Can Dice Control Be Proven in craps tables?
Testing the notion that “precision shooters” can gain an edge at the craps tables
By Frank Scoblete
So is there a way to truly test whether someone has the ability to throw the dice in a way that changes the odds of a craps game to give them the edge? The simple answer is “yes.”
The concept of dice control at the craps tables—also known as precision shooting or rhythmic rolling—is perhaps the game’s most controversial topic. Can a shooter actually change the odds of a craps game with his throwing technique?
This practice was introduced to the modern casino world by the late, legendary Captain from Atlantic City, who believed that certain shooters, the special few he called “rhythmic rollers,” could change the nature of the game from random to controlled. When I met him in the late 1980s, he had developed a complete concept of a controlled shot’s nature.
The controlled shooters he was interested in set the dice a certain way (please note: simply setting the dice is not dice control), gripped the dice a certain way, and threw the dice in a soft arc with backspin. He felt these shooters changed the odds of the game to favor the players on certain bets. This would classify them as “advantage players”—similar to card counters at the blackjack tables—because they possess an advantage over the house.
While the Captain was a superb shooter, perhaps the greatest controlled shooter I ever saw was a woman known as “The Arm.” I was fortunate to play alongside both of them for over a decade.
Still, many traditional gambling writers, players and casino executives claim there is no such thing as a controlled shooter. Indeed, when Golden Touch shooters (www.goldentouchcraps.com) come to a table, some box personnel and/or floor people will make it a point to tell such shooters, “You know, that thing (or dice control) doesn’t work. You can’t win that way.”
This is in itself a strange statement, since you will never hear casino personnel say such things to random rollers; those who throw, wing, loft, fling, heave or bounce the dice down the table. Obviously, random rollers have no edge over the house—so why don’t the casino folks tell these shooters that what they are doing will not work?
So is there a way to truly test whether someone has the ability to throw the dice in a way that changes the odds of a craps game to give them the edge? The simple answer is “yes.”
Every single player who has read one of my books on dice control and/or taken one of the Golden Touch dice control classes knows that incontrovertible proof for dice control exists.
There are two methods by which dice controllers (or would-be dice controllers) can prove whether they have an actual edge over the house. The first method is to keep a record of one’s SRR, which is the shooter’s seven-to-rolls ratio. In a random game of craps the SRR is 1:6; that is, over many decisions, the seven will come up once every six rolls on average.
Over many rolls, if the shooter has an SRR over 1:6, he or she can be confident that they have control. The better the SRR, the more control. Shooters will throw 10 to 20 thousand rolls before they can say with confidence that they are indeed changing the nature of the game. Some of these elite shooters actually have regulation craps tables in their homes, which they practice on.
So what kind of SRR would a student need, as a minimum, to have an edge? If you have an SRR of 1:6.3, you can overcome the house edge on certain bets. Shooters without axis-control must use the Hardways set, where the dice show hardways all around – 2:2, 3:3, 4:4 and 5:5, with the 1 and 6 being on the left and right sides, respectively.
The second method for proving you have dice control skill is to pass the SmartCraps tests. SmartCraps is a software program that analyzes throws to determine if the shooter has axis control. The SRR does not in and of itself measure axis control; in short, you do not need axis control to have an edge at the game. When you use the Hardways set, if the 1 or 6 spot shows, that is an off-axis result for that die—but one such result cannot end in a seven out.
With axis control you are shooting for certain specific numbers. For example, the use of the 3V dice set looks to hit sixes and eights. A shooter could have an SRR of 1:6, but if this shooter is hitting an inordinate percentage of sixes and/or eights despite such a low SRR, he indeed has control. My new book Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players explores axis control in depth—who has it, and what to do when you do have it.
The passing of either or both of these tests is flat-out verification that the shooter does have the ability to change the game. You can’t fool yourself into thinking you control the dice when your SRR shows you aren’t, or when your SmartCraps tests show you don’t have enough axis control to use sets other than the Hardway set, even if your SRR is decent.
Our Golden Touch students can test themselves. Again, you can’t con the SRR or the SmartCraps tests. Dice control is firmly proven by the players who are passing these criteria. There’s no nonsense here. You think you can control the dice? Great—test yourself and see if it’s true.
The SRR and SmartCraps tests are the be-all and end-all of proof. As for the critics, let them carp and moan and try to sell their ideas to the public. The casinos realize that this works. That’s why they tell you it doesn’t work. Thankfully, so many dice setters (as opposed to controlled shooters) exist that the casinos find it hard to see who does and who doesn’t actually have the skill to beat them.
Can dice control be proven? Certainly. In the next issue of Casino Player, I’ll discuss the real nature of the back wall pyramids and how dice really react when they bounce on the table.
Frank Scoblete’s newest books are Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines, which features advantage-play slots; Casino Craps: Shoot to Win, which comes with a DVD showing controlled throws. Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players and Beat Blackjack Now are available from Amazon.com, at your favorite bookstore, or by mail order by calling 1-866-SET-DICE. You can also call that number for a free brochure.
Testing the notion that “precision shooters” can gain an edge at the craps tables.
