(chopped and pecked into casino dust)
I used to really enjoy hit and run sessions. I have a really short threshold for the casino environment, so a get in and get out hit and run session used to be a great way to get a craps fix without spending hours on end at the tables.
USED to enjoy. The more consistent you get at dice influencing, hit and run sessions make less and less sense. You’ll see why.
Last Saturday, South Shore Swamie and I pull into Reno about 7AM. By 7:30 we’re sauntering up to the only open table at Harrah’s. No stick, no box, one other player. A dice influencers dream situation. After about a half hour’s play, I’m up about $60. There were no spectacular hands but the three of us were holding our own and keeping the table on the warm side. South Shore and I are making wagers for the dealers, and they’re hitting so everyone is happy and the ambience is casual and fun. South Shore, who is relatively new to dice influencing, is developing a very nice toss.
About 8:00, the table begins to fill. And cool down. Cool changes to cold. Cold changes to frigid. By 9:00, the table is packed to the gills. South Shore, who plays more frequently than I do, makes the smartest move at this point, and colors up and gets his breakfast comp. I on the other hand, have come to play, and play I shall. I have a method of qualifying shooters which is a mish-mash of the 5 count, follow the trend, dark side play and assorted other factors. In Vegas, this worked like a charm, at this table, the outcome was dismal. If I sat out a new shooter, he or she would make a point. I’d then go up on the 6 and 8 and they’d quickly seven out. If there were some quick seven outs and I moved to the don’t, the shooter would roll a natural on the come out or make a point before sevening out. My own hands at throwing were nothing to write home about. I generally at least broke even on my own hands, but the table chop and chicken feeders were grinding away at my buy in.
I will interject here that the tables themselves were DREAMY for precision shooters, just the right amount of bounce. My throwing was “on” and most of my seven outs were what I call, “perfect sevens” which means they were the appropriate seven for the crossed sixes set. (6 – 1). As I said, I was shooting fine, generally hitting my signature numbers, (5,6,9) but just not getting the desired outcome.
At 10:00AM, a couple of pals I had arranged to meet, arrive. They are new-ish PARR players. Another table opens and the three of us move to it. This table too is a precision shooters dream, but none of us can string anything of note together. We decide to take a break as this table also begins to fill. We get our comps for breakfast. I’m down $140.
There’s nothing quite like sitting around after a session and talking to other like minded players. We discuss sets and grips and such. The PARR shooters have not taken the class yet, but their toss is quite nice already. I attribute this mainly to the fact that one; they’re already pretty dedicated to learning the skill, and two, they’re women and I firmly believe that women make better precision shooters.
Anyway, breakfast over, we all go our separate ways. I was the only one to head back to the tables.
The only position open is straight out. I buy in for $100. I play very conservatively, get the dice after 15 minutes and have my shortest hand of the day, 4 rolls. More conservative play. I play $5 flat on the don’t until the dice make their way around the table. The chicken feeders and chop continue their work on my bankroll. It’s almost time to hit the road. Three young guys who are standing in the three positions stick left lose they’re last cheques and vacate. I slip into position, stick left one. My favorite. I get the dice for the last hand of the day with $40 in my rack. Now I wish I could say that I had a huge hand that wiped out the previous loss and filled my pockets with fresh one hundred dollar bills….. but that’s not the case. I did have a good hand, made 4 points (9,9,9,4) with a smattering of numbers in between. The hand lasted about 20 minutes and was approximately 25 to 30 throws in total. I color out at $140, and I’m pleased as punch.
A few notes. The tables were great at Harrah’s. So was the table staff. As far as heat is concerned, the box only tried to break my rhythm once during my long roll, but when I did seven out, he could not contain himself and said “YES!”, pumping his fist. About three quarters of the way through my last hand, just as I was getting ready to throw, the stick reached across to the box as my arm moved forward. My arm HIT his arm, but I held on to the dice. Next throw, I made the point, (4 ), hard, AND as it turned out, I had the dealers on the hard four for a buck.
I think my days of hit and run sessions are over. Short of arriving in the middle of the night, there is no point whatsoever to playing for 4 hours and getting the dice maybe 10 times. The chicken feeders and table chop had their way with me this day, but I’m by no means unhappy with the session. My throw is consistent, and continues to improve as well. You never know whether improvement on the practice table will translate into improvement on the tables, but it is indeed true that it does.
Next time I head to Reno, I’m spending the night and playing at 5 in the morning!
~woof~
