How to Find and PROFIT from
a Precision-Shooter
By Mad Professor
I don't know
any secret handshakes, and I don't have a Captain Crunch decoder ring, nor am I a lifetime
charter-member of the Fraternal Order of Water Buffalo, but I can recognize a
Precision-Shooter who is likely to win me some money.
I can
venture into any casino in the world that has craps, walk up to their tables, and in a
fairly short amount of time determine if any of the players there are more than likely to
win me some money. Oh sure, I can wait and
hope and pray that someone will have a hot hand
and you can bet that I'll be riding
their wave of good fortune too; but I can't make a living off of luck alone, especially in
a negative-expectation game like craps.
I look
for a particular-type of craps player who takes the game seriously, and who has added a
weapon to his arsenal that just might give him that slight edge against the casino. You can call it Rhythmic-Rolling; you can call it
De-Randomizing the dice
I call it an opportunity to MAKE MONEY!
Many
people arrange the dice to a particular set, and then shake them in their hands before
chucking them haphazardly down the table
that's not a Precision-Shooter. Some people will carefully set the dice, and then
let go with a Nolan Ryan-type fastball pitch that could easily reach the back wall of the
casino let alone the back-wall of the dice table
that's not a Precision-Shooter. Still other people will set the dice, and then
loft them. After making quite a few rolls and
hitting several numbers, they will shoot at an entirely new spot on the table because
although they've rolled eight or ten times and hit Place numbers most of those times,
their Point number has yet to appear. Feeling
impatient with their efforts, they feel the need to "get on with it". They surely do get on with it since the dice are
invariably moved on to the next shooter because of the "7-out" that they just
rolled
that is not a Precision-Shooter.
The
Precision-Shooter arranges the dice to various "sets" or
dice-face combinations. These sets are
dependant upon a number of variables such as his shooting style or more importantly
whether it is the come-out roll or the Point has already been established. He knows that a particular set will give him a
higher occurrence of some numbers over others that would normally appear out of the
thirty-six dice combination possibilities.
The
Precision-Shooter grips the dice in such a way that he will have
full control of the dice through the entire motion of his arm and wrist movement up until
the point when he releases the dice. There
are several different grips such as the often used "three-fingers on the front and
thumb on the back", or the "stacked dice squeeze", or my favorite
"thumb and fourth finger axis-pincer" grip.
The use of different grips in craps is exactly the same as grip variations in
baseball such as the fast-ball, sinking-ball, slider, etc. all demanding different grips
on different parts of the baseball. Professional
baseball pitchers don't just randomly throw the ball forward like it's a shot-put or bird
seed in the unlikely hope that the umpire calls it a strike.
The
Precision-Shooter aims the dice to a specific spot on the table. Without getting into a long dissertation about
where to throw the dice, suffice it to say that several spots work well. The dice table is the batter's box, and the
strike-zone can often vary from table to table. In
fact, new dice at the beginning of a shift will react totally differently than heavily
used eight hour-old worn dice. The same holds
true for worn-out felt layouts versus new ones, or tables where a spongy underlay has been
installed under the felt. Each situation has
to be looked at and evaluated. Too much work? For 99% of craps players the answer to that would
be "hell yeah". However, for the
500 or so people who make a fine living playing craps, I would humbly suggest that their
answer would be quite different.
The
Precision-Shooter lofts the dice without too much force or in-air
spin. What spin you do see is on the forward
axis only. When the dice land you will see a
little bit of forward tumbling, but the dice stay on the same axis. They may hit the base of the pyramid-shaped
"egg-crate" wall, and gently roll back a turn or two, or just stop dead at the
base of the wall. The important observation
is that the Precision-Shooter does it consistently. A
consistent throw, whether in baseball, bowling, football or craps, is the path to profit.
The
Precision-Shooter observes the dice as to their outcome. He knows from his previous experience that he
will throw a heavier portion of some numbers compared to others. He will set his betting pattern to take maximum
advantage of those numbers as they are rolled. If
particular numbers are showing up frequently on his current roll, he may even adjust his
betting to take into account these short-term opportunities.
The
Precision-Shooter understands the dice and what they are doing, and understands the
dice game, its randomness and the effect he can have on de-randomizing the outcomes of his
rolls. He understands that if his shooting
produces a lot of 3's, his betting will reflect that knowledge even after the come-out
roll, and even though the house edge appears to be very high; that bet may be his
consistent "money-maker". Another
Precision-Shooter may recognize that he throws a lot of outside Place numbers and bets
accordingly. Yet another Precision-Shooter
doesn't have any idea what he'll be throwing, but he does know that his average throws
before the 7 shows is currently 18 rolls and climbing.
While this player's betting pattern may be more difficult, his opportunity
is higher because the longer he holds the dice, every roll becomes a potential win-fall of
profit.
So if
you are standing at the craps table, observe each shooter.
Are they setting the dice, and using a particular grip? Do they seem to be taking aim at an invisible
target area on the table, and gently lofting the dice without causing too much spin? Are some numbers appearing in disproportionate
amounts than others? If he's thrown nine 4's
and six 10's, but neither the 6 or 8 have appeared, that would probably be a sign to even
a vision-impaired person that an opportunity to make money was clearly at hand. If he is
always throwing more than eight times before a "7-out", and his roll-count is
consistently over twelve, then you don't need to call Jo-Jo from the Psychic Friends
Network
you need to be betting on this guy's roll because you have found yourself a
bona-fide Precision Shooter.
Good Luck and
Good Skill at the tables.
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