Dice Setter Precision Shooter’s Newsletter: August 2006

Soft Touch Say’s  

Hello Everyone! Not making any money at the tables? Many in the dice community respond by stating the player needs to practice more. 

A number of students of the game have gotten lost in the idea that practice ultimately determines their outcomes in the casino. In a way, the answer is yes, no and both. It all depends on what you believe you should be practicing to be a winner.  

My good friend Charlie Westcott contributes a quick article on his idea and approach to practicing. About practice, he writes: 

“Is it all worth it?  The results on the casino floor should tell you.  Are you

winning more than you are losing?  If your answer is no, than maybe you need more practice or maybe you need to change your method of practice.

If your answer is yes, maybe you could improve your winnings with more practice or changing your practice routine.”

You can scroll down to read the rest of his article. My point for quoting his opening paragraph is that I feel that we each need to define what we choose to repeatedly apply to our game to become proficient players. If our usual way of playing at the table is not working for us, then perhaps it is time for a change in what we practice in our lives and in the game.

First, what does it mean to practice? Practice what and how? There is no right or wrong answer. Believe it or not, there are times when practice can fail you because it is not about quantity. It is about the quality of exercises you apply to your gaming approach.

Practice only works when I apply what I practice to the game. In my reality, my practice takes place in the casinos at the craps tables with just a little preparation.

When I search for ways to improve my level of play, I focus on strategies that I know to work.  Instead of reading book after book, taking workshop after workshop in an attempt to know everything there is to know about the game, I understand that I will never get around to actually using everything I‘ve learned at the craps table.

I meet a few people that have become experts on every gaming strategy there is. They can explain these strategies and why they work and even for them, I observe their game not improving much. So, I encourage that the player only practice what they can apply to their current game.

So, pick a few strategies that make your game interesting. Become familiar with those that interest you and know how you can or would like to apply them with your next game. This keeps the fun in the game.

Some strategies will take you a long way into a game at the tables. Michael Vernon taught me a strategy a few years ago that keeps me in the game a long time and for those going to the September party, be sure to ask him to teach it to you.

Next, practice watching the table!  Make an effort to be a good “watcher”. Sometimes at the tables, things aren’t always as they seem.  Watch closely for the times when your gaming strategies and toss, will work for you. Practice this discipline and your game will surely improve.

Smile! Remember practicing something else? Even though you may find practicing this task difficult or uncomfortable, SMILE at the table. Always practice smiling when you play, when you hold the dice, and more importantly, when your hand ends. Regardless of the length of time you hold the dice, practicing this simple and genuine gesture can keep the fear factor out of your game.

Other things to practice in preparation for your game are conscious breathing, use deep belly breathing. Drink plenty of purified water. Trust yourself, believe in yourself… and my list can go on and on. My main point is:  You are what you practice!

Many of you have played, and “practiced” this game for years. For others, this newsletter reaches those of you who have not played that long in terms of years.  From your own heart-felt feelings, every player determines in their own way what is necessary to reach a positive outcome.

Positive outcomes will always stem from realizing that you always have a choice in everything you do.

Now, about my “PlayShop” on September 30^th 2006, don’t forget to RSVP no later that September 10^th.  It is important for us to know if you are attending.

Our party is a way for us to freely come together and teach each other what is really important about the game.  This party will sure to be different and we will be supporting each other differently. This will be an event you will not wish to miss. So,

Those that RSVP will be sent a separate e-mail message regarding the details at the beginning of September.  Hope to see you members and friends there!

Enjoy the rest of the summer because were going “back to school” my friends.

Call Toll Free 866-xxx-3626 to register and RSVP for my “PlayShop”!

See you at the tables!

Soft Touch

PS If you have any suggestions for the new dicesetter.com website or newsletter please send them to me at Ed@dicesetter.com and I’ll have a look and see how we can incorporate them into our future plans.

Ed Wants to Know, If You Know?

I have four puzzlers for you in this issue.

1.      Gambling in Nevada was not always legal. The laws for gambling went back and forth in the early days of the Wild West. What year did legalized gambling in Nevada finally pass and stands to the present day?

2.      Reno was home to the early Nevada casinos not Las Vegas. Contrary to popular belief, Bugsy Siegel’s Fabulous Flamingo was not the first licensed casino in Las Vegas. Do you know the name the first licensed casino to operate in Las Vegas?

3.      It was first called Boulder Dam. It drew tourist to southern Nevada that spurred the growth of Las Vegas. By 1939 the desert train stop with just over 5,000 residents, had more than 600,000 tourists visit that year and the game was on. Completed in 1935, what is the name of the dam that attracted the tourists?

4.      If Bugsy Siegel’s Fabulous Flamingo what not the first casino on the strip, why is it recognized as being Las Vegas’s first “Strip Resort”?

Send your answers to ed@dicesetter.com correct answers will be published in the next Dice Setter Newsletter along with your name or handle.

Ed

Ask The Queen Bee:

I was away on holiday when this question came in and asked Ed to handle it for me. QB

A reader writes:

Thanks for the info on your site, I’ve been reading about put bets. On a 10x odds table, I know they have a lower HA (house advantage) than place or buy bets. But why would anyone take a put bet with 10x odds when they can do a pass line with 10x odds? Is it ONLY to bet a specific known number? 
Thanks, Jay

Hi Jay,

Good question, and agreed. Why would anyone want to miss out on the come out. The answer in a moment…

You are correct. You get to bet a specific known number, as the example shows here for the 6 or 8. http://dicesetter.com/strategy/strat11.html

Now, many craps players pretend to know how to play. Most pretend to know the math. Most lose their shorts because they haven’t learned either one.

At first glance, this method for picking and choosing when you play and when you don’t appears to be an okay move. I certainly am not one to criticize how someone likes to play. But since I know a little bit more about the game, I chose to take my chances on the pass line with the come out roll.

So a put bet is a bit like being able to bet on a horse race after the horses are out of the gate and racing. Say you could do that until the first turn. Still, it does not mean the horse in front is going to finish first. Winning in craps is about taking advantage where you can. Most players are not advantage players. A lot of time is spent on gimmicks or short cuts. Stuff looks good on paper, sounds good when explained, but in practice does it perform consistently?

With permission, I copied the following from The Professor – Michael Vernon’s, playbook, The Do’s and Don’ts of Dice. We have some of his articles up at dicesetter.com

Michael writes: “45% of Pass Line wins, are going to come on naturals; 75% of those naturals are going to come on Winner Sevens; and, Winner Sevens are going to constitute just over 33% of all wins. That’s the good news.  The bad news is that when a point is established, we are going to lose almost 60% of the time (14.25454/24), and it is impossible that we will score more than one winner seven on any Come Bet. Conventional Pass Line systems miss this fact and rely excessively upon the shooter rolling a lot of repeating numbers. Those systems fail to get much out of the 45% Pass Line wins that come on naturals.  P4K system, in contrast, gets the most out of all Pass Line wins,be it a point win or a natural.” (The math supporting this information is in the playbook, left out here for the sake of keeping this short) His web address is https://www.playing4keeps.com/

The thing about craps is this; there is no denying the math. Every bet has a house advantage. So, why would you want to load up on a put bet Jay? Perhaps it is like many other plays. It simply appeals to the bettor making the play. In other words, it seems like a good idea at the time.

Okay now, excuse the exaggeration here but for effect… missing out the come out roll leaves the player out of just less than half of the pass line wins. As a “right better”, what is the logic in leaving half of the line bet wins on the table? In the grand scheme of things… life long craps career, “put betting” more or less is guaranteed to separate the player from their money.

Jay, this is important to share. The dice in any one’s hand can and will act out of probability. What this means is any method of play will pay with the dice bouncing in favor of that method. Dice setting aside you are more likely to find yourself playing dice with you as the only dice influencer in the game. The question posed, is this; are you playing the game to play, or are you playing to win?

Dice or Craps is, after all, just a game. It becomes an exciting game because of the prospect of winning or losing money. There in lies the heart of the matter. You the player, have the ultimate choice. It is all within your power. You take in all the information about dice and gambling. You take in all the advice, the war stories, books and systems, and you, alone, take yourself to the table to play the game.

In watching any game, few, if any, players ever play the same game the same way. That is what makes life so interesting, after all.

In closing, there are no bets in craps that provide the player with an advantage over the casino. Not to paint doom and gloom Jay, but there are ways of playing the game to extend your playing money. You can have a shot when the dice act out of probability. The trick is being there and then knowing what to do.

At Dice Setter, we intend to paint with truth and clarity about playing dice. Sometimes there is no one, exact answer.

Jay, thanks for your question and thanks for reading DiceSetter.com.

Ed

Practice, Practice, Practice…

By Charlie Westcott

Is it all worth it?  The results on the casino floor should tell you.  Are you

winning more than you are losing?  If your answer is no, than maybe you need more practice or maybe you need to change your method of practice.

If your answer is yes, maybe you could improve your winnings with more practice or changing your practice routine.

In my recently released book, “Wake Up Crap Shooters”, it was stressed in four different chapters on the importance of practice and following up on fundamentals.  Keeping records of your progress is essential. Tracking my own progress from day one, I have logged over 43,000 tosses.  That was using all different sets and different colored dice.  That resulted in a SRR of 8.16.  Over the most recent 2,000 tosses, my SRR is 10. What does that tell me? It says that on an average I will seven-out every 8 to 10 tosses. It also tells me that when I go point seven-out, there is a twenty-roll hand in my future.

Recently I have been using BoneTracker to see if I am using the right sets for my ability.  It has verified that my signature number is eight and that my permutation of the V3 and the straight V3 is preferable.

All of this means nothing without a perfected toss.  In my opinion the toss is the most important element.  Without a good toss, the sets and grips you use are meaningless.  I have found that a low soft toss of two to three revolutions hitting the deck twelve to fourteen inches from the back wall will work on most tables hard or soft. 

My suggestion to the new shooters would be to find that comfortable grip and concentrate on perfecting that toss. Once you have a decent toss, then practice inserting your set and record your results. 

Remember the results you get on your practice rig or table may not be the same in the casino.  You have to be ready to adjust to conditions. That means changing sets or moving forward or backward at the table.

Your overall results in the casino will determent how much practice you need.  When you can walk into a casino and walk up to the table and be confident that you belong there, then you have arrived as a dice influencer.