Volume II : Issue III
August 2002
There’s nothing quite like autumn…. Change is in the air, the leaves are turning, the kids are back in school, and as the days begin to grow shorter and the nights longer, we have more time to pursue our favorite passion, throwing the dice. This fall in particular is looking to be especially busy so I’m happy to be putting Labor Day behind me.
The September 20th seminar in Vegas with Scoblete, Sharpshooter, Edell, Heavy and myself is sold out. I know many of you will be attending and I look forward to meeting you face to face. If you are attending, and have purchased a dicesetter.com t-shirt, please consider wearing it to the event to show support for the site.
On the heels of the very successful Axis Power Craps Precision Dice Shooting Clinic in Tunica, the Las Vegas class in November is also beginning to fill.
In addition, Sharpshooter’s book is FINALLY due out mid next month and our pal Beau Parker also launches his new site, www.dicecoach.com. (See official announcement later in the newsletter)
All of these things combined are an indication of the great number of changes in our dice influencing community. I believe this to be a drop in the bucket of things to come. The interest from players, the books, seminars and web sites are all positives. However, I do caution you that I also believe with growth and change, there is also potential for fall out and negative repercussions. If nothing else, all I can say is, I think it’s going to get real interesting. I’ll keep you posted as best I can via the newsletter and the website. Keep throwing…. and be careful out there.
| In this edition: | Do You Want To Take It Outside? |
| Press or Parlay? – A Roundtable | |
| Dicecoach.com – Official Announcement! | |
| Get Shorty! A Follow Up | |
Do You Want To Take It Outside?
In the business world, they call it “thinking outside the box.” In the 90’s, the term was so overused in meetings and seminars that if you were to use it in a presentation today, the entire room would in all likelihood collectively roll their eyes. Still, there’s some merit in the concept.
I was in the market for some reading material. I’ve read and re-read the craps books in my collection (Grafstein, Scoblete, Stuart, Patrick, Scarne, Wong et al) so many times, several of them are falling apart. I started poking around the web searching for books on other subject matter, that could possibly relate to craps and precision shooting.
The two books I ended up purchasing BLEW ME AWAY. Not since I picked up Yuri’s Dice Control for Casino Craps have I been so enthused and inspired. You probably won’t recognize the authors names as neither book is gambling related. Still, if you’re interested in approaching craps and dice influencing from an alternative perspective, you may decide that “thinking outside the box” is o.k. after all.
The Way of the Warrior Trader: The Financial Risk-Taker’s Guide To Samurai Courage, Confidence and Discipline.
by Richard D. McCall
I was speaking with my pal Billy. I mentioned to him that I was looking for some new reading material. He told me that Dominator had recommended The Way of the Warrior Trader to him. When I read the description of the book at amazon.com, I’ll admit that the “samurai” reference in the title almost dissuaded me to purchase it. Still, I thought, what the hell.
This book, as the title suggests, was intended for stock and commodity traders. However, there are so many parallels between market trading and casino gaming, that applying Dr. McCall’s Zen philosophies to what WE do at the tables is nearly seamless.
Frequently we speak of getting into “the zone” when we’re shooting the dice. In doing so we’ve scratched the surface of the “Warrior Trader” approach. Frankly, I could write a multi-page review of this book and still not do it justice. I will however share The Way of Warrior, Samurai A.C.T.I.O.N plan. A.C.T.I.O.N stands for:
| A | ccept … all possible losses before entering the battle! |
| C | enter … yourself in body, mind, and spirit! |
| T | rust … your warrior skills and intuition! |
| I | magine … success with the mind’s eye! |
| O | nly … exist in the present moment to control fear! |
| N | ever … stop or look back once action has begun! |
The zen / samurai approach Dr. McCall embraces in this book, may not be everyone’s cup of tea. The “body, mind, spirit” approach may be too out there for some. Regardless, I believe there are techniques in this book that can help every precision shooter.
The A.C.T.I.O.N plan is but a small portion of the book, but it should give you a reasonable idea of the theories/principals within.
If you need further proof that the philosophies in this book can be transferred to casino gaming, ponder this. After reading the book, I exchanged email with Dr. McCall, and discovered that he is a dice influencer as well.
The Inner Game of Golf
by W. Timothy Gallwey
This book was not entirely unknown to me. I had not previously read it because I’m not a golfer. That doesn’t mean I don’t golf… I’m just not “into” golf. If you know what I mean.
It’s a bit of a stretch, finding parallels between golf and precision shooting. Even still, there was a great deal that I found useful in this book. The Inner Game of Golf focuses on the mental aspect of becoming a better golfer. The material was the perfect compliment to many of MY philosophies on precision shooting. That being that the human body is inherently designed to learn new physical tasks like golf or precision shooting. The failure to achieve results is generally caused by the manner in which the body is instructed.
“…learning is natural. Even what might be called unnatural can be learned naturally. Natural learning is easy, but being taught something unnaturally can make it very hard.”
The author is a proponent of finding your own swing, versus attempting to imitate someone else’s. Similarly, I firmly believe that every dice influencer needs to find their own unique throwing style. In other words, as my friend Dice Doc once said, “Adjust the throw to the shooter, not the shooter to the throw.”
Despite not being a golfer, there were several techniques in this book which were immediately useful to me and my shooting.
I love to read, so I rarely find ANY book purchase to be a waste of money or time. However, these two books are well worth a read if you’re ready to REALLY take on the mental aspect of precision shooting.
Press or Parlay?
A roundtable with PorkChop, roadrunner, Rubacava, Heavy, MickeyD
As dice influencers, we frequently make what are considered to be “bad” wagers because of our tendency to throw high vig- high payoff numbers. The question is, when you hit a prop bet or a hard way, SHOULD you press or parlay? Take a little profit or let it ride for the big score?
PorkChop
In MY opinion, as I throw a LOT of Hard 6 / Hard 8 both on the practice table and during actual casino play – I ALWAYS play for the double bubble hit on those numbers.
Drop a dime on each – PRIOR to the come out – as well as $24 each on 6 / 8 – ALL WORKING on the come out. If either hardway hits, I do a FULL parlay to $100 (I also will add $8 to the place win and regress them to $18 each).
I let the parlay go until it dies or I hit it. When the (lucky) double does come in – I will typically bring the opposite number up to $100, pop the hot number to $250, then pull down the remaining $650. If it hits again – golden – !!
One VERY important point – (again – MY OPINION ONLY) – NEVER CALL THE NUMBERS OFF – EVER – die off the table / come out / another hit / anything – KEEP THEM WORKING!!
roadrunner
I tend to press rather than parlay to “get the money” off the table.
On come out I tend to hit the horn and sevens. A $5 whirl pressed each hit has gotten some good returns. Parlay to $15 or $30 can make for a big payday or a loss leader.
Hardways I tend to press to 50% of the payout. A $1 press to $5, $5 press to $25 etc.
Rubacava
I almost never parlay, I will press my bet up, but never parlay cuz I want to take some money off the table. Sure it’s great when that parlay hits, but over time I think you have to take the money little by little off the felt.
Heavy
On a $1 hardway play I always parlay the first hit – the press after that. Let’s say I’ve got $5 in action – a buck each on all the hardways plus a buck piggybacked for the boys on the point. Let’s say the point is 8. On the first hit I’ll parlay mine to $10 and press the boys piggyback bet up to $5 – I let the boys drop $5 to keep ’em happy. On the second hit my hardway pays $90 and the dealer’s pays $45. I lock up $75 and press mine to $25 – let the boys drop $40 and press theirs to $10. If I get one more hit on it I’ll lock up $200 and press mine to $50. I give the boys a choice of $100 and down – $90 and up to win again – or $75 and pressing to a quarter. This causes HUGE angst on their part and is MUCH fun to watch.
On horn, world or high-low hits I press the bet on every hit. For example – if I have a $5 world plus $1 each on the high low and the shooter tosses a 12 the stick pays me $55. I lock up $50, drop $2 on the table with the extra five and press it. Should I get a repeater it pays me $110. I lock up $100 and press it to a $20 world and $4 each on the high low. I’ve made as much as $1500 on a come out move with this situation before.
Prop bet numbers do seem to come in streaks – when they’re hot they are smoking – and there is no better way to get money off the table than pressing them up.
MickeyD
I, too can’t leave good money on the table! I’ve never done a full parlay in my life. I increase the next bet but I have to take something off the felt. For me it’s not so much, “What could have been”, but rather what IS.”
Introducing Dicecoach.com
Some close friends of dicesetter.com have put their heads together and are about to launch the dicecoach.com web site. As I haven’t seen the site yet myself, I can’t tell you exactly what they’ve been up to. I do know however from personal experience that “dicecoach” is an excellent instructor and a fine man to boot, so I’m sure the site will be one that you should surely bookmark. The official launch date is September 1st so be sure to check it out next week! (late newsflash! the site is up!)
Get Shorty! A Follow Up
I received several emails regarding last month’s “Get Shorty” article. Below is a short list of other casinos which occasionally have short table wood insert at various times of the day or night.
Speedway Casino – Las Vegas
The Silverton Casino – Las Vegas
Horizon Casino – South Lake Tahoe
Land of Enchantment:
Isleta Casino – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Big Rock Casino – Espanola, New Mexico
Okay San Juan – Espanola, New Mexico
If you have any comments or ideas for future issues, feel free to email me at ed@dicesetter.com And as always, I’m looking for contributors with a fresh perspective.
If you know someone who would be interested in receiving future editions of Dice Setter Precision Shooter’s Newsletter, tell them to send a blank message to dicesetter@aweber.com.
Good Luck!
