Please remember! These are archives! The Dice Setter message board was shut down. What is published here are just a few of the threads documenting the early days of dice setting strategies and opinions written by the pioneers of dice influencing.
Mickey D
You guys know I’m a newbie so please forgive this fundamental question, but… Is there any special stance I should be looking at when I shoot? I’ve settled into the three finger front/thumb behind grip and I’ve been shooting predominately from stick right. I’ve just been taking a stance that feels comfortable without really planning it. One that allows me to present the dice square to the target line. Your feed back would be very helpful.
RonInFla
I think it’s an individual thing , that depends on where you’re shooting from , and how you are most comfortable . In the end , you’re shooting for results , and just like in golf , sometimes you gotta vary your stance to get achieve those results. From stick right , I usually shoot standing on my right foot and leaning over the table trying to get around the stickman. 🙂 from straight out I’ll stand with my legs spread as wide as space allows and square myself to the end of the table. Then when I throw , I stand on my tiptoes trying to gain that extra two inches of leaning towards the far end , so my hand has control that much longer. ( note to self : investigate platform shoes for shooting to get two MORE inches 🙂
Mickey D
Ron:
Thanks, I hear what you’re saying. I used to be a target pistol shooter and I still play a fair amount of darts. In both of those disciplines, stance is a major contributor to success. And the comfort thing is a major part of stance. A trick I learned in pistol shooting which I use to great success in throwing darts is this: With your eyes open, take your stance and align with the target. Then close your eyes for a couple of seconds and raise your shooting hand/arm to the pre-shot position. This will actually be what is physically most comfortable for your body, given that you can’t really see the target. Then open your eyes and you’ll see exactly where your gun or dart is “naturally” aiming. If it is off the target you simply re-adjust your feet to bring the rest of your body in line with the target. This way the muscles of your body will not need to work to bring you into alignment. Your alignment will be “natural and free of muscular tension. And, as Martha Stewart says: “That’s a good thing!!” I played a little bit with this today in practice and I think it has applications for throwing dice!!!
Give it a try, you never know!! Thanks again
Billy
It seems that you have knowledge of sorts that you can translate to shooting dice. Comfort is very important. The other thing that pops into mind is can you repeat the stance and do it every time. In Nofields report he talks about not feeling comfortable at Ballys. A lot of people don’t realize that tables vary in height and width of the rail and cushion by large amounts, and adjustments must be made at every new table that you tackle. The one constant that I try to do is when shooting from stick right I will put my left hand over my cheques and the rail for stability. There are some tables that are too tall to do this comfortably so I will have to change something when I encounter these.
Irishsetter
Regardless of table position, I always like to have my hips parallel to the target. So if I’m shooting from stick left, I have my left hip leaning against the rail. My feet are set just slightly wider than my shoulders, and my throwing motion is therefore perpendicular to the target. From straight out (table’s end) it’s easier to square up to the target, but you pay for that in how far you have to throw the dice….
Big Lou
Very important subject. Stance determines how well you’ll do in whatever your endeavor is-whether it be golf, tennis, or lovemaking (one of my favorite positions). One lesson I learned from the “PARR” video is stance. I stand at ninety(90) degrees to the table or put another way-facing the stickman. I always stand at stickman right. Don’t worry, if your a good “GEORGE”, the stickman will move out of your way. I stand with my feet slightly apart, with my left hand holding the rail, and allowing my right hand to act as a fulcrum, and releasing inches above the felt. As stated before, always keep your shooting hand dry, ignore distractions and let muscle memory take over (that’s where practice comes in). Good luck!
Heavy
I could not agree more on the importance of the stance. Like you, I prefer to stand next to stick – facing stick. I’ll shoot left or right handed – makes no difference to me. But my free hand does not come into play. I generally keep the thumb of my free hand hooked under my belt – my fingers more or less covering my wallet … old habit. I lean against the table with my weight distributed roughly 75/25 with most of my weight on the leg closest to the table. Once I get my “plant foot” right – I may stay in that same spot for an hour or longer. Of course, this becomes very taxing physically – which means shorter sessions at uncrowded tables are best.