Dice
Setter's Journal
How to Use Your Journal and Benefit
Suggestions
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Begin now
and then start at the New Year. Keep an annual journal, January though
December.
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Have one
journal for each game you play, craps, blackjack, poker and so on.
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Take your
journal with you when you play, fresh memory means more accurate
reporting.
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Record every
session, no matter how short, win or lose, even if you don't play or
just watched a game.
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Be honest
with yourself. It will be to your advantage.
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Make it your
secret discipline to keep a journal.
Keeping Your Journal
The purpose of a journal is to provide you with important
honest information about your game. It will help you improve your game in
many ways. It will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. Your
journal shows you how you are doing financially with wins, losses and with
your year to date total.
When recording a session, you may have a short entry or
you may use several pages. It is up to you to record what you feel are the
important and necessary pieces of information.
Here are a few suggestions of things to record.
The date played
|
The Casino |
The game played |
Time of day |
Length of session
|
Buy-in |
Minimum bet |
Units won/lost |
Money won/lost
|
Running total $ |
Table Conditions |
Mistakes made |
Smart plays
|
How you rolled |
Sets used |
Modifications |
How you felt |
Special notes |
What didn't work |
What worked |
This is a required discipline for the player serious
about improving their game. It is easy to keep a running count of profit and
loss from each game. This provides you with an accurate account of where you
stand for the year. It is important that you know if you are up or down for
the year.
Keeping a record is essential for tax purposes. Gambling
losses are tax deductible against gambling profits. If you are going to
itemize gambling income, you must be able to defend losses with a record.
The casino is not going to write you a receipt for your losses when you cash
out. It is up to you to be able to document your gambling history.
The most important reason to document your playing time
is for a reference. A journal can be a powerful resource to help you to
identify strength and weakness in your game. If you find yourself in a
slump, the first thing to do is refer to your journal. Read backward until
you find a pattern or the place where your game started to break down.
A player can review their journal, look at the losing
sessions, and usually identify essential elements that lead to the slump.
When a player is experiencing an unsuccessful streak some typical telltale
signs could be playing too long, chasing a loss, engaging in poor playing
conditions, making mistakes, playing too tight, or playing too aggressive.
This information should show up in the journal.
Playing too long is
playing in a game that is going nowhere and ignoring the signs that the game
has stalled. A game that goes back and forth - win one, lose one, and push -
is a dead game. After an hour and half to two hours, the game turns cold
and, in less than fifteen minutes, the entire betting stake can be lost.
Better to leave early, cut losses and find another game. Playing too long
tends to lull a player into a trance-like state, as the player believes that
the game is bound to turn around and become favorable.
Playing carelessly usually shows a lack of discipline.
The player enters a game that they have no business playing. It often is a
matter of ego or emotion that causes a player to think they are invincible
and that they can walk up to any table and make it pay. Being too eager to
play, and getting into bad games, is an unsuccessful habit for both
experienced and novice players. Getting into a game that you have not
assessed for positive playing conditions will usually cost you money. The
idea of playing anytime, on any table, is what built the "City of Dreams".
The games are always available. You must take charge of your game by being
patient. You are a winner when you play at optimum times with optimum
conditions. Realize that you are a hunter, if you are going to "eat" you
must hunt smart.
Here is a sample journal entry
+ / - YTD
$
running total
02/27/20, Cosmopolitan, Craps, 7:00am, $25 unit, $1,000 buy-in,
Pass line and 6/8 place bets. Played 1.5 hr., +28 units, 6-7 players. Head down, blinkers on kind of game.
Guys fun to play with. Steady game, back and forth, no one really doing
much, mostly short hands, 1 or 2 points and some quick outs, but treading water,
(keeping even). Broke the ice with a long three-point hand, my dice looked
great from release to landing. Felt good too! Setting for points with 3-V,
2-V and modified 3-V for 5&9. Knocked down, a point of 6, 9 and 10, mostly
all inside numbers. Set for seven on the come out, rolled two back to back on
the come out, total of five passes. Next shooter followed with a nice
six-point hand, 6/8 progressions worked great. Then back to the earlier game
with the other players rolling short hands. I didn't wait for more, I colored up
+28 units. Never down more than 10 units, I felt fresh and rested, had fun,
good crew, hit a couple of hard-way tokes for the boys when I had the dice,
game moved along at a quick pace, no one playing the prop bets. No heat.
+700 $ running total
Your journal may
have shorter or longer notes. You may create your own cues, but however
you chose to do it, include enough information to remind you of the session.
The idea is to record information for your benefit, and learn from it when
you need a review. When first starting out with a journal, more information
is better while you get into the practice. You will find your groove and the
information most important to you.
How you can interpret information
In the example, the player identifies that the dice game
was worthy of playing noting that he was not losing, but keeping even,
(treading water). There were 6-7 players, this indicates a smaller game with
the dice coming around for a dice influencer, more turns as the shooter.
Note the shift in the game when it broke away from one or two point hands to
his hand with three points, totaling five passes. Also, note that the
seven-set was working, drawing out two sevens in a row on a come out. Nice
to have the sevens appear at the right time. He is content with the way his
dice are laying down. Playing early morning, the player is fresh, rested,
and having fun with the other players. He indicates he is playing with a
good group, including the dealers. With the game not costing this player, he
was encouraged to continue, even though it was not producing much. Then that
moment of "right time" came along and they caught a nice little burst.
Seeing the game return to short hands, he made the wise decisions to quit
and take the profit. Not a bad move for a 90-minute game.
Profitable games are
usually the result of catching a long craps hand. Play like a patient
hunter, waiting for your time to come. Sometimes you have to play tight
defense while waiting for your opportunity. Learn to recognize
the difference between a game with promise and one that is going nowhere.
Record your sessions and you will document the signposts and learn to
discriminate between the two types of games. It will become clearer to you
when it is time to bail-out, and you will recognize the signs of a game
worthy of your time and investment.
Keeping a journal and reviewing wins and losses can
accurately paint the picture of your playing habits. You can honestly
evaluate your play, recognizing those things that you are doing well, and
eliminate the weaknesses that hold you back. The rewards will be evident, as you
educate yourself, with the discipline of keeping a journal. $$$
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