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 Dice Setter Precision Shooter's Newsletter

Volume VI : Issue 4

April  2006

In This Edition:

A Few Words From Soft Touch

From the Editor

BoneTracker Revealed...Part 2

Mindful Living, Mindful Shooting - Part VII

Thinking About The Money...

A Labor of Love...

Newsletter Archive Links

PS  If you have any suggestions for the website or newsletter please send them to Ed@dicesetter.com and I'll have a look at how we can incorporate them into our future plans.

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From the Editor

 I wish to thank the subscribers that have written to me with comments about the newsletter and web site. I appreciate the feed back, questions and suggestions. Many of the things we are  implementing are a result of reader's feed back. It is Soft Touch's intention to provide this newsletter for the betterment of the dice community. Several people are working behind the scene providing you with the very best information about the game.

I have been especially impressed with the posts on the Dice Setter Forum, particularly about the gaming supervisor's comments, player's demeanor and player etiquette. The discussions going on at Quantum Craps™ continue to stretch the envelope exploring brave new concepts for gaining an edge at the table. It is an honor to be among such a positive and aware group of players. The topics being discussed and written about in March were most interesting, informative and entertaining.

Here to serve,

Ed

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BoneTracker Revealed – Part II

By Maddog -- Copyright ©2006

The place six and place eight are a couple of the lowest vig bets on the craps table.  Thoughts roll through my mind on ways to use DI to develop an edge on the sixes and eights.  Sixes and eights, sixes and eights, hmm sounds something like what a parrot would say.  Putting on my best imitation of a pirate’s pet parrot, I screech out “Pieces of eight, pieces of eight, squaaaawk”. 

That reminds me of that old Monty Python skit about the parrot;

…

[Mr. Praline]: Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this parrot what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.   

[Owner]: Oh yes, the, uh, the Norwegian Blue...What's,uh...What's wrong with it?

[Mr. Praline]: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'E's dead, that's what's wrong with it!

[Owner]: No, no, 'e's uh,...he's resting.

[Mr. Praline]: Look, matey, I know a dead parrot when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.

[Owner]: No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!

[Mr. Praline]: The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead.

[Owner]: Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!

…

 [Mr. Praline]: (yelling and hitting the cage repeatedly) 'ELLO POLLY!!!!! Testing! Testing! Testing! Testing! This is your nine o'clock alarm call!  (Takes parrot out of the cage and thumps its head on the counter. Throws it up in the air and watches it plummet to the floor.)  Now that's what I call a dead parrot.

[Owner]: No, no.....No, 'e's stunned!

[Mr. Praline]: STUNNED?!?

[Owner]: Yeah! You stunned him, just as he was wakin' up! Norwegian Blues stun easily, major.

[Mr. Praline]: Um...now look...now look, mate, I've definitely 'ad enough of this. That parrot is definitely deceased, and when I purchased it not 'alf an hour ago, you assured me that its total lack of movement was due to it bein' tired and shagged out following a prolonged squawk.

[Owner]: Well, he's...he's, ah...probably pining for the fjords.

 …

…“pining for the fjords”...chuckle-chuckle…that’s a funny sketch… ah, how my mind wanders…lets get back to those sixes and eights.

Next to the seven, the six and the eight are the next most common numbers to roll.  I know from the dice set charts that the 3V is the most effective set for tossing on-axis sixes and eights, so with this information as a starting point, I make a plan to spend the next several weeks practicing a variation of the 3V.  I hope to validate my ability to get an edge on the six and eight and to find a betting strategy to optimize that edge.

First things first, I need to set up a BoneTracker worksheet to keep track of my efforts for the next several practice sessions.  Getting on the laptop, I navigate to the directory where the working BT files are kept.  Quickly doing a simple file copy of the default BT template, I name the new copy “Mar06_32_63.xls”.  This file naming convention denotes when the rolls were recorded and the Left-Die/Right-Die configuration.  With the file set up my next step is to open the spreadsheet and enter in the toss set configuration…(Norwegian Blue… “E’s an ex-parrot”…heh heh heh)…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me pose a question. What is the primary purpose of tracking your rolls?  Whether you use roll tracking software like BoneTracker, or any other means to track rolls, what do you intend to accomplish?  I’ll suggest three objectives:

1)     Validate your ability to influence the dice.

2)     Track progress of your ability over time.

3)     Understand your Pattern of Influence to determine how it can be applied.

For today’s tour of BoneTracker Revealed, I would like to focus on objective number one, “Validate an ability to influence the dice”.

We will focus on the primary tab (worksheet); the “Roll Data” tab.  This is the place were everything gets started.   Here is a blurry look at the entire screen:

The Roll Data tab is made up of 4 sections and for the remainder of this article we’ll explore each of the following;

(1) Tossing Set Configuration

(2) Data Entry Assistant

(3) Progress Dashboard

(4) Roll Data. 

Tossing Set Section

The “Tossing Set” section (circled in the picture above) is where you configure BT to the dice set that you intend to practice and record.  This is the most critical step in setting up BT. 

Correctly entering your practice set ensures that BT will accurately provide statistics and other information about your roll data.  In the example shown here, BT has been configured to track the standard “3V” dice set permutation.  The left die is set with the 3 on top and the 2 facing you.   The right die is set with the 3 on top and the 6 facing you.  The rest of the dice face positions are entered in the appropriate cells to complete the dice set configuration (get out a pair of dice and set them up to this configuration for comparison.  This will give you a better feel for the configuration set up).

Once the practice dice set has been correctly entered, BT is configured and ready to accept roll entries.

I’d like to point out something significant here.  The design of BT is such that it is intended to track ONE set at a time.  All of the formulas that calculate the various statistics and transpositions, etc make the assumption that the roll data is the result of a toss that began with the configured “Tossing Set”.  In the example, the shooter configured BT to track the Standard 3V, so as long as he sets the dice to that permutation for each and every roll, everything will be fine.

Remember that our first goal is to “Validate an ability to influence the dice” and the primary objective is consistency in set, grip, and toss.  To determine if there is indeed consistency and not just a manifestation of expected variance, we want to roll many, many times.  Several hundreds of times even.  By picking one consistent set and focusing on repeatable on-axis, primary and secondary face hits, we will be in a very strong position to judge our consistency and ability.  We can worry about alternate sets later, once we are sure we have our groove on.

{BTW, if you wish to track another dice set permutation, create another copy of the BT spreadsheet and configure it with the new dice set permutation and begin tossing and recording that new permutation.  BT also provides some automatic dice set transpositions.  I’ll talk about these options when we cover the Transposition Tab.}

Ok, where were we?  Oh, right we just got BT configured.  Now we are ready to “roll”, and enter our results.

Data Entry Assistant (or DEA) Section

There are three basic ways to get your practice roll results into BoneTracker;

1)     Use the Data Entry Assistant (DEA) in real time.

2)     Use the DEA from previously recorded rolls (i.e. pencil/paper)

3)     Enter rolls directly into the spreadsheet, either manually or via copy&paste.

So what is the DEA?  The DEA is an on-screen grid of buttons that correspond to the 36 possible dice face combination outcomes.  With a single button-click the exact roll result is quickly recorded into the BT Roll data set.  The DEA is accessed by clicking on the large grey button, the one with the text “Click Here to Enter Rolls”.  This button is found near the top center of the Roll Data screen.  When this button as clicked, the following screen appears:

 (Note: if the screen does not appear, it is most likely because you disabled macros when you first opened the spreadsheet.  Close the spreadsheet, re-open it, and choose “enable macros” when the dialog appears.)

Each time you click on one of the squares of the DEA number grid, the corresponding roll result is entered into the Roll Data section of the BT spreadsheet.

As an example, say you toss a practice toss, using the set we configured earlier, and the roll result is an 8 (eight).  It is not good enough to record that we have rolled any old eight, we need to record the exact way this eight was rolled.  In this example we rolled the left die as a 6 and the right die as a 2.  What we do now is find the button that corresponds to a “left-die-6” and a “right-die-2”.  On the DEA screen all the buttons are labeled using the notation “Left Die Number – Right Die Number”.  Looking at the screen we see that on the bottom row, second from the left, is a button labeled “6-2”.  We click that button and our roll results are correctly recorded into the BT Roll data.

You may be asking, “Why is it important to know explicitly how the 8 rolled?”  In this example, using the Standard 3V set as the starting point, a 6-2 represents both die going off-axis (again, get out your dice out for reference, set them to the standard 3V and tip each die outwards to reveal the 6-2 on the inside faces).  If you had recorded this as a “2-6” result, that would represent an on-axis, primary face hit.  That’s quite a bit of difference, wouldn’t you say?  As you can see, it becomes extremely important to keep track of which die did what, and to enter the results correctly.  This also happens to illustrates why so many folks like to use two different colored dice in their practice.

When I practice, I set up the laptop on my pitching station where I can click the DEA buttons each time I toss a practice throw.  Toss, see result, click.  Toss, see result, click. Toss, see result, click. Continuing on this way until I end the practice session.

For folks who cannot get their computer next to their pitching station, the procedure is usually to write out their results on a worksheet.  When the practice session is complete (or after completing several practice sessions) they will take their worksheet to the computer, start BT and launch the DEA.  They can then click on the appropriate data entry buttons as they scan down the list of their recorded toss results.  This makes pretty quick work of loading the practice roll data into BT after the fact.

Roll data can also be added directly into the Roll Data section of the BT Roll Data tab if need be, and I’ll talk about that a bit more when we go over the Roll Data section.

Progress Dashboard Section

The Progress Dashboard is an “at-a-glance” subset of the information found on BoneTracker’s “Toss Stats” Tab.  The information presented here helps by providing a general overview of how your session is going.

 The first column of numbers give the primary DI tracking figures; Total number of rolls recorded, current on-axis percentage, and current Sevens-to-Rolls-Ratio.  These values are so well known and described in the DI community that I won’t go into detail on them here. 

The second column of numbers provides the Foundation-Frequencies.  These are a more specific break-down of the roll results.  The F-Fs begin with the current on-axis percentage (both die were tossed on-axis) which is followed by the detail of how those on-axis tosses occurred. 

The “Primary-Face hits” value indicates the number of times the toss resulted in one of the four initial dice set combinations.  In our example with the Standard 3V permutation, our initial dice sets has the 3-3 (top), 2-6(front faces), 4-4(bottom), and 5-1(back faces) as the primary faces for this set so each time one of these 4 combinations is rolled, our Primary Face Hit count goes up.

The “Single-Pitch hits” value shows the number of times the toss resulted in one of the eight possible one-die quarter-roll combinations.  This includes what some folks call the three-quarter roll (I personally find it easier to think of that as a single-pitch back, then a triple pitch forward).

The last value in this group is the “Double-Pitch hits”, which tells how often the on-axis result was a double pitch result (one die pitched two faces forward (or back – same thing) in relation to the other die).

The combination of the “Primary”, “Single-Pitch”, and “Double-Pitch” results make up (and add up to) the total result of the On-Axis value.  As DI’s, we want to increase the Primary and Single-Pitch results, and reduce all other roll outcomes.

In addition to the break out of the on-axis results, there is also the percentage of how often one die or the other is being tossed off-axis and finally a percentage of how often both die are being tossed off-axis.  These numbers are self-explanatory.

The Dashboard data is continually updated as you enter your practice rolls.  If you are using the DEA in real-time at your practice station, this information can help guide your practice session.  For example if I see the Double-Pitch percentage going up, and/or the One-Die Off Axis percentage going up, then in my case it usually means that I’m getting loosey-goosey with my grip and need to increase focus on my technique.  In fact after a while of tossing the same set over and over, you will get to a point where you become so familiar with the various combination results of your set that you no longer need the Dashboard to point out a weakness.  You will begin to recognize certain number patterns as signals indicating that your toss is “On” or “Off”, “grip-lazy”, etc.

A word of caution on the Dashboard:  I have at times found myself “mesmerized” by the numbers and have found myself tossing just to get a number that I want to see.  This usually never works.  Be vigilant and maintain focus on the job at hand.  Get nice consistent tosses going and the numbers and stats will follow.  Getting the numbers to sing is entirely dependent on getting the toss well tuned.

Roll Data Section

The last section of the Roll Data tab is the Roll Data itself.  This section takes up the bulk of the screen and is where roll data is recorded along with some basic information about each roll.

Most users of BoneTracker can completely ignore this section of the spreadsheet because this section contains raw roll by roll data and what happens on any given single roll is largely immaterial.  The important tracking information can be found on the Progress Dashboard, or on the “Toss Stats” tab.

For you curious types or those that are slightly twisted like me and like the nitty details of the roll information. I’ll go ahead and spell out what is found here in this section.

The roll data is split into two groupings; the “Toss Results” and the “Roll Characteristics”. 

The Toss-Results grouping is where the actual roll data is recorded.  The DEA automatically enters roll results here.  If you prefer, you can actually key in your roll results directly under the “L” (Left Die) and “R” (Right Die) columns.  The “T” (total) column is calculated automatically.  If you have dice rolls from another spreadsheet, or an export from a program such as Wincraps, this is where you will paste in that roll data.

The Roll-Characteristics grouping is a series of columns that calculate various aspects of the roll results compared to the configured Tossing Set.  Such things as “was the left die off and if so what number rolled”, “Was it a primary face hit, a secondary, a double-pitch”, “was it a hardways result”, etc.  All of this information about each individual roll is totaled and used on the “Toss Stats” tab to generate the running picture of your toss characteristics.

Validating an ability to influence the dice.

Now that we have reviewed the Roll Data tab let’s get back to the notion of validating our DI abilities.  How do these screens help us perform this validation?  By tracking the rolls and comparing the results against the statistical expectation of random roll outcomes (leave off for now the issues of sufficient sample size and expected variance from statistical norm), we are able to determine the amount and validity of a “Pattern of Influence” compared to the statistical expectations.

What is the “so-called” statistical norm?  You may have noticed when you downloaded your copy of the BT template that it comes preloaded with a normalized set of 36 rolls (one roll for each of the possible 36 face combinations).  You will also notice that the Progress Dashboard is already showing the results from this group of normalized results.  These results give a reference point for comparison to practice results.

The standardized SRR is 1:6 (shown as 6.00, the “1:” is left off), so if you find that you display an able to consistently keep the SRR over 6 (or under 6 for that matter) then you have an idea that you are exhibiting some level of influence.  Similarly the On-Axis and Foundation-Frequency values provide further evidence of, and the nature of, the influence.

Using this information a DI can begin to direct their practice activities and build the confidence and understanding needed to begin making use of their new found (or newly validated) skills.

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Ok, so there you have it.  BoneTracker’s Roll Data tab revealed.  If you are still reading this then I congratulate you on maintaining attentiveness through a boring “users-guide” type discourse.  Your ability to maintain concentration and focus will serve you well at the tables <big grin>.

Next month this tutorial will get even more exciting (cough, cough) as we take on the “Toss Stats” tab and reveal what all the various counters and percentages are trying to tell us about our ability to roll-the-bones using the DI way.

Until next time, keep your roll straight and your rack full.

/Maddog

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Mindful Living, Mindful Shooting — Part VII

Author  Jeffrey47

Scuttlebutt has it that the recommended practice regimen for DI has been revised. Yes!  It’s now urged that only ten minutes a day might do the trick. 

Apparently, too many of us complained about the puke factor.

But don’t confuse the puke factor with the pucker factor.  The pucker factor has not undergone revision, though concerns about it have been raised as well. 

The pucker factor is something we can still look forward to. 

Especially, of course, if we’ve not become sufficiently familiar with…the puke factor.  

Our Breath, Our Posture, Our Toss

There’s not likely a universal breathing technique for DI suited to every shooter, any more than there is one grip or shooting style.  But DIs who begin to focus on how breathing affects shooting are gaining insight. 

Our breath has a lot in common with our toss.  With both, we can only take one at a time.  Also, they’re both accomplished largely by habit, with conscious modulation playing an important role, too. 

But we practice shooting a lot more than we practice breathing.  You just don’t often hear someone say, “My breathing’s been a little off lately.  I gotta get in some extra practice.” 

But then…that’s not as far-fetched as it may sound.

We learn the fundamentals of DI and then build up and integrate the elements of our skill over time.  It might be wise to apply a little of that same logic to how we’re breathing when we shoot, as well.

What’s in a Breath?

Breathing is metabolic.  Its rhythms are regulated automatically by the brain to keep our muscles, organs and nervous system working right for the conditions we encounter or anticipate.

Our everyday breathing rates and rhythms can be accorded no presumptive application in our DI skillset, however, because the mental and physical requirements of dice influencing are highly specialized. 

Some DIs use an athletic-style breathing approach in their DI efforts.  But does dice influencing involve the same mental and physical dynamics as athletics?

Cross-country runners, for example, develop incredible aerobic-exchange capacities to accommodate the grueling demands of their sport. 

Basketball players seem to modulate their breathing well enough to nail free throws in relaxed form just seconds after running up and down the court for extended periods of time. 

Weight lifters huff and puff in pre-determined patterns to meet the needs of their demanding work. 

Obviously, the energy and skill demands in sports vary, and they are entirely different from DI.  Any comparison with breathing styles in athletic activities only begins our inquiry.

Less Energy, More Precision

First, compared with athletic activities, DIs require only a miniscule level of energy to satisfy the relatively low—though highly refined—mental and physical demands involved. 

Because we rely on such refined motor-coordination skills, if we’re to achieve consistency, we need to maintain our energy with even greater precision and better balance compared to any higher-energy activity.  For precision skills, a much smaller range of energy variances yields much larger relative swings within our preferred mental and physical energy states.  The tolerances are narrow.

Think of a loose spark-plug wire in a car with an eight- or twelve-cylinder engine, compared with a four-banger.  With bigger engines, the problem might barely even be noticed.  The more efficient engine’s performance, on the other hand,  will be noticeably degraded just pulling out of the driveway.  Same real-energy variance; big difference in effect.

Not only is energy regulation more critical in precision dice than in more physically demanding activities, but our energy must also be sustained and maintained through a unique cycle in which our highly concentrated efforts each time we shoot, alternate over and over with periods of considerably less-demanding activity as we wait for the dice. 

Thus, not only how we breathe when we shoot, but also how we breathe between tosses and between turns with the dice as well; all affect the consistency of our energy each time we pick up the dice.

As we discussed a moment ago, because our breathing patterns are subject to automatic controls, they are largely determined by habit.  Whether each of our individual, habitual breathing patterns are best suited for executing a controlled throw of the dice, is worth considering. 

Shallow Breathing versus Deeper Breathing

Many of us don’t breathe as well as we might.  Some experts suggest that due to chronic societal stress, quick and shallow breathing has become the norm.

Rarely is a “freeze, fight, or flight” response necessary to literally save our skin.  But once a stress response becomes the habitual reaction to the minor inconveniences of everyday life, it begins to feel normal.  Chronic shallow breathing is one of the most common symptoms of stress.  And it leads to further problems like undue stress on the heart and constricting blood vessels, in a vicious cycle ultimately leading to millions of prescriptions for a wide variety of anxiolitic medications.

Learning to reshape our stress response with improved breathing is among the objectives of practices such as yoga and meditation.  Slower, steadier, and fuller breathing not only helps manage our stress response, it also improves our spatial awareness, emotional resilience, physical stamina, and even our memory and concentration. 

Taking a few deep breaths is always relaxing.  But if we’re going to alter deeply-engrained breathing patterns in support of our skills and for improving our game, the change must emerge at a pace that allows it to become securely integrated as an element of our skillset, just like any other. 

Otherwise, our energies at critical times will always remain in too much flux to deliver the stability we need for the increased consistency we seek. 

Motor and Mental Coordination — Shooting in Rhythm with Our Breath

Besides affecting our mental and physical energy, breathing also contributes to our feeling of presence; it influences our overall posture; and it defines our sense of timing and rhythm.  The subtle and not-so-subtle movements, not only of our lungs, but our diaphragm, belly, ribcage, shoulders, spine, internal organs, and even the nervous-system energies inherent to breathing—all contribute to the quality of our spatial awareness, balance, and coordination.

At the critical juncture in our routine when we’ve resolved our intentions, our energies are narrowly focused.  Any divergence of mental or physical resources at that critical point diminishes our concentration.  Any unwarranted physical movement, too, can degrade the quality of our shot. 

As we better sense how breathing always entails movement, how it continually affects our posture, and how it influences our mental state, too, we’re going to want to consider whether the breathing and tossing rhythms we’ve been using are to our greatest advantage.

Some shooters may find they’re more focused between their breaths—during that brief moment after exhaling, but before taking their next breath.  

Time-stretcher Relaxation Exercise Revisited

There is an astonishingly close connection between the attention we pay to the dice every time we pick them up, and the likelihood we’ll be getting the job done on a given toss.

Fortunately, the dice are perfect for the job, because their inherent design allows exactly the controlled response we want from them.  Working to become intimately familiar with the qualities of the dice that allow our influence seems well advised.

A working checklist of careful observations we can make about the dice could begin something like this:

• They have an incredibly familiar and comfortable feel. 

• Their precision shape, their three-dimensionality can be felt.

• Their weight and density, the feel of their smooth faces on our fingertips, even their temperature, all send signals to our brain.

• The tensile relationship between the dice as they’re pressed together and squared    can be felt.

• Their balance as perfect reflections of one another can be appreciated. 

Paying close attention, the dice may begin to feel as if they are practically an extension of our fingertips. 

With this much information about the dice, and this much connection with them, we automatically know that they will do exactly what we tell them to do. 

When you think about it, the dice always do exactly what we tell them to do.  Dice can only do as they’re told, as they react to the forces we impart.  We have to make sure the directions we give them are right for the job.

Listening closely to what the dice have to say as we hold them helps us focus, and makes each toss feel more natural and immediate.  It helps us have the confidence we need to expect familiar results from our toss in conformity with our intentions.

Deeper Focus Dice-Awareness Technique

Just as real beauty is always more than skin deep; let’s look at the dice even more carefully—just for good measure.

During the time-stretcher exercise between practice tosses we can patiently and carefully examine the dice. 

But first, how is the light?  Do you see reflections or glare?  You may want to supplement or modify your lighting to optimize the effects of this effort. 

Is there a stamped dice-manufacturer imprint in view, and if so, is there paint in the grooves of the stamp?  Did the stamp strike each die straight on? 

Look inside the dice, too.  With polished dice we can see our fingertips in direct contact with the opposite side, like pranksters pressing their faces up against a window.  With sanded dice we can see the shadows formed by our fingers on the opposite surface.   

We can sense the inner cube-shaped contour of the dice, viewing them as if seen from within.  Gently rocking the dice, we might see distortions of their true shape and dimensions. 

Looking carefully at dice is a bit like looking at precision-cut gemstones. 

Maybe the pips, instead of looking as they do in their familiar numeric configurations, begin to look like glyphs from an ancient Mayan temple painting, or communication from a distant galaxy’s higher intelligence. 

Dice are cool!

Through efforts like these, we can establish richly detailed associations for our spontaneous apprehension and appreciation of the dice themselves, that will help inform and focus our energies, whenever we pick them up.

Extending Deep Awareness Into the Body

By priming our ability to direct our attention in increasingly refined ways, first by studying the dice, we can begin to expect to find a similar experience as we direct our attention to our body. 

Most of us are familiar with body-scan relaxation techniques, but maybe never integrated them with our practice this way.  One of the memorable inspirations of Kent Glines’ guided-relaxation sessions for me, was learning that whenever we think we’re relaxed, we can always relax a little more. 

Standing in shooting position, we might start by moving our attention to our feet, one at a time; and then move our focus to the ankles, and then our calves, and so on, staying on any area as long as necessary to feel satisfied with the effort before moving on. 

The amount of time we spend on relaxation techniques is up to us.  Just make sure we’re paying as much attention as we pay to those dice, or more. 

In a later installment, we’ll discuss how integrative and calming sensory-awareness exercises deepen our practice to enhance our skills.  Suffice to say at this point, increased complexity and synchrony of our awareness helps us develop clarity as we sharpen and refine our skills.  Weaving a multi-layered tapestry of concentrated sensate experience draws us in to our skillfully executed toss with increasing detail. 
 

Extending Deep Awareness to the Earth’s Gravitational Field…and Beyond

Gravity is something we can’t escape, while we’re on the planet anyway, and yet we rarely pause to really appreciate its effects.  That’s odd considering what an important partner we have in this always-identical, perfectly precision, and rather spectacular force that shapes and informs the space we live in and throw the dice through. 

When you think about it, the force of gravity is the only component of our game that is absolutely consistent and 100% replicable—and without any effort on our part.  Improving familiarity with gravity’s effects on us and on our game seems like a promising direction for further evaluation.

Next time, we’ll continue where we’re leaving off, and we’ll be discussing several additional matters of some gravity in Two Minds, One Toss.  Later on, we’ll be discussing the mental dynamics of creating precise baseline mechanics in The Curare Effect: Turning Up the Gain By Turning Down the Noise.

© 2006 Jeffrey47

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Thinking About The Money…

 Michael Vernon

A thought precedes everything you do. Your thoughts influence your reality. What you think and what you believe has a way of manifesting right before you very eyes. Quantum physics is just beginning to explain the mind body connections. I recommend the movie, What the Bleep Do We Know. This movie provides thought-provoking concepts particularly applicable to the metaphysical examples presented in my workshops and newsletter. The metaphysics of intention are important in all games and can show up in casino games with your first move – the buy-in.

Next to not having a complete knowledge of a game of chance, a mistake a player can make is entering a game under bankrolled. Sometimes, it is simply a matter of the player just being limited to $50. If that is the case, fair enough, that player is taking a flyer on a lottery ticket. Good luck and good fun!

On the other hand, a player with the proper capital, entering a game with too little bankroll to support their style of play, is handicapping their success. Their strategy is what I call, “playing out of pocket”. If they lose the small buy-in, they have more money in the pocket, waiting its turn in the fray. It is as if their intention is to keep pulling bills out until, either they catch a hand, or they run out of bills. This method of play may appear to employ a form of money management, because the player has the discipline to keep most of the money out of play until needed. The player starts by risking a little. If they lose the initial investment, they have in their pocket, a back up plan. They will reach in and risk a little more, and then, still more. Before long, the player notices that the $100 buy-in has the look of a $500 loss. The pocket is empty and the “fun” is done.

The connection to money and a positive thought form during the buy-in seems to go unnoticed. Most players seem to behave as if all they are doing is exchanging money for the tokens necessary to play the game. I suggest that the buy-in is one of the more crucial elements of empowering a player. When climbing into the ring against the heavy weight champ, there can be no hoping, that maybe, you will be lucky and knock him out. The intention has to be over the top confident and to be fully armed and prepared for battle.

Obviously, the more money that you have to play with, the longer you can play the game. If you had unlimited bankroll, you could virtually play long enough to catch a run and own the casino. Most players do not have unlimited funds and as such, have a conscious or subconscious thought form of limited abundance. This is one of the mind-body connections, having a thought or belief in lack when you buy-in to a game. It is a given that the player has a limit to their funds. You must enter the game with a total confidence that you have properly capitalized your game in order to win. You must feel that you are giving your invested money a fighting chance against the probable odds. Anything less is a liability to your success.

Limited abundance comes from a limited thought that there is not enough. With a belief of lack, there is never enough. It becomes personal and created from conditioning experiences of never having all that you deserve. You can have it all, but first, you must believe that you can. It is a matter of what you allow yourself to have or not have. It is the dialog that you have with yourself everyday. Your thoughts manifest your reality. If you want to change your reality, change your paradigm. Change what you believe and what you say to yourself. The universe is totally abundant.  As presented in the movie I referenced earlier, don’t have a dollop of positive thinking covering a huge mound of negative beliefs. The core belief has to be that you deserve your win. I relate to this because it is my dedication to work on this each and every day.

Okay, sometimes when buying into a game under bankrolled, it may well be a matter of the player not knowing what constitutes the proper amount of money needed for their style of play. However, it seems to me, most players enter the game with an emotion that is backed by a thought form that perhaps sounds something like this.

·        “I hope this is enough, otherwise I will pull out more money if I lose.”

·        “If I lose this hundred, I will do a re-buy with another hundred.”

·        “I don’t want to lose more than $100 and that is all I will play with.”

·        “I hope I hit it lucky and I can win on $50.”

·        “This is all I have to lose, when it is lost, I quit!”

These kinds of thoughts preceding the buy-in are really saying:

I am worried and scared.

I feel hopeless and alone..

I hope that I don’t lose it all.

If I do lose, I have a little bit more to lose.

I am uncomfortable with losing.”

Everyone knows and has heard, “Don’t’ play with scared money.” Most players understand this to mean not playing with money that you do not have to lose. Of course, it does mean that. I want you to think about your comfort level with losing. I’d like you to think about scared money in another way. I want you to think about your available bankroll and your intentions for winning before entering a game. Be aware of your thoughts around your bankroll. Do you project negative intention when you buy-in to a game? Are you buying-in with money that is not “secure” in your feelings? 

1.      Are you detached from the loss?

2.      Do you have the financial support for your style of play?

3.      Do you have the discipline to walk away from a losing situation?

4.      Does your intention affirm a positive result?

5.      Are you confident or is there a hint of lack, hoping that $100 will be enough.

6.      Are you comfortable with your level of risk and your unit of play?

 How much you buy-in with is always going to be a personal matter. I teach conservative gaming. For either blackjack or craps, I recommend a minimum of 30 units. For the craps player, the recommended bankroll would be 30 units times the base bet made. Personally, I usually buy-in for more, sometimes double.

This is the tricky part playing the "thought form mind game". My intention is that I want a battalion in front of me ready to do battle. I may not need the whole army, and if I do, I am financially committed up front. I am not holding on to a thought of “if I lose this, I have more in my pocket.” I consider a second buy-in chasing a loss. Never chase a loss. Buying-in with the proper bankroll makes the statement of willingness, intention, commitment and preparedness.

The belief preceding the buy-in is the foundation for all that comes next. I am totally prepared and I have everything that I need to challenge the casino in a zero sum game, with the odds set against me to win. I know what I am getting into and I have done everything to prepare for the challenge. The financial strategy is in place. The only options, once you are in the game, are deciding to play through the bankroll, or having the discipline to quit and walk away.

To buy-in under bankrolled and hoping it will be enough, or having the strategy of a re-buy if things don’t go well is projecting a thought form that will likely draw the very experience of not having enough capital. It is setting yourself up for failure before you make your first bet. You are thinking that you don’t have enough and in the end you will not.

To conclude, a proper bankroll is necessary to have a consistency with success in casino games. Your reasons for your allotted buy-in and your thoughts about your invested bankroll are powerful. I suggest that you are clear with your intentions, affirming that you have ample support financially, when you enter a game.

The thoughts you have about your money as you enter the game have a way of reflecting back to you. To engage in even the slightest negative thought is a luxury you can ill afford, especially in a game of chance. These ideas of mind over matter are under continual research as more is discovered about quantum physics, metaphysics and the powers of the mind. Anyone is capable of positive thought and the best part is that it costs you nothing to play the mind game. It’s free and precious few things are these days that can deliver the potential power of so much promise. The mind game connection is a game within the game. Always play to win! You win by using every thread of cunning at your disposal.

Michael Vernon “The Professor”

Copyright ©2006

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