Questions from Cyber-Space

Hundreds of questions pour in from cyber-space.  Many are repeated time and time again.  In some cases, I've already discussed certain items in an article that a reader may have missed.  In other cases, it's a thought-provoking question that deserves quiet reflection.  Here is a sampling which have recently come my way:

Q: How do you hold the dice in order to get those longer rolls?

A: The actual grip is unusual, in that I use a "pincer-type" hold.  That is, I use my thumb and my middle (bird) finger to hold the outside axis of the dice.  My index finger is bent, and does not touch the surface of the dice.  If you can picture a pair of ice-tongs with only a small surface on each metal face actually holding the dice, you have a very good idea of what I do.

When thrown, the dice rotate in tandem (or in "mirror") with each other.  This grip is somewhat difficult to master, but has provided the most success and comfortable throwing motion for me.  Each individual is different.

Q: Since your sole source of income is from craps, how much do you earn?

A: Last year I made a little under $400,000 in net income after taxes and expenses.  The past four years have each averaged around the $300,000 net income mark.  In the past seven years, my annual net income has never dropped below $100,000.

Q: Are the amounts used in your Playbook the actual dollar amounts you use to earn $1,000 a day? 

A: The $1,000 mark is my win-goal.  In most cases, I exceed that by a fair amount.  If I don't hit that goal, which occasionally happens, I am either unfocused, tired, irritated or over-playing.  In each case, a rest is required. 

Q: What do you do in your spare time?

A: I love the great outdoors.  I enjoy off-roading in my AM General Hummer; I like jet-skiing and wind-surfing.   I collect exotic cars, and take part in a number of vintage motor-sport events around the world.  I also snow-ski and hike quite a bit.  Plus I enjoy the company of a number of close friends in quite a few different cities; so travel, fine food and good wine are also among my interests.

Q: What is your average session bankroll?

A: I usually buy-in for $1,000 at the smaller houses, and $1,000 to $3,000 at the larger ones.  It all depends on my session time expectation, and whether my buy-in is to assist in garnering better perks, or in justifying current high-end comps.

Q: What are your table stop-loss limits?

A: A $500 loss-limit is my threshold of patience.

Q: Since 75% of your income is earned from your own precision-shooting, how much is earned from other precision-shooters, and random-rollers?

A: About 20% is from other Precision-Shooters, and 5% from lucky random-rollers.  That's not to say that one great hand from a random-roller can't produce my $1,000 win-goal all by itself.  It can and sometimes does.  In that case, I look at it as a bonus of playing what I consider to be a very enjoyable game.

Q: How much travel do you actually do every year?

A: It varies, but I usually am away from "home", about eight months of the year.  As you can see, it's more of a lifestyle than a series of trips to various vacation destinations.  I enjoy driving, flying and boating, and I have been able to combine all those things into my casino adventures.

Q: Have you ever been kicked out of a casino?

A: No, but I have been barred from shooting.

Q: How many professional craps players are there in the world?

A: I'll quantify "professional" to mean anyone who plays on a regular basis, and earns at least $50,000 per year in NET income from craps.   To that end, I personally know about 30 professional players.  There are also definitely about 20 more, based on very good and reliable information from unimpeachable sources.  Some "experts" who sell certain training systems suggest that there may be as many as 300, although I do not believe that estimate.  An educated guess based on a couple of different factors, indicate that the true number is around 100 players who earn at least $50,000 per year solely from playing craps.

Q: What exact wording do you use to tell the dealer that you are placing a piggy-back bet on your Place numbers for them.

A: I say "Put one unit piggy-backed on my 6 & 8 for the crew."  If I get a "deer-caught-in-the headlights" look of bewilderment, I explain that if it hits; they "drop" the profit, and keep the original "dealer" bet in play to hit again and again.  Their face then usually takes on a look of anticipatory glee.  After a couple of hits, I will use some of their winnings to increase their "piggy-backed" bet for them.

Q: If you had to rely solely on random shooters at crowded times, on average how many hours would it take you to hit your $1,000 daily profit goal?

A: I would probably have to abandon craps as a money-making venture all together. 

Q: How many days and/or hours each week do you play?

A: It averages out to about five days a week.  In total, my average weekly playing time is about 20 to 30 hours.

Q: How often do you hit or miss the $1,000 daily mark?

A: Currently I hit that win-goal 19-out-of-every-20 attempts.

Q: Where do you normally play?

A: My playing time is split as follows:

Q: How long will it be before all of the casino's ban dice setting, and then what will you do for income?

A: I don't know if or when casinos will ban dice-setting.   Some casinos do it now.  Those that do, seem to have a "No winners allowed here!" attitude.  My sense of it, is that many players will try, but few will succeed at Precision-Shooting, and the casinos will realise that they have very little to worry about.  As far as other revenue-producing pursuits, my stock portfolio and real-estate investments generate sufficient income for a decent lifestyle, aside from what I make at craps.  For the past seven years, I have re-invested any and all gains that those investments have made, and I use craps as my sole source of discretionary income.

Q: Do you ever play in Atlantic City?

A: Yes, but because of the crowded table conditions, I limit my time in that jurisdiction.  I used to play there all the time in the mid-'80's to the early-'90's.  That was before Mississippi, Louisiana, New York, Illinois, Ontario, Detroit, etc. had gaming established.  In fact, one of the funnier things I remember was that in the early gaming days of AC, all the craps dealers had huge scratches on their hands caused by some players grabbing their Pass Line win payments so quickly and aggressively.

Q: What is the longest craps roll ever recorded?

A: It was 3 hours and 6 minutes at the California Casino Hotel in downtown Las Vegas.  I was not there, but I sure would have liked to be in on that monster roll.  One small note: my good friend "Hawaii Joe" was there, and he said that the shooter was a dice-setting Precision-Shooter. 

Q: How often will random-rollers have good hands?

A: Out of two rotations around a crowded table, there is about a 10% chance that one shooter will have a good 30-roll hand.  It would take, on average, about 300 shooters between 30-roll hands. Only 1-out-of-10,000 random-shooters will throw 50 rolls or more.  So when it does occur, take advantage of it because it doesn't happen often. About 2 percent of all shooters will have rolls longer than twenty throws.

Q: Do you drink when you play?

A: I never drink alcohol before or during play.  I drink bottled water, lots of fruit juices, and the occasional coffee.

Q: Are you friends with any Pit Bosses or Senior Casino Management?

A: Yes, I've gotten to know quite a few of them very well over the past couple of decades.  We've become friends with a number of them who understand not only the dynamics of the entire gaming industry, but who also value sincere personal friendships. 

Q: Have you ever trained anyone else to become a Precision-Shooter?

A: Yes, there are three others whom I have fully trained.  Two of them currently play professionally, and the third only plays sporadically because of the remote location of their job posting. 

Q: Are there any professional female craps players?

A: Yes, I know of two who play professionally.  One lady is from the Pheonix/Scottsdale, Arizona area, and the other is my girlfriend, who currently makes about $80,000 net per year.  She enjoys the leisure, travel and shopping lifestyle that craps provides, but her patience and stamina level at the tables is quite low.

Q: How long should I practice throwing on my home-built table?

A: I would practice until your average rolls-between-sevens is consistently about 12 rolls.  At that point, I would then have someone list on a single line what every roll is until it 7's-out.  They would then start a new line, and continue charting.  You would then look at the charts to determine what particular numbers you are throwing a preponderance of.  On this site, there is an excellent article on determining the "weighting" of your particular rolling style.  That would be the FIRST step in the process to get you ready for the real-world of casino gaming.

Q: I understand that Bankroll, Knowledge, Betting Method and Skill are important to becoming a good player.  What else is important?

A: Discipline, Attitude and Maturity are just as important as those attributes.

Q: I understand that you believe in using Casino Credit, where have you established credit?

A: The answer would be shorter if I answered where I DON'T have credit.  I have credit with every major and most minor gaming corporations in Nevada, Mississippi and New Jersey. I Do Not have credit at some of the smaller Las Vegas and Reno casinos, where I strictly play with cash.  At some of the "independent" or Indian casinos, I also like depositing "front-money" into the casino cashiers cage where I have not set up a credit account.  That way, ALL play is rated, and it demonstrates seriousness about exposing your playing bankroll to the house edge.  It usually results in enhanced comps. 

Q: What advice would you give to someone just starting out.

A: I would say to practice as much as possible.  Read everything about the subject as you can, and don't expect to progress too quickly.  Understand that the people who are making a living at this game, didn't start to make money the instant they started play.  Almost everyone had to put in years of effort before finding the right combination.  There is only one person that I know of who was able to go from being a "new player" to "professional" in under three months.  I'll be writing about that individual in an upcoming article.

Good Luck & Good Skill at the Tables…and in Life.

By:  The Mad Professor

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