(read part I here or Part 2 here)
Two campers where hiking in the forest. All of a sudden, a bear jumps out the bushes and starts chasing them. Both campers start running for their lives when one of them stops, and starts to put on his running shoes. His partner says, “What are you doing? You can’t outrun a bear!” His friend replies, “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun YOU!”
I mention that, because the first question reminded me of it.
| Q: | No matter how good your dice-shooting is, the 7 is eventually going to appear, and it will wipe out all of your big bets. If I press my bets more than two times, the 7 usually appears. How do you contend with that? |
| A: | It’s pretty simple. Before you start pressing (increasing) your bets, you want to lock-up an early profit that exceeds the sum of all the bets that you currently have on the table. Take a look in The Mad Professor’s Playbook, or read-up on regressions or “up & pull” methods elsewhere on this site. You are not looking for the elusive “never-ending” roll. That’s just a silly dream. Rather, you simply want one hit that will allow you to regress your wagers, and then take further profit from additional hits. You don’t have to outrun EVERY 7, you just have to run quick enough to catch that first paying hit. After that, you are in Fat City, and a 7 can’t dent your bankroll. |
| Q: | I usually just scan your articles looking for stuff about your long rolls. I read about your long-rolls, but my game still hasn’t improved. What’s wrong? |
| A: | I would suggest that just looking at one aspect of the game is a big mistake. It took me a long time to put together a cohesive plan that would actually work consistently in a casino. |
Zeroing in on just one aspect is limiting your game, and therefore limiting your chances of success. To be a well-rounded player, you have to do MORE.
Skiers and golfer alike fall into that trap. They think that if they buy the best clubs or ski equipment that they will excel. This usually couldn’t be farther from the truth. For success at craps, or for life itself, it takes the right attitude, aptitude, skills-set, methods, and approach.
You then take all of those well-honed attributes and practice until you are ready to puke. Then you practice some more. You intersperse your practice sessions with occasional in-casino sessions. These sessions bring a perspective and real-life experience to your game. I would recommend a ratio of at least 30:1 practice-to-real sessions. After each of those “real” sessions, you go back and analyze what went wrong and what went right. You look at the threats and opportunities that are present in your game. It takes a lot of maturity to do that. Most people will rationalize their mistakes, and over-emphasize their short-term successes. You then continue to work on sharpening the skills that you already have, and you work on gaining the skills that you still require. It takes a tremendous amount of commitment. Then you practice some more until you wonder whether it is all worth it. Then you still have to practice some more. At that point, you start at the top of this paragraph and do it all again.
When you have fully, honestly and completely finished 70 to 80 full-circuits of this process; you should be seeing meaningful results. If you are not willing to do that; then there is always those big, shiny, flashing Wheel of Fortune slot machines that are waiting for those who don’t have the dedication or commitment. Like I said before, it’s The Toughest Way to Make An Easy Living
| Q: | I like reading your articles, but some of them are pretty long-winded. Don’t you ever have a short answer to a question? |
| A: | No. |
| Q: | Do you ever give out advice to other players at the table? If so, what is it? |
| A: | No, not unless they ask me a specific question. If I am with friends, the only advice I will give them is to hold off on my shooting until I get into a groove. They usually ignore that advice. I don’t even tell my girlfriend how to bet. If, on her rolls, she’s not taking advantage of something, I will sometimes make a bet on her behalf. |
| Q: | I’m planning a trip to Vegas. How difficult is it to find empty tables, and will they give me any heat if I win too much? |
| A: | Empty tables are pretty easy to find, even in the big houses. Now I can’t promise that there will be an empty table at Bally’s at 11:00 pm on a Saturday night. You may have to “shop around” for an empty table especially on the Strip on a busy weekend during prime-time. Off-hours, from 4:00 am to 10:00am are the best times to find them. |
To answer the second part about “heat”, I’ll relate it to what I do. If I stick around and roll hand after hand, the casino will soon associate MY face with the disappearance of THEIR money. I don’t mind if they think that I’m lucky. I DO NO want them to think that I am skillful.
Additionally, as I start having a good hand on an empty table, other players from surrounding tables will quickly drift in. It doesn’t take too many small waves of players to fill up what looks to be a hot table. After I 7-Out, it usually will take the dice another 45 to 60 minutes until they rotate around to my position again. So, as soon as I finish my hand I’d rather get the hell outta Dodge City, and seek greener felt-pastures at another empty table, or at a different casino, where I’ll start the process all over again.
| Q: | I e-mail requested and received my Players Card from Terrible’s Casino Hotel in Vegas. That’s the first time that a casino has ever sent me my card by mail. Anyway, they sent some incredible offers for food, gas and cigarettes. Can you confirm that they give away free cartons of cigarettes? |
| A: | Yes, beside all the normal food and room comps, your slot points or table play can be converted into cartons of Marlboro’s, cases of Pepsi, or gallons of gasoline. I don’t smoke, but the free gas is a good bonus. |
| Q: | What dice set do you use? What is your throw like? Back-hand or under-hand? Do you favor backspin, no spin or forward spin? Using the “pincher grip”, I would think there is not much spin or rotation? |
| A: | All the sets and grips that I use for various situations are contained in my articles. The “bounce” of the table determines how much forward-spin, back-spin, or no-spin (dead-cat bounce) that I use. I keep detailed records of every table that I play at. I know that it sounds like a lot of work, but the results are worth it. |
Dice Doctor and I were discussing this very subject where it concerns certain Downtown LV casinos, especially those at the Freemont Hotel. I cover this subject in much greater detail in an upcoming article.
The Pincer-grip is ideal for ME, because I can control exactly how much spin of any sort that I impart to the dice. I haven’t found any other grip that does it quite as well.
| Q: | What criteria do you use to qualify a shooter? Is it strictly 5-count? |
| A: | No. If it is for a random-roller, I am looking for anything that might indicate a certain rhythm that he may unconsciously be using. If he starts to throw a good amount of Place numbers, then I am not as hesitant to bet on him. But you have to understand, that betting on ANY random-roller is risky. You are in a casino, and it is gambling. I like the idea of de-randomizing the dice so that we engineer and reduce the risk associated with craps. The only way I know how to do that, is by Precision-Shooting. The next best alternative, which is much lower on my list of profit-generators, would be to get in on a lucky roll with a random-shooter. That is a rare occurrence, and cannot be counted upon to pay the freight. |
Thanks again for all the great questions. I hope the answers were helpful.
Good Luck & Good Skill at the Tables…and in Life.
The Mad Professor
