Volume VII: Issue #11 | |
In This Edition: | A Word From Soft Touch From the Editor Looking for an Exit… Today’s Wisdom… Relax Your Brain Queen Bee’s Buzz… A Labor of Love… Newsletter Archive Links |
Soft Touch Say’s
I have often heard it said that with a winner’s attitude, a player really can’t lose. And, I have often noticed that all the big winning players I have had the pleasure of meeting, without exception, play with a will to win.
It has always been my intention to inspire those players I come to meet through my sessions, workshops and through the internet to be committed to acquiring a winning attitude before they proceed to the casino.
I often find players losing sight of the fact that casino craps is, very simply, a game to be played, not a battle to be won. Craps is just a game and to win consistently, a player must understand what makes the craps game a game, learn this game’s real purpose and understand the rules.
For me, the game’s real purpose has everything to do with self discovery. Sure there’s the “I want to make money” angle and money is the energy we use to buy experiences. Still, I will always maintain that players learn about who they truly are by the actions they take and their response to those actions played out at the table. How we respond to the results of our gaming choices and/or strategy is where our discovery of self begins.
So, who do you think you are when you are playing your game? Understand that we become who we are at the table by what we think we are at the table. Do you actually believe you are a winner every time you enter a game? Or, do you walk up to a table using hope as a strategy for winning? You have to know that those motivated by hope often never win. “Hope is not a strategy for winning” is what you will often hear the Dice Coach say when interacting with his students. I agree whole heartedly with him. And, if it is money through craps that you desire, then, the reality is that a player must have a winner’s attitude to get that winning result.
The real rules, aside from the “how to play the game” rules have everything to do with who we believe we are when we approach the craps table. And, our choices and actions will create the reality of who we believe we are. I believe we will always automatically enter games, play with people, live experiences that will support who we believe we are at the table. This is the attitude we bring to our craps game.
In essence, in a much broader sense, winning has everything to do with really understanding these two principles that make up your attitude about the game before even learning how go through the motions of playing this game.
In our newsletters, our contributors share their views about the game of craps. In sharing those views, a player should come to understand that this game can be played on many levels. Mastering this game has much to do with helping each other understand the many dimensions of the game and understanding the essence of what the game represents to each individual experiencing it. Helping each other understand that each session is an adventure and as we begin each new session, we must begin with total confidence, with the will to win, and a winner’s attitude.
Think back to the last time you won big at the tables. I am sure you will find that you began and played through that session with the confidence and knowing you had the session won before you realized it.
And if you failed, I think you will find that you may have begun your session with a great deal of hope and desire, yet lacked the will to win as the essential element required. You may have justified your loss with the all too common response of, “well, I tried.”
To those players that utilize the “I tried” excuse, I respectfully feel that it is a logical way for someone who is using hope as a strategy. My mentors have taught me “it is impossible to win while trying not to fail.” A change in your point of view about losing circumstances is all that is needed to change your game. As our holiday season approaches, we often take the time to reflect on our experiences in and out of the casino, As a player, do your self a favor and reflect on your answers to the following questions: If craps is just a game, why am I not having fun? How often am I really winning in this game? Lastly, how much more would I enjoy this game if I were actually playing at it as if it were a game? Your answers will confirm what the game means to you. Have a relaxing Holiday Season everyone!
Soft Touch
PS If you have any suggestions for the new Dice Setter 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.
With your help please, we are asking a favor of you. Would you share the free on-line Dice Setter newsletter with one person you know. It is our goal to double our readership of the free newsletter by our second year anniversary, March 1st. All you have to do is tell a dice player or gaming enthusiast that you know, to subscribe by sending a blank email to:
dicesetter@aweber.com That’s it. It’s that simple. Your gesture will immensely help support the continuance of the newsletter and the information found on the Dice Setter web site .
Thank you,
Ed Jones
Looking for an Exit… From the Castle
One of my early lessons about casino games came from my mentor Stuart Wilde. The lesson was simple enough, “know your way around the casino”. It, however, contains five sub-parts; know the location of the game, the cashier, the restroom, the bar, and the exit. The five parts aren’t necessarily listed in any order of importance. However, sometimes it is cheaper to skip the game and buy a drink at the bar. Did you ever play a tough game, and end up paying $177 for two beers? Don’t ask!
It was maybe three years ago; I was having a drink with the Dice Coach at Green Valley Ranch, after playing blackjack. We did okay in the session and I was first to color up, calling it quits. Dice Coach wanted to know why I left the game when I did. My reply went something like this, “I am looking for reasons to leave a game. Reasons to continue to play should be obvious enough.” I don’t recall now what it was, but something happened in the game that tipped me off that it was time to leave. Dice Coach confirmed that the game deteriorated after I left the game.
Have a look at “Today’s Wisdom”, following this article. This short excerpt may be the best strategy in or out of a casino. I thought I might dissect the lesson, as I understand it, and explain how it can apply to gaming.
Ask yourself:
- What is your motivation for playing a casino game?
- What is your level of commitment?
- What do you really want as the end result?
The answers will vary from player to player, so what is the point here? Self-awareness happens by answering the questions. Take some time now to come up with your honest answers to the three questions above. As easy as it may appear, once you set upon the task, it might take you to a deeper understanding of yourself as a player. Figuring out your motivation may evade you at first, when it comes down to writing it out in words. Oh sure, “to win money” is most likely to be the number one reason. But is it really? Scrape away the warm and fuzzy obvious answer and dig down a little more to uncover the inner reasons for why you play.
Your level of commitment is equal to your intestinal fortitude. Do you have what it takes? Do you want to expend what is necessary to succeed? For example, what does it really take to become a skilled dice influencer? How many hours of practice and casino play will it take to master the skill? The answer will not be the same for each player because we all have different abilities, understandings and conceptions. The universal answer could be, “I will do whatever it takes to achieve my goal.” The hitch is that complete commitment is lacking in our culture. The tendency is to quit before achieving success and end up settling for less. Sometimes we settle for less out of boredom, but mostly I feel it is from past conditioning that it is okay to do less than our best. Excellence is admired, but mediocrity is almost the standard and norm. So, without 100% commitment to a goal, it is more likely to fail than it is to succeed. Since failure is familiar, and we are use to it, we accept it. Oh, well!
Is winning the answer, or is the goal to just to have a good time? Wanting to win, in itself, is not enough. Wanting lacks intention. It can be negative yearning, which actually pushes the goal away. Having a good time is easy enough for us to justify and write off with acceptance. At least I had fun… losing. In the end, when playing a zero sum game with the odds against you winning, answering the third question makes it as tough to be honest. What do you really want as the end result?
The “Quickening”, as it is referred to, has to do with sharpening your senses and your perception of reality. It takes practice, patience and a level of commitment. The “Quickening” is similar to learning a new language or perhaps playing a musical instrument. It is through the speeding up of your etheric, that you are able to touch into other dimensions and perceive information. Your learning curve quickens with practice after achieving a certain amount of information.
Chasing a game, moving from casino to casino is expending energy. It may be necessary, in order to find the right game, but you must be aware that you are burning energy in the pursuit of the right path. For those of you familiar with my strategies, you may be wondering if this is contradicting what I have said about hunting the game, it is not. I am clarifying that, although it is important to position yourself in a “best scenario” situation, you may burn energy in the process. Consider this as a caution note. As you use up your energy looking for a game, you may become frustrated finding no game, and you chose to play just the same. The decision to play happens out of frustrating and a feeling helplessness. Discipline is lost and inefficiency sets in as a result. All that you know about using energy is discarded and you play, simply because of wanting to play. (Check what you wrote down for your motivation to play.) Playing desperate, playing tired playing to play, because you want to, will usually end up with you in “poverty and struggle”.
This leads me back to the opening of the article, which speaks about the exit. It is easy enough to look down at your chips and see that you are winning. When you are winning, it is like “easy money”. Everything you do is working and paying off just fine. The reason I am always on guard for the exit is to protect my winning session. One of my many goals for a game is to keep as much of the money won from the game as I possibly can. I play for that challenge, keeping the money. I am not keen on losing half of what I have won by continuing to play long after “the game” is done. It is not my goal to write in my journal, “I could have won more if I had quit at the right time.” Like following the stock market, I want to get in low and sell at the top. Being on guard for the time to exit supports my goal for keeping what I have won. It is my motivation and commitment to be on the alert for any subtle shifts in the energy that provide me with a hint to exit.
When it comes to gambling, anyone, anytime, can walk up and play any game. When it comes to capturing the castle, it is not just about the attack, it is about making it to the exit with full pockets.
Copyright ©2007 Michel Vernon
Today’s Wisdom:
Stuart Wilde – Life Was Never Meant To Be A Struggle
Am I trying to Capture a Castle I Don’t Really Need or Want?
“What is your motivation for taking action? What is the level of your commitment and do you actually want the end result? For example, are you dating the brother so that you can be close to the man you actually love? Is it worth the effort or is there a simpler way?
In the five-day intensives called “The Warrior’s Wisdom” that we put on in Taos, New Mexico, we have a section called the “Quickening”. In it you learn to speed up your etheric energy and to evaluate your every move in light of results and of the speed at which things materialize in your life.
Expending energy in a wasteful way is the road to poverty and struggle. One gets bogged down in one’s own inefficiency and eventually one’s life becomes an affirmation of helplessness.
Remember, most of the paths you will be offered are totally inappropriate for you. At every turn give yourself five good reasons for saying no. And while walking into a relationship or project look for the exit.”
Relax Your Brain
Dice Coach
“Coach, I practice, practice and do even more practice. I feel good while practicing and my dice look good, landing softly at the end of the table right where they should. My SRR (seven to roll ratio) is 8.5/1 during practice, but when I go to the casino I am having problems making money.”
This is a common problem and one I often hear. We can master the correct mechanics, the grips, and all the things that go along with a correct dice toss, including correct money management and discipline, but something happens during live play that sabotages our game.
The change from our own practice environment where we have no real monies at risk, to the casino environment, has everything to do with our mind-set. Our focus changes and we begin to think too much about our mechanics, our strategies, and the money on the table. Too often we are our own worst enemies when we arrive at the tables.
Try to relax and clear your mind. Focus only on the box numbers right in front of you. Think about the numbers and visualize hitting those numbers. Bet in your comfort zone and as you focus on the numbers you are hitting, the money will come.
Look at rhythm rollers at the tables. Not the random shooters, but the rhythm rollers that pick up the dice the same way, with the same loft, landing in the same spot each and every time. These players are not worried about anything. They are not wondering if they are using the right set for the right numbers, – if their grip is correct, – are the dice splitting. They are just using a consistent motion for consistent results.
When you get into a rhythm the brain works differently. It switches sides and goes into a sort of autopilot. You will begin hitting numbers and the money will come your way.
I have several students who either don’t want to put that much time into the practice, or maybe they don’t have the time to practice. They know the proper mechanics for a correct dice toss, but they also have that carefree attitude. They do not worry about each and every thing that can go wrong with a toss of the dice. These students will get into a great rolling rhythm and do very well in the casino, making money one session after another.
As a precision shooter, you want your practiced skills to become second nature, but you also want to attain that relaxed state that you see in rhythm rollers. Try not the “think too much—- just relax and let your practiced skills take over.
So clear your minds and allow the skills you have learned do the work. Let it all come naturally and watch your game change for the better.
Have a great new year everyone and let me know how you are doing in the casino.
If you have any questions please let us know by e-mail dicecoachlv@aol.com
And keep sending us your trip reports, they are wonderful!
Beau “Dice Coach” Parker
Queen Bee’s Buz:
Dear Readers,
I am grateful for all the kind letters I receive. I am also happy to have cutting edge information reported from our fans. In this issue Harley Horn of Las Vegas provides us with a heads up about table conditions. You know, we had lots of discussions on the Dice Setter Forum about the kinds of things casinos might do to discourage dice influencers. I never would have imagined the tactic you are about to read, the latest from our man on the street.
Dear Queen Bee,
I recently found some new casino countermeasures to keep your dice toss off axis – Wavy Under Layers at table end beneath the felt:
Four Queens Casino
This Downtown Las Vegas casino has installed washboards in the last 15 inches of the table ends ……. yes I said washboards – corrugated hard material with groves that are like mountains and valleys to dice installed under the microfiber surface and invisible to the eye, but easily felt with your fingers.
Fitzgerald’s Casino
On a recent trip to the Tunica Fitz, I found the Fitz craps tables have a similar, yet different wavy under layer beneath the felt. Again it is invisible, but your hand can feel a hard corrugated cardboard effect only in the center of the table (not in front of the hooks) starting about 3 inches from the back wall and going towards the center at least 3 feet.
In both casinos, these wavy under layer countermeasures will knock your dice off axis – avoid these goofy tables & have a Winning Time!
Live from Las Vegas, Harley Horn