Rules
- Both dice must bounce and then hit the back wall.
- The dice can only be handled with one hand.
- The dice must remain in site of the dealers. You cannot bring your hand back behind the rail while holding the dice.
- The dice must be thrown below the line of sight of the dealers.
- The dice must be thrown and not dropped or slid across the felt.
- The shooter must not slow down the progress of the game.
You will find that to some degree, the dealers will be a little lenient about hitting the back wall. That leniency will erode if you are having a successful roll. The same goes for slowing the progress of the game. The dealers may begin to rush you if you are having success throwing the dice.
Tips
Practice! Roll the dice at home practicing your presets. Part of the success of the setting is based on mechanics, throwing the dice the SAME WAY every toss. A good way to test whether you are keeping the dice on the correct axis is to toss two different colored dice. Let’s say you are practicing the Flying “V” set. The axis of the left die is the 6 and 1. The axis of the right die is 5 and 2. If you used a red die for the left and a blue die for the right, you know the red die should never come up as a six or one and similarly, the blue die should never come up as a five or a two. If the die are not staying on their axis, then there are adjustments to be made. This is the strongest way to judge your consistency.
(Note: You must practice with REAL casino dice! Casino dice are much larger than your average Yahtzee or Backgammon dice and have much sharper edges. You can find casino dice at www.dicecoach.com They’ll cost you about $15.00 for a for a stick. (5 die) Make sure if you buy old casino dice that they are not drilled through.)
Be mentally prepared before you hit the casino floor. Don’t check into your room and rush to the tables. Relax, center yourself. Bring a set of dice with you and perhaps ‘warm up’ your mechanics in your room before you play. Don’t eat a heavy meal prior to playing nor drink heavily while playing. Use the restroom immediately before you step up to the table. Make sure you’re in comfortable shoes and if possible, a short sleeved shirt. Long sleeves have been the downfall of many precision shooters as they tend to alter your shooting mechanics.
Have a plan. Know what sets you are going to use and practice setting them as if you were not given the dice with the set you prefer. Casinos like the dice in action. If you take forever to get to the set you like, the dealers will hassle you. Similarly, know which sets will accomplish which outcomes. (There REALLY are only 6 basic possible sets.)
Have a corresponding betting strategy. You may be very conservative when others are shooting, but you may choose to be more aggressive in betting once you have some confidence in your setting.
Try to find a table that is not too crowded. A crowded table has many chips and hands that will be obstacles to pre-setting success! An empty or nearly empty table guarantees that the dice will be in your hand frequently
Do NOT throw the dice into the corners. You must hit the back wall, but try to hit the back wall perpendicularly from your position, as softly as possible.
Try to learn at least 2 shooting techniques that you can use from different positions at the table. Your “favorite” spot may not always be available.
Ask the stickman to pass you the dice with the correct horizontal set that you want. “Please pass me the dice as a hard ten….” Then you only have to turn the dice to get the correct vertical set. (It helps if you’ve placed some bets for the dealers before it being your turn to shoot. See Toking The Dealers)
