Though I prefer to throw the dice side by side, there are many dice setters who stack the dice instead and swear by it. I have experimented with stacking only to find that my mechanics are more suited to the side by side throw. To stack, you use the pre set you most prefer and instead of squeezing the dice together, you stack one on top of the other. There are some similarities in the mechanics. You still want to use the same motion every toss and you still want the dice to travel together. Only now, the idea is to have no spin whatsoever, the dice flying in a vertical line toward the wall. The other difference is your landing point is where the table meets the back wall. The object is to have the dice hit the crotch of the wall as one, the top dice acting as a hammer to stop the bottom die in it’s tracks at the wall. The energy of the top die is also somewhat diminished by this hammer action, gently bouncing off the wall and coming to rest. If you are completely successful, at the very least the horizontal (top) face of the bottom die should not change from pickup to landing. For example, if you are using a hard six set, when the dice come to rest, the bottom die should still be a three. An advantage to this technique is there should never be any chips on the table that close to the wall, one obstruction averted.
Stacking Dice:
Here are two stack sets:
The first one – with the finger on top of the stack – is the one I use when shooting straight down the pass line – aiming for a landing near the big 6/8 box – generally 8 to 10 inches from the wall. I suspect I throw this similar to a “knuckleball.” Very little rotation. I push the dice instead of tossing them. They travel pretty much straight out – then drop.
Second is the one I refer to as swinging on a star. No finger on top. The dice are gripped by their lateral faces. The front is open. The rear is supported by the ring finger and pinkie. This toss begins with the sixes facing down table – I swing the dice (wrist flick) and release them more or less with the sixes facing the eye in the sky. Moderate backward rotation. Aim for a spot in or near the DC box in front of the dealer’s first.
