Soft Touch Says… Hello Everyone!  

Thanks for all the wonderful and positive feed back I have been getting regarding the changes on the site and the forum.  Change is good.  Actually, life is change. Change is constant in our universe as reflected in our game.  

Why are we craps players if it is not to learn about how we adapt to change?  In this game, flexibility is the key to adapting to constant change.  

The craps game is all about constant change and how we adapt to it.  Some of us quickly and others, well, they resist the current of change.  These are the individuals who will not grow and evolve in their game.   

You cannot win a game where you resist change.  By truly understanding this about our craps game, a player will learn to become a master of his/her game instead of a slave to it.   

Once a player becomes flexible and open to the “winds of change” with every roll of the dice in any given session, they will begin to experience the benefits of the game.  Their bankroll will grow in a positive direction.  And, the obsessive hold the game has on a player will subside.

By feeling, knowing and incorporating this adaptation to change during every craps session, the player is allowed to play with carefree abandon knowing that positive results will come freely and automatically.  This is how I play.  And, I know many others who do, as well.

A long time ago, Barbara Walters, a well-known broadcast journalist used to ask her celebrity guests the question: “If you were a tree, what kind would you be?” I know she has often been lampooned for this question. Still, I feel that the point of her question was to initiate the thought that based on the guest’s choice of “tree” she, as well as the viewing audience, gain insight into that individual’s inner personality.

So, if a guest stated they would prefer to be an “oak tree” this indicated they were strong, yet resistant to change and that forces stronger than the tree could “uproot” that individual.  However, I found myself impressed with those guests who selected a tree that would bend with the wind.  Those “trees” were survivors in the “winds of change.”

My point, is if Ms. Walters were to ask me, what kind of tree I’d like to be, I would choose to be a willow. The “willows” will be the ones that will survive this game.  Willows are flexible and can bend.

Be a willow when it comes to your craps game. 

For you Bone Tracker Fans, Maddog has written his next installment on how to utilize the next tab of his software.  This tab explanation is really neat for you die hard dice influencers because this is where you will begin to establish and analyze your pattern of influence and apply the information to your game.

Also, Dice Coach has shared his favorite casinos to play in Vegas on and off the strip. This may be worth a look for you frequent or periodic visitors to Vegas.

BTW, during my most recent trip to Vegas, while visiting Treasure Island, I discovered that the MGM properties will no longer accumulate your play for comps beyond your length of stay.  They are now only evaluating your play from “trip to trip” and are awarding your “comps” based on that individual length of stay.  So, when it comes to your comps in these properties you players better “use ’em or lose ’em.” 

Local Vegas players may check into this and verify your findings by posting in the forum. The new structure for the comp system may impact you differently than the periodic visitor.  And, it would be interesting to see how the change impacts the local player’s playing pattern.

Just thought I would let everyone know the change in the comp system of some of the Vegas casinos.

One more thing, for those of you compiling a list of favorite tables of where you like to enjoy the game.  If you like the tables at Venetian, be sure to check out the lonely 12 foot table just outside of their wonderful poker room.  I rated it a fun table to play and would make it a 1.5 on the OTH scale for those of you who are compiling information that is useful to you when you visit the City of Dreams.

Caesar’s had one table just outside their poker room but I have been told it is no longer there. The local player may wish to check it out and report back on the dicesetter.com message board. Tell us how you liked it.

 Also worth mentioning for your Mad Professor followers, we have published part seventeen in his Regression Avoids Depression series in his section of the web site. You will find the link below.  

Until next month, enjoy,

Soft Touch

PS If you have any suggestions for the new dicesetter.com website or newsletter please send them to me at Ed@dicesetter.com and I’ll have a look and see how we can incorporate them into our future plans.

From the Editor

Dear Readers,

Thank you one and all for the cooperation confirming your email address with Aweber, our new system for delivering you this newsletter. The transition of subscribers has gone very smoothly from where I sit. After nearly six months of absence, Dice Setter Precision Shooter’s Newsletter is now a regular feature delivered in you mailbox on the first Friday of every month. We even dug in and got out a special edition just for the Mad Professor’s new book, “Mad Professor’s Crapshooting Bible”.  Which by the way is shipping next week to all of you out there that placed a pre-order for the book. You can still order a copy if you have not already done so with the Pay Pal button below. Speaking of subscribers, and again with our thanks, we have doubled the newsletter subscription list since going back on-line. Please keep sharing and telling your “crap shooting” friends about the free newsletter.

Here to serve,

Ed

BoneTracker Revealed – Part 3 FREE BoneTracker Program

By Maddog

 Welcome to part 3 in our 5 part series of BoneTracker Revealed.  For today’s tour, we will review the “Toss Stats” tab.

Where the Roll Data tab, which we discussed last time, is focused on collecting the individual toss data and categorizing the characteristics of those tosses, the “Toss Stats” tab provides insight into the overall pattern of influence.  For this article we will delve into each section of the stats tab and discover how the information presented can be used to identify toss characteristics and patterns.

The Toss Stats tab can be split out into 4 general sections.  These sections are:

~ Reference Overview

~ Toss Results & Off-Axis breakdown

~ Box Number Groupings

~ Distribution Details

Here is a blurry look at the entire screen:

 Reference Overview

The upper part of the screen (as shown below) provides a reminder of the current set under review, under the heading “Tossing Set Reference”.  The tossing set is retrieved from the Roll Data tab and displayed again here so we can refer directly to the set layout as we review the rest of the current toss results information.

The Face Appearance % displays the number of times each die face, on both the left side die and right side die, appeared.  This is shown as a percentage of the total number of tosses.  For a “normalized” distribution, each die face should show about once in six tosses for about 16.67% (1/6=.1667). 

Of course what we would like to see in our own records is the axial faces (colored Orange on the display) show much less often then normal distribution, so seeing these numbers go below 16% is what we want.  On the other hand we want to see the radial faces showing more then random distribution, so getting the radial faces to appear greater then 16% is desirable. 

What you will often see is that one or two faces for each die has a tendency to show much more frequently then the 16% expectations.  If you see this consistently, there is an interesting dice set permutation application that you can apply.  It is similar to the objectives performed by the “Greek” shot.  The dice are arranged such that a particular number is placed on the predominantly appearing die face.  I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader to research the Greek shot for more information on the technique and betting strategy.

The last few columns in this part of the screen is a review of the Foundation-Frequencies.  These are identical to what is displayed on the Roll Data tab and are re-displayed here simply to provide a quick reference without having to flip between tabs.

Toss Results & Off-Axis Breakdown

In the center of the screen are detailed break-down of the currently recorded toss results.  At first blush, this section might just look like a series of roll counts, but with some careful study the DI will find a treasure trove of information about his/her toss in this section.

Let’s work our way across this section from left to right.

The first column, # Rolled, defines the number rolled.  You see that this begins with the Snake-eyes (2) and shows each roll result all the way to the Boxcars (12) as you move down the rows.  As you read this section left to right, each column relates information about the given roll result under various categories.

The next two columns, Random and Random %, display a normalized standard distribution derived from the total roll records currently entered into BT.  As roll records are added to the Roll Data, these numbers are updated to display current counts based on a smoothed distribution curve.  So, for example, if we have 280 rolls entered into BT, then the value for the number of expected sevens (7) rolled under the # Rolled/Random is 280*(1/6) or ~47.  The “Random” columns are used as a bench-mark to compare against our actual results.

Following the “Random” benchmark columns are the columns that contain information about the actual roll results.  The columns “Tossed”, “Diff.”, “Tossed %”, and “Diff. %” show what was actually rolled and compare (in the Diff columns) the actual against normalized distribution.  It is here that the shooter looks to find tendencies toward certain numbers with the given toss set.  A consistent positive variance (consistently more then expected) for a given number is what defines a shooters “Signature Numbers”.

The remaining sets of columns track specifics regarding on-axis performance.  These columns show how the dice are coming off-axis in terms of left, right, or both.  In addition we get to see the pattern of what number(s) rolls when one die or other does end up in an off-axis result.  The die off axis information should lead the DI to insights about grip issues, PASS theory, off-axis dominates, etc.

Box Number Groupings

The next section on the Toss Stats tab displays data on various toss result groupings. 

The Hard-Way Numbers box displays a count of the number of times and a percentage of total rolls that the various hardway numbers were rolled.  The Box Numbers section gives a display of overall toss counts within the various betting groupings.  An interesting column is the “To 7” column.  The numbers here are similar to SRR, only they display the average number of rolls within the group between sevens.  These are sometimes described as Box to Sevens Ratios or BSR’s and can be a handy way to judge appropriate strategies for number of rolls to ISR or number of rolls to Take Me Down.

Distribution Details

The distribution detail section is sometimes hidden on smaller screens and you may need to scroll the screen down to see them (as shown below).

This section was added primarily for integration with the Wincraps craps simulator.  Those of you with the Wincraps software (www.cloudcitysoftware.com) might notice the similarity between this screen and the “Probabilities Configuration” screen in Wincraps.  The Distribution Details collect the exact specifics of the dice tossing patterns.  These figures can then be input directly into Wincraps where you can run various betting strategies and “Auto-Bet” files using your specific tossing pattern as the driving influence for the Wincraps random dice roll generator.

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Well there you have it.  BoneTracker’s Toss Stats tab revealed.  Hopefully you have seen a few new ways to use BT to validate your tossing and analyze your strengths.

Next month we will move on to everyone’s favorite part of BT, the Transpositions Tab.

Until next time, keep your toss straight and your rack full. 

Maddog

Copyright ©2006 Maddog

Dice Coach Suggests Which Casinos to Play in Las Vegas…

After reading Soft Touch’s article about her favorite casinos, I thought I might expand on that with a few casinos of my own. First, let me say that favorable casino playing conditions may vary from day to day, and from shift to shift. One of the things that I look for when scouting playing conditions are dealer friendly tables. Those are the tables with little or no “heat”, with pit personnel who are relaxed and encourage the “fun in the game”. That does not mean that they let you get away without hitting the back wall, or taking too much time setting the dice. It means that they will give you a little slack when the occasional toss does not make it to that back wall. They encourage your game and have fun along with you as you enjoy a game. That being said, here are my suggestions in order of favorite play:

On the strip:

These are my opinions, today, you have to remember a couple of things. Your own experience is different to mine and casinos change personal in a New York minute. Hey, was New York, New York on my list?

The Dice Coach

The Mad Professor Professor Speaks

Check out the new article in the continuing series…

Regression Avoids Depression Part 17

Ask Her Majesty of Dice

This will be a new feature in Dice Setters Precision Shooter’s Newsletter. Do you have a gaming question for the Queen of Dice? Send your question by email to queenbee@dicesetter.com Each month one question will be selected and answered in the newsletter.