
There
are two main aspects to using the Dead Cat Bounce. The
first is the tables that it will work on, and the second is the psychological effect it
can have on the crew/box/Pit and other players at the table when you land it successfully
several times in a row. It
works best on hard, but non-bouncy 10, 12 & 14-foot tables from the SR-1, 2 and 2.5
positions (best for me), and from the SL-1 and 1.5 spot (second best for me
your
mileage may vary). On a mini-tub or a
10-footer, I'll often throw it from straight-out. It
is important to remember that with this toss, the trajectory does tend to get quite high
as you move further away from the backwall. So
on a longer table, it may not be practical because the dice have to reach an apogee (the
highest point of their trajectory) that puts them over the height of most dealers
heads. This happens because the dice are
coming in with a very steep descent (~50 to 75+ degrees) and if they are thrown from the
end of a 14-foot table; that means they would have to reach some pretty dizzying moon-shot
heights. Obviously, when thrown from the
SR/SL-1, 2 or 3 positions, they dont have to fly nearly as high to accomplish that
same steep descent. The
Dead-Cat Bounce also works quite well on slightly-padded tables, but requires a
lower trajectory (by about 5 to 15 less degrees), and quite a bit less backspin. As
to the "psychological effect" part of the equation; you don't want everyone (or ANYONE
for that matter) calling attention to the fact that the dice are hitting, sticking and
stopping where they land at the base of the wall almost ALL THE TIME. For this, you need a tolerant crew and a
"non-involved" supervisory team. You
also need savvy players who arent going to freak out with shock and amazement or
shout with incredulity and bewilderment every time it happens. For
that reason, I'll often mix several entirely different throws into the mix. For example, my Come-Out roll may be of the
higher-rebounding (and random-looking) conventional 45-degree, 8-inches from the backwall
Hit, Bounce & Rebound. Then once the
PL-Point is set, I'll intermix the DCB with a LSE (Low, Slow & Easy) toss, which you
will find detailed in my Mad Professor's
Shooting Bible Part Three article. That way, each throw looks a little different, yet
you are still achieving your on-axis, primary-set goal. If
you need a little more clarity on the Dead Cat Bounce, I'll first point you in the
direction of my Mad Professor's Shooting Bible Part Four
article, and then to the follow-up piece in my
Mad Professor's Shooting Bible Part Five
series.
The
reward from dicesetting can be huge, and the risk is moderate. Trying
to win consistently off of RR's is relatively high-risk with commensurately low-returns. The
first direction that I would send you in is to my
Flushing Money
Down The Random-Roller Toilet article
(and all the links contained in that article). Then
if you want to see how I profit off of RR's at choppy tables (which constitute about 60%
of table trends), I would send you to my
Dodging Bullets As A
Darksider and
Dodging Bullets As A Darksider Part Two articles, along with the related follow-up
FAQs About The
Choppy-Table/Short-Leash Method piece. Finally,
you might want to have a look at my
Playbook
article that chronicles various betting-methods that I sometimes use, and the appropriate
situations that I use them in. Again,
a lot of those articles contain links to other items that provide additional perspective
and supporting concepts in regard to profiting from random-rollers.
While some dicesetters DO have outstanding abilities to make money on their C-O rolls, most others have merely fallen into the, well-all-the-other-dicesetters-talk-about-doing-it-this-way-so-I-should-too syndrome. It doesnt take a whole lot of shooting-evidence to convince me, but unless I have validated it with my own eyes, I generally lay off until their shooting confirms an authenticated betting opportunity. For most other Precision-Shooters, I usually only bet on the Box-numbers once the PL-Point is established. In that case, my bets will often reflect their then-currently-dominant Signature Numbers.
For
the sake of other readers who may actually have the ability to use reasoning, common sense
and logic in their daily thought process, I offer you this: You
have to understand that the only reason Dom and Frank puts themselves out there in the
public access is because they have something to sell.
I am NOT selling ANYTHING. They
make their money by talking about and writing about and teaching about craps...I make my
money by PLAYING it! I know
that subtle difference is lost on some people, but hopefully you are not one of them. If
Frank was "just a player" with a demonstrable skill; common-sense would
dictate that he'd be just as under the radar as I am. The
same goes for Dom. I have no doubt that I
would like Dom, and I know for a fact that the two of us have a number of shared common
interests outside of the casino. We know a
number of the same people from the non-gaming side of our lives. What separates Frank and Dom from me, is that they
NEED to be out there patting backs, shaking hands and kissing babies because
they have to. It's part of the
sales process. They know that, and they NEED
to make themselves accessible if they want to SELL more products. I
don't have to be accessible...I'm not selling anything, nor do I have ANY plans to market ANYTHING
connected with what I do. I make enough
money off of craps; I don't need to raise money by marketing stuff about
craps. Precision-Shooting
provides a decent lifestyle for me. You can
say that excuse is "old", but the fact is, it's true, and if you are unable to
understand that, well, you obviously don't see the difference between MARKETING
something versus DOING something.
Let's
say that you and I did meet... Sure,
you'd be able to put a face to the MP name; perhaps we'd shoot a hand or two
of dice, and over a coffee we'd see that perhaps we also have some common interests
outside of gaming. As pleasurable as that
encounter might be for the both of us, what would it prove? To
your mind, it would finally put to rest the crazy notion that somehow this "MP
guy" isnt a real living, breathing human-being.
Well if this MP guy ISN'T a real person; then just who the heck is
writing all of those articles? Let
me put it another way. If the MP isn't real
and doesn't play craps as Dom has suggested; then where the heck do I come up with all of
this material? Put
aside the Trip Reports which you have obviously discounted as being credible, and ask
yourself this: ~WHO
came up with the
The Fremont Hot-Table Method? If you look at just that one single idea,
youll be able to see that whoever figured that one out is truly an original thinker. ~WHO
chronicled the Marker-Debt Discount idea in the
Casino Credit Update Part 4
article? Again, whoever figured that one out
and then developed it into a profitable science is not your everyday, run of the mill
crapster. Good ideas taken to their
profitable conclusion is what these articles are all about. So WHO wrote that one, especially if Dom thinks
that writer has never even been in a casino? ~WHO
came up with all the incredible detail in the
Shooting Bible
series? There are advanced Precision-Shooting
concepts and details in that series that are not found anywhere else including any of the
current books on the subject. While Frank was
unraveling the mystery of how to make a Place-bet on the 5 AND the 9 at the same
time, I was writing about actionable ways to put more money INTO your pocket, and
not dreaming up marketing schemes of how to take more money OUT of your pocket. There IS a difference. You just have to open your eyes, as well as your
mind, to be able to see it. ~WHO
put together all the material in the
Dodging Bullets
series? ~WHO
played at all of those small tables in the
Mini Tub Tour
series or the
Laughlin Table Report
or the
Cheap Craps Guide? Obviously SOMEONE with very detailed
first-hand knowledge wrote that stuff. If it
wasnt the Mad Professor; then somebody wrote it. ~WHO
managed to assemble the material in the
Match-Play Coupon
Circuit
series? ~WHO
came up with all of the incredible ways to improve your Precision-Shooting skills in the
Getting The Most Out of Your Practice Sessions
series, or the
More Gain & Less Pain
series? While Frank was writing about such
revolutionary concepts as putting Odds behind your Pass-Line bet and telling everyone how
the Captain invented the game of craps and how it was his revolutionary idea to use a
bamboo stick to move and retrieve the dice on the table (around the same time he and Al
Gore were inventing the Internet), I was writing about new ways to actually improve your
Precision-Shooting skills. ~WHO
wrote the insightful
Discipline, Character & Consistency
series or the
Streaks, Trends and Opportunities series, or the
The When, Where, Why, What and How of
Signature Numbers
series? If you read those articles, you'll
see that they do indeed break new ground. Fresh
approaches
new ground
novel insight
and Dom thinks that a non-player could
come up with all of that? That doesnt
say much for Dom now does it. ~And
just WHO put so much thought into the
Can't Win For Losing
series or the
D'ya Wanna Win, or D'ya Wanna Gamble?
series? You won't find that in anyone else's
book, because it was gleaned through one persons own experience...MINE! That
kind of stuff is NOT in ANY books, or on ANY website (other than Irishsetters) or in
ANY video; so just where did it all this stuff come from? The
answer? It
came from the guy who plays craps for a living...and is
actually quite good at it...that guy is ME! You
don't have to believe ANY of the stuff that I've written, and if you haven't been
able to derive at least one useful piece of information out of my 200 or so articles; then
I'll still wish you the absolute best of luck at the tables because your take on things
sure indicates that youll need it. I'm
not selling ANYTHING, and if you need to meet someone in person before you are able to
believe in what they write, then obviously your library will remain quite thin (although
Dom's rumored new book should increase those ranks substantially). It says MUCH about his ability if he needs to sell
books about Precision-Shooting to make his money rather than earning it at the actual
tables. Thats kind of like buying a
book by Michael Jackson to learn how to be a good baby-sitter.
I
started playing craps in the late '70's.
Ø
From
'78 to '81 I lost a TON of money (I'd tell you how much, but you would NEVER believe the
figure).
Ø
I
finally started to play smarter in the summer of '81.
Instead of following-the-book (PL with Full-Odds and two
Come-bets with Full-Odds), I explored all avenues of betting with and against the shooter,
along with assessing the value of streaks and trends, plus some interesting high-wager
hit-and-run methods.
Ø
At
about the same time, I started pursuing dicesetting as a way of de-randomizing the
outcomes. I cant tell you how much I
experimented with different grips, various types of tosses and all sorts of
betting-methods as I attempted to tailor my wagers to the outcomes I was getting.
Ø
It
wasn't until the summer of '89 (yes, about eleven years after I started playing, and
almost eight years to the day that I started fooling around with dicesetting) when the
whole Precision-Shooting equation really came together.
I could walk into any given casino with the foreknowledge that there was an
excellent chance that Id be walking out of there with a decent profit. In those early days of 1990 and 91, it was
difficult to keep my ego in check, and I ended up blowing all kinds of hard-earned profit
because of it.
Ø
In
the Spring of '92, everything just sort of clicked, and as even more profit started
tumbling in, I decided I wanted to KEEP more of it instead of losing it back from
whence it came. It was that
profit-consistency and those revenue-volumes that convinced me I could and SHOULD
be doing this on a full-time basis. It was
the element of discipline which provided that final, yet most difficult piece of the
consistent-profit puzzle. Without discipline,
I couldnt have accomplished any of that...or at least, I wouldnt have been
able to KEEP very much of it. I suppose that
is when I came to realize that it wasnt how much I was able to win during any
given session. Rather, it was HOW MUCH of
that profit that I was able to LEAVE WITH at the end of each session that really mattered.
Ø
Id
like to tell you that I have always able to stay on that smoothly-paved golden path of
discipline, but that would definitely NOT be true.
Ive fallen off that discipline-track more times than Robert
Downey Jr. has consumed non-ethical pharmaceuticals. However, each session brings me one step closer to
my goal of staying disciplined ALL of the time.
Ø
As
my craps earnings-per-hour escalate, and my non-gaming commitments increase; I have
reduced the number of hours that I play; yet my casino-earnings continue to rise. As I seek out and create more solo or
higher-frequency shooting opportunities for myself, the earnings-increases easily outpace
my reduced table-time.
If
I haven't seen him shoot before and the table qualifies for a DP bet (from me), but I
subsequently realize the shooter is a Rhythm Roller once he starts throwing; then I'll set
up a 6 & 8 Place-bet to equal my DP line wager (for example, a $12 6 and 8 to "offset" a $25 DP bet). To
my mind, a Rhythm Roller can affect the ODDS of the outcome, but often doesn't realize the
impact he is having on the dice, and as a result, rarely is able to take consistent enough
advantage of it. Further,
a Rhythm Roller has a more difficult (almost impossible) task of determining what his
Signature Numbers are since he isnt presetting the dice; but rather is using the
same grip, the same throw and the same target without really thinking about it. In fact, by their very nature, a Rhythm Roller
does not have steady enough predictability with their outcomes to actually have any
dominant "Signature Numbers" per se. Instead,
theyll have a number of non-7 outcomes based on the as-delivered-from-the-stickman
set that they grip, throw and target the same way for each and every subsequent roll. If
you are interested in Signature Numbers, you'll find my six-part
The When, Where, Why, What and How of Signature Numbers quite
useful. For my own viewpoint on Rhythm Rollers, you might enjoy my Sweetest Roller This Side of Heaven
piece. Well
folks, Ive got to tell you that each new question that you send in makes me look at
my game from a fresh perspective. That leads
me to thank each of you for proving once again
How YOU Improved MY
Game. With
the deepest gratitude and appreciation, let me wish you, Good Luck & Good Skill at the Tables
and in
Life. The Mad Professor
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