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Ask the Mad Professor
Part 7
(read part I
here or Part 2
here or Part 3
here or
here for part 4 or
here for part5 or
here for part 6 )
At the
annual class Christmas party, a kindergarten teacher was receiving gifts from her pupils.
The florist's son handed her a gift. She shook it, held it overhead, and
said, "I bet I know what it is - some flowers." "That's right,"
the boy said, "but how did you know?" "Oh, just a wild guess," she
said.
The next
pupil was the candy-store owner's daughter. The teacher held her gift overhead, shook it,
and said, "I bet I can guess what it is a box of candy. That's right,
but how did you know?" asked the girl. "Oh, just a wild guess," said the
teacher.
The next
gift was from the son of the liquor-store owner. The teacher held it over her head, but it
was leaking. She touched a drop of the leakage with her finger and touched it to her
tongue. "Is it wine?" she asked. "No," the boy replied.
The teacher repeated the process, touching another drop of the leakage to her tongue.
"Is it champagne?" she asked. "No," the boy replied. The
teacher then said, "I give up. What is it?" The boy replied, "A
puppy!"
The
e-mail bag contained a few negative questions and comments over the Christmas Holidays.
Perhaps not everyone is in that giving and loving mood this year.
Q: |
I
read where you were talking up the Four Queens Hotel in Las Vegas. What a loser.
This place is a dump. I was
there with a group of shooters a couple of months ago.
The only way I would stay here is if my other choice is a campground in the
desert. This is one place that it doesn't matter how much you win on the tables or
machines...you are still a big loser. I don't even think the sleazy escort services would
send a whore to me if I was staying there again. |
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A: |
Generally when I talk about a specific hotel/casino, I am talking about
Craps PLAYING conditions. Unless I speak
about their specific restaurants or rooms, or suites, or comps, or valet parking or shows
or attractions; I am usually talking about playing craps in a casino, not doing a Frommers Travel Report for the Travel
Network. |
I stand by what I originally said about the 4Qs. Their two tables are some of the most perfect
tables for MY shooting. The dealers are a
little spotty, as are some of the box-people, but if I was to choose only ONE casino, and
ONE table to play at, I would pick theirs. Oh,
by the way, good luck and good health to you and your wife with those higher-priced Strip
hookers.
Q: |
I
hate reading your long articles. Theres
just too much information that I have to pick through.
Is it possible to take the essential stuff and just list the important
things? |
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A: |
Just like the commandments, there are a few essential things in life and
in craps that will keep you out of trouble. However, avoiding trouble doesnt necessarily lead you into
success. Reading
a menu-style list may help to summarize what is important, but that is like
saying that the epic novel War and Peace is about, well
war and peace. Its true of course, but that didnt
enrich your knowledge one little bit did it? If
you cant read and absorb my articles, then I wish you good luck in all
your future casino pursuits, because unfortunately good skill may elude you. |
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Q: |
Ive
read a lot of stuff written by you and Heavy about tipping.
Both he and you think that it creates some kind of positive vibes from the
dealers, and that they are more likely to make mistakes in your favor. This whole tipping anybody who can walk and chew
gum at the same time has gotten way out of hand everywhere, especially in Las Vegas. I think the both of you are nuts or full of shit,
or both. If a dealer cheats on a payoff in
your favor, the both of you are most likely to be caught, and you could be charged with
conspiracy in trying to rip-off the casino. What
are you going to do if your ass ends up in jail? How
much do you think your tip is worth then? |
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A: |
If
you dont feel comfortable tipping, then dont.
However, you can expect to be treated like just another tourist
that theyll grind into casino dust. We
are not conspiring with any dealers whatsoever. Rather,
we tip for good service. It may be a sad
commentary about modern society, but in a money-driven town like Las Vegas, it is the
common-denominator. If a dealer makes a
mistake in his rush to pay-off a winning bet, then it is not incumbent upon me to point it
out. If a dealer books a bet or
retroactively refuses a bet at an appropriate time that benefits the player, then
thats okay too. |
Further,
box-men are more likely to settle a dispute in a players favor if they are a good-tipper. I rarely run into disputes because my bets are
clearly stated at the right time in the bet-paying/bet-placing process. Most of those problems are created when players
try to bet or alter their Place bets out of turn. If
you are pleasant towards a dealer, and you call out your bets at the appropriate time,
then less confusion will prevail. Trying to
set-up bets out of order leads to most of the confusion at a craps table. It may be that most players do not know that there
is a particular sequence that a dealer is supposed to follow; or whether they are too
enthusiastic in getting their bets booked by the dealer.
Good dealers appreciate a player who is skilled in that particular area of
behavior. Its a small thing but it
makes a world of difference in how dealers regard you.
Common-courtesy and good manners are something that not all players
practice.
Also,
dealers and box-men are more lenient when it comes to affording a tipping-player more
latitude in his shooting-style and stance. Its
not uncommon for them to block any new players from crowding the shooter (me), or to see
them use the rake (stick) to move bets at the opposite end of the table so that my
target-area or roll-out lane is clear. I
dont ask for that service; they provide it out of common-sense in providing their
tokes (tips) the highest likelihood of paying off.
Q: |
In Ask The Mad Professor Part I you said, When I am with a few of my cohorts,
they tip for the entire table with green or black chips when the cocktail waitress comes
around. What kind of people can tip
$25 or $100 every time they bring drinks around? |
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A: |
Let me re-state again
what I said the first time around, and that is that I DO NOT PERSONALLY DO THAT.
Ive got to tell you that I would feel uncomfortable doing it unless a waitress
brought a bottle of Cristal or Dom for the entire table. I do not see myself placing
that kind of order, nor making that kind of tip in my future plans. However, you
have to realize that SOME of the people who frequent some of the casinos in LV, can and do
tip exorbitantly. They do so for a variety of reasons. Im not going to
discuss various psychological motivations that drive people. But please understand
that some of these are the same type of guys who, as Ray Liotta would say, tip the
bartender $20 just for keeping the ice-cubes cold. The over-the-top,
old-Vegas, flamboyant lifestyle is the way that they choose to live their lives. I
am not promoting, criticizing or defending their actions or their lifestyle. |
Q: |
I too find table
variations, and different "sweet spots" from table to table and casino to
casino. In finding your landing spot, do you search for your target path so that it
is 20-25 degrees to the back-wall in line with the landing area? I have found that hitting the back-wall at an
angle helps in keeping the dice on axis. I
find that it is better than hitting the wall from straight on, trying to hit a pyramidal
point square, which leads to more roll depending on where the tip of the pyramid hits the
die in that quadrant. What do you think? |
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A: |
Some people have found that shooting into
the opposing corner of the table actually helps their accuracy. They theorize that
the points of the pyramids are closer together. That may be correct.
Personally, I try not to hit the back-wall that far up on any region of the table.
When I throw, the dice usually just roll into the bottom margin of the wall where
there are not ANY pyramids. |
There are a few tables
where I have found corner-shooting to be very good. Two of the five tables at the Gold Coast; three at
Ballys; and all of the tables at Excalibur are a few excellent examples.
Well folks, that just about wraps it up
for this session.
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
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