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.
Eleven Seven
A little survey question to throw out there: what table position do setters out there prefer?
I have found the most success personally standing at the end of the table and throwing straight across with quite a bit of backspin – using the three finger in front/thumb in back grip, dice side by side. I feel I have the most success keeping the dice on the horizontal axis with this position. I am now trying to develop my ability to keep the dice in the same rotation (i.e. same faces showing and higher level of control) – it seems like this would be easier to do from closer to the stickman as opposed to my table end position. I had little to no success with my initial setting attempts from these closer positions – that is how I switched to the table end position. I also put a fair amount of spin on the dice, I am trying to work less spin in my throw in order to control face position – I feel I am making slow progress, which is all I expect.
Looking for other experiences/perspectives….
Billy
The precision shooters that I know that stand straight out like you do toss the dice as you describe, with a fair amount of backspin, and a fairly high loft. They try to have the dice land very close to the back wall. Tossing next to stick is closer and I also believe that is has to be a more precise toss, that can be learned with practice. Imparting lots of backspin will tend to keep the dice on axis better. The drawback of course is the more backspin equates to more energy into the dice and less consistent results in respect to repeating the same combinations on the dice. If you can have the dice rotate together and stand next to stick tossing softly, you will begin to see the same combinations returning time and time again. The last and of course most difficult task is being able to control the rotation on both dice at the same time after they strike the table. When you can do that you will be able to make lots of money consistently.
RONinFLA
While I have had some very good rolls from the straight out position , I believe I am much more consistent from the sticks right . I throw right handed with a two finger grip and seek zero rotation during flight . Unless I can get this position to the right of the stick , or one of the straight out positions , I will decline to participate. The only exception is when I’m intending to play the don’t in which case I’ll seek the straight out positions first so I can reach the DC box.
Heavy
I have a particular distance I like to throw from. On a longer table it may be next to stick – while on a shorter one it may be stick second. Nevertheless – I always LOOK for a position next to stick. I can always but the guy next to me out of the way if I need the room to shoot.
I favor left of stick slightly. Though I am right handed – I shoot left handed from this position and seem to have good success. If these positions are filled I will shoot from straight out – but I prefer to shoot from close in.
BTW – I have a friend who prefers to shoot right handed from left of stick. The reason – since he’s shooting right handed he can tiptoe and lean over a bit and extend his arm all the way across in front of the stick man when throwing (occasionally a stick man or box man will put a halt to this) which cuts another couple of feet off the distance the dice have to travel thru the air.
Golfer 7/11
I prefer left or right of stick, with my best rolls from the left.
I throw right handed and like the guy Heavy mentioned I lean out and extend the throw in front of stick. I have never gotten heat but that may be because I make sure the dealers are covered on a regular basis.
My biggest trouble is velocity. I have to throw with medium force. If I lob them too soft and maybe not even hit the wall with one or both I 7-out too often. If the throw is too hard I get a bad scatter with the same results.
Also, from the left I have found that twisting a little and trying to throw down the DP line works well. If I target the middle of the wall or the hook I lose the axis. This is hard when the table is busy and you have to dodge all the PL bets with odds.
PorkChop
All –
I prefer the stick right, (one or two), positions.
It (seems) to allow me to impart less force on the die as they leave my hand and the smaller amount of energy you put into launching the throw – the less energy is required to be dissipated upon landing.
I am working on one of the new grips explained here last week – ie – holding the die parallel to the table surface by placing them along my finger, (holding them down on top with my thumb), and in effect “rolling” them off of that surface onto the table surface. It is too early to determine if it is any good – but it has possibilities.
Eleven Seven
Thanks for the input everyone. I used to attempt to use the positions just left and right of stick that it seems most prefer – but I had mixed success. For those of you that shoot from close to stick – do you prefer a backhand or forehand throw? I use the backhand throw after disastrous results in my first couple of sessions forehand. My forehand practice left me little hope either. I also took the theory that the backhand throw from stick left allows you to reach a little closer to the wall – perhaps I should revisit it experimentally. It seems to me (from the replys) that a reasonable number of people use a forehand throw. Also, MadP’s Long Ranger seemed to be a forehand throw. I’m trying to figure out which throw to focus on for a controlled dice face rotation a la MadP’s successes.
Billy
I use the backhand toss, whether from stick right, left or straight out. After my hand surgery I tried many grips and have finally settled on a two finger grip that is giving me much more control. I use my third finger in front and thumb in back. I have found that while using this grip I can control the rotation of the dice better by moving the thumb placement up or down the rear of the dice. On softer tables the thumb will be higher imparting more backspin and on harder surfaces I will place the thumb deeper in the grip reducing the spin. I still will use three fingers from straight out on a long table sometimes if I cant keep the dice together on the longer toss.
