The more I respect someone, the more I value their opinion.
When I read “PerryB’s” Opinion on Dice Control, I accorded it the respect and dignity usually reserved for friends, associates, and acquaintances that have earned it, and who I hold in high regard. I gave it that respect based on past writings and submissions by Perry that I have had the pleasure of reading.
So Perry I’ve got good news, bad news, and great news for you.
The bad news is that you are wrong.
The good news is that as long as most people, including casino executives, think the same way that you do, I can continue to earn the income that I’ve grown accustomed to and maintain a lifestyle that I’ve become VERY fond of.
The great news is that you don’t have to believe in Dice Control, but when a “Hot” roll develops courtesy of a Precision-Shooter, you can still take part in the fun and profit without abandoning your beliefs. Just put it all down to the true randomness of the dice. And I’ll hope that the Clan of the Pit Critters keep that same pleasant thought too!
I used to golf quite bit. Of course, the people who I played golf with said that I didn’t actually golf at all. They described it more like a medieval game that would best be called “Turf Abuse” or “Curse of the Possessed Putter”. To my mind, if my clubs had burst into flames because of some demonic power generated by the moaning souls of all the drowned golf balls that I cast into damnation at the bottom of the water-hazard, all the better. I played that game for almost twenty years. How come I didn’t have the power, control, finesse or income of Tiger Woods based on all my experience? He’d play 18 holes, I’d play 18 holes. He had a bag of clubs, and so did I. He practiced, and I practiced. He wore Nikes, and so did I. He used a caddy and so did I.
So I ask again, why didn’t I have the power, control, finesse or income of Tiger Woods? I’ll tell you why…it’s Skill. He has it, and I don’t. Just because 9.2 Billion other people including myself, can’t play as well as Tiger Woods doesn’t mean that it can’t be done. It simply means that I can’t do it! There are other pro’s out there, and Tiger doesn’t always win…but that doesn’t take away from his accomplishments…it just reinforces them.
If you haven’t read my article, More Random Thoughts, I would urge you to do so. Without giving all the gory details, I talk about a baseball pitcher you may have heard of, named Roger Clemens. He’s got one pitch, and it’s his money pitch. I’ve also got one pitch, and it too is MY money pitch. Neither Roger Clemens, Micheal Jordan, Randy Johnson, or the Mad Professor has to hit the dice off the pyramid-shaped back wall of the craps table. If the dice I throw actually hit the “alligator-bumps”, I’ve made a mistake and I can pretty much guarantee you that the result will be TRULY random! There is a small smooth margin at the bottom of the “egg-crate” that is flat and just begging to be gently kissed and caressed by the dice.
Different casinos do have different base materials and adhesives, felt types, table sizes in numerous lengths, rail-heights, deck-heights, and occasionally under-lays to name a few variables. When a professional golfer first plays a new course, he is mentally noting EVERYTHING, from the lay of each fairway, to the speed of the greens, to the effect of temperature changes on the ball throughout the day.
In craps it is no different. You can play at the Four Queens in Vegas on a high padded rail, thread-bare layout, with fresh “white-powder” dice that you could shave with. Then you could go to the Las Vegas Club where they have a fantastic padded underlay, that looks as comfortable to sleep on as it does to play on. You could then venture across to the Golden Gate and play at one of their land-barge-sized 24-player tables and feel the surface that is smoother than waxed-paper. Or maybe you’d enjoy the Plaza, where at the end of the shift, the dice look more like a well-chewed Jolly Rancher candy than a precisely-machined block of high-density cellulose. For the Precision-Shooter, each table demands that adjustments be made. Each table has a slightly-different “sweet-spot”, and has to be handled slightly differently. In a way, the tables are similar to women. Each one has her own needs, requirements, desires and demands. Each one responds differently to various stimuli. We adjust, we improvise, and we overcome. Just like the Marines, the Precision-Shooter has his objective, and is not easily deterred.
Sure there are 36 dice combinations, but if we arrange the dice properly, then roll them so that the horizontal axis is eliminated from the equation, we no longer have a negative-expectation game.
I don’t guarantee that I will throw the dice perfectly EVERY time. But here’s a couple of things to consider:
My average hand now lasts for 24 throws. Even the biggest idiot at the table should be able to make money off of that roll, and if they don’t, it’s not my fault. They should go play keno instead.
I am able to shoot that way 19-out-of-20 times when I get the dice. I am always looking for empty or near-empty tables so that I don’t have to endure random-rollers. At the same time though, I can honestly say that if someone gets on a “lucky” roll, I’ll also be riding their “random” wave to profit.
Sometimes I will have an “off” session where I just can’t find my rhythm. Instead of trying to prove to myself that I’m made of cryptonite, I’ll take a break and regroup. If I’m tired, or irritated or unfocused, I don’t play. I won’t play unless I feel fresh, relaxed, energized and focused.
Perry, I DO believe in the power of positive thinking, but before I learned how to Precision-Shoot the dice, all the positive thinking in the world didn’t save my ass from some horrific losses at the craps tables. Fortunately that was more than nine years ago. The wounds have long since healed, but the lessons and the memories are still fresh.
I don’t try to move or control inanimate objects with my mind. On the other hand, if I had to sink a ten-foot putt on a silky smooth green, I’d be better off chucking my putter in the lake, and trying to use mind-over-matter to “will’ it into the cup because I still haven’t learned the art and science of THAT game!
Good Luck & Good Skill at the Tables…and in Life
Sincerely,
The Mad Professor
