So what is situational practice setting? Now that you’ve practiced your sets, you now want to practice simulated real life throwing. To do this, you’re going to need to be able to calculate bet payoffs in your head which is a good skill to have anyway. After all, dealers have been known to make mistakes. Again, this simulation is best accomplished using an excel spreadsheet, therefore at any given moment you know how much money you have won or lost in a series of throws. In one column of the spread sheet I keep track of what number I threw. In the next column, I input money won or lost. Below, I made up an example with a corresponding table. I used single unit amounts in the example for simplicity’s sake. This technique will also give you a very good indication of your signature throwing trends.
Here’s how to do it:
| Throw 1: Come out throw. In my mind, I know that I have $5 on the pass line, and $1 each on C and E. I throw the dice with my come out set. I throw a 9. 9 is the point. I lost $2 on the C and E bet. |
| Throw 2: Mentally, I’ve placed double odds behind my pass line bet, $5 on the 5 and $6 each on the 6 and 8. I have $32 at risk. (15 + 5 + 6 + 6) I throw a 5 and win $7. |
| Throw 3: I throw an 11. No money won or lost. |
| Throw 4: I throw a hard 8. In addition to the numbers that I throw, I also keep track of things like hard way throws, so I note this throw as an 8H. I won $7. |
| Throw 5: I throw the 9, making my point for a $20 win. In my spread sheet, I note this as a 9W for winner. |
| Throw 6: Coming out again, I throw a 7 for a $3 win. ($5 pass win minus $2 C and E loss). |
| Throw 7: I throw a 6. The point is 6. I lose $2 on the C and E bet. Again, I place imaginary wagers of $5 on 5 and 9, $6 on the 8, double odds behind my pass line bet. I’ve got $31 at risk. |
| Throw 8: I throw a 5 for a $7 win. |
| Throw 9: Seven out. It’s keyed into my spreadsheet as 7L (seven loser) with a corresponding dollar loss of -$32. |
You keep throwing until you seven out. For this series I would have won a total of $8. I threw the dice 8 times before the seven out. I generally consider four of these series a “session”. I sum the won/lost amounts and average the number of times I threw before the seven out. I transfer these two values to another spreadsheet where I keep a running total of my data. This technique is a strong way to practice your sharpshooting. It also gives you a glimpse of your successes to come at the tables.
Good luck!
