Craps Dice Control

We talked briefly in the section on Rules for Rolling the Dice about dice control (a.k.a dice setting) and how absurd it is. Let's take a closer look at the subject so you can learn craps and not get duped into wasting your money. "Dice control" is defined as controlling the dice to increase the appearance of certain numbers and decrease the appearance of others, which can decrease the casino advantage.

The Internet truly is a wonderful creation, but be careful. I've noticed a lot of websites advertising seminars and formal classes for learning dice control to affect the outcome of a craps decision. Some claim you can learn to consistently roll certain numbers. Other smarter con artists who realize the silliness of such a claim assert that, although you can't reliably role specific numbers, you can affect the outcome enough to change a small house advantage into a small player advantage. Even respected gaming authors have written and sold books on the subject. Do yourself a big favor--don't fall for these ridiculous claims.

Consider the claims on other websites, "Casino craps can be beaten!" "Dice control specialists." "Release and throw the dice on their axis and hit their sweet spots every time." Who makes up this mumbo-jumbo? Better yet, who believes it? Apparently, many people do; otherwise, these websites wouldn't exist and books wouldn't sell. They claim that dice control is a physical skill you can learn after paying hundreds of dollars. They entice you with carefully chosen words and pictures explaining how to master stance, spin control, set, grab, grip, delivery, and bounce control to increase or decrease your likelihood of rolling a number. Let's take a closer at these ridiculous claims.

"Craps can be beaten!" Of course, it can be beaten. Any idiot using any bizarre system can win. The question is will the system win, and will it win consistently? If I win only one session out of 100, then I can deceitfully say that I beat the game in terms of that one session. But will I have more or less money in my pocket over the long term? Most definitely less. No combination of bet types and bet amounts will consistently win over the long term. As explained below, no wacky dice-control technique will consistently win over time.

"Dice control specialists." Be skeptical of such claims. How does a person become a specialist? Who evaluates their skill when they play craps? Who sets the standards to determine if someone is a specialist? What criteria are used to measure their skill and what level of skill warrants the title "specialist?" Some websites even say their dice-control instructors are "certified." Again, be skeptical. What's the certification authority (i.e., what's the certifying organization and what are its credentials)? Unless the criteria and certification authority for becoming a dice-control specialist are defined and legitimate, don't fall for the "certified specialist" nonsense that's advertised on some websites. If the certification criteria are defined on the website, then read them carefully. For example, consider the notional criterion, "Each of our dice control specialists has more than 30 years of experience in rolling dice." That criterion is meaningless. A trained drunk monkey can toss dice for 30 years, so it, too, can have 30 years of experience in rolling dice, but that doesn't mean the monkey is a dice control specialist. Don't believe these con artists!

"Release and throw the dice on their axis and hit their sweet spots every time." A sweet spot is typically the spot on a bat, club, or racket where the vibration from the impact of a ball is canceled out, so the hitter doesn't feel any stinging or shaking. So, what is the sweet spot on a die, anyway? For dice, what does hitting their sweet spots do? Does it eliminate vibration within the dice, thereby, helping to result in a consistent bounce? Theoretically, I guess it's possible, but so is time travel (i.e., Einstein's theory of relativity). It may be possible, but in my opinion, it's highly unlikely. Craps dice, with their sharp angles and points, must travel at the exact same speed and distance, follow the exact same trajectory, and land at the exact same angle to have a consistent bounce off the tabletop. If everything isn't exactly the same, the resulting bounce is random, not controlled. You must also account for humidity, temperature, air flow, and even the precise location of where the dice contact the tabletop (the tabletop likely has subtle differences in bounce characteristics because of the tightness of the felt, varying density of the tabletop material, and other factors). A slight difference in an environmental condition can have a slight affect on the orientation of the dice as they fly through the air. And the slightest deviation from the desired flight path or orientation will cause a slight change in the angle at which the dice hit the tabletop, resulting in a random bounce. Even if you successfully control their bounce off the tabletop, you must then control their bounce off the back wall. The dice must consistently contact the rubber spikes (pyramids) on the back wall at precisely the same angles and speeds to consistently get the desired results. Varying environmental conditions may also affect the bounce characteristics of the rubber at different times during the day, thereby, causing a random bounce. Because all variables must be in such precise alignment with the heavens and stars, I believe that deviation and error cannot be removed. In my opinion, I truly believe that quantum physicists will prove Einstein's theory of relativity and actually demonstrate time travel before anyone develops a dice-tossing skill that can consistently control the bounce off both the tabletop and the back wall.

For a mere $500, so-called "certified" instructors will teach you craps tips about the crossed-sixes set, the 2 V set, the all-sevens set, the ice-tong grip, the stacked grip, the 2-finger front diagonal grip, and many other sets, grips, and tosses to reliably influence a craps decision. For example, if you use the all-sevens set with the proper grip pressure, bounce control, toss angle, spin control, and stance, you can reliably roll a 7.

They might as well take their bizarre claims a step further and advertise that their Master Yodas can teach us to use the Force, too. Come on, get real. Do they really expect us to believe that the way we position our feet and the amount of pressure on each foot can affect our spin and bounce control; thereby, affecting the outcome of our roll? Good grief. The one I like, in particular, is the 6-5 set. They claim this set is good for the come out roll only; not good for Place numbers. Sadly, people do, indeed, believe this nonsense.

Not only do they sell dice-tossing lessons, some sell practice boxes, too. Imagine that! $500 for a day's seminar and they'll throw in a practice box for the incredibly low price of only $199. Woohoo! Where's my checkbook?

Another website suggests warming up with your practice box or in your hotel room's dresser drawer before going down to the tables to get a feel for how your toss is at that particular time of day. A dresser drawer? Good grief. Even the dumbest

moron should quickly realize how silly that sounds. A dresser drawer doesn't have the same rebound characteristics and friction coefficient as a craps table, and doesn't have little rubber spikes on the back wall against which the dice must bounce. So, how could practicing in a three-foot-wide dresser drawer without rubber spikes foretell anything about your potential results at a twelve foot craps table?

It may be possible to minimally control the flight of the dice before they hit the table, but I just don't believe anyone can control their multiple bounces, especially off the back wall that's lined with hundreds of little rubber spikes, each of which is carefully designed to produce a random bounce. See Figure 1 and Figure 2 below for illustrations of the pyramid rubber that lines the back wall. Remember, we learned in the section on Rolling the Dice that the casino has strict rules for tossing the

dice, which include a requirement that they hit the back wall (thereby, hitting the pyramid rubber). Do you honestly believe that anyone can consistently control the precise angles and speed at which the dice contact those rubber spikes?

Additionally, to compound the problem, the layout is often sprinkled with chips in the Pass Line, apron, Don't Pass line, Come box, point boxes, and Field box. The dice sometimes hit one or more chips either before or after bouncing off the back wall.

It's unlikely that anyone can control the angle at which the dice contact the chip and, therefore, the deflection off that chip.

The books and websites claim that casinos hate "skilled" dice shooters because of their potential for changing a small house advantage into a small player advantage. Yes, casinos hate dice setters, but not for that reason. Casinos hate them because they delay the game, which means fewer rolls per hour, which means fewer dollars for the casino (the lower the roll rate (i.e., rolls per hour), the lower the casino's profit). Dice setters seemingly take forever to shoot. They slowly rotate each die until the perfect combination appears, then carefully align them, then slowly take what they believe is a precise grip with the precise amount of pressure, then apply the perfect amount of mojo to the dice by waving their free hand over them or blowing on them or doing some other nonsense, and then finally toss them using some sort of weird gyration designed to impress everyone at the table with their dice-tossing skill. Instead of taking two or three seconds to simply pick up the dice

and toss them, these clowns take what feels like forever. The casinos don't like them, I don't like them, and neither will you.

Remember, in a modern casino, a roll is deemed valid only when the dice hit the back wall (which means they'll hit the pointy rubber spikes). The design characteristics of the spikes (e.g., size, shape, angles, material, density, quantity, pattern, etc.) guarantee the casino a random bounce.

You want proof that dice control is a scam to rip you off? Consider one simple question and its answer. Take a deep breath and try to relax your overwhelming desire to get rich off the casino. Now, ask yourself, "Do you think that the casino would

allow truly skilled dice setters to play with an advantage over the house, no matter how slight?" Be honest with your answer.

Again, "Do you think that the casino would allow truly skilled dice setters to play with an advantage over the house, no matter how slight?" Of course not. The casino has the right to deny service to any player for any reason, whether you're too drunk, too obnoxious, too lucky, too skilled, or too anything. If they don't want you playing for any reason, they can tell you to leave and there's nothing you, the law, or anyone can do about it. Consider blackjack card counters. Card counting is entirely legal, but if the casino thinks a player is card counting (and, thus, has a small advantage over the house), it immediately removes him from the game. The casino never accepts a player advantage. The casino always has the advantage--always. Same with casino craps. If the casino believes a player has an advantage over the house by means of controlling the dice, it removes him from the game. The bottom line is that when the dice hit the back wall, no one knows how they'll bounce off those rubber pyramids. That's why casinos allow dice setters to use their wacky tossing routines.

Again, "Do you think that the casino would allow truly skilled dice setters to play with an advantage over the house, no matter how slight?" I've never heard of any of the so-called dice doctors, dice wizards, or famous multi-book dice-control authors getting thrown out of a casino because of their dice-tossing skills. Have you? According to their websites and written works, they routinely play in casinos across the globe allegedly beating the heck out of the casino. So, ask yourself again, "Do you think that the casino would allow truly skilled dice setters to play with an advantage over the house, no matter how slight?"

Casinos have been around for a long time. They're big business. Consider the multi-billion dollar resorts in Vegas (yes, that's "billion" with a "b"). Do you honestly think they haven't thoroughly examined the legitimacy of dice control? A player advantage smacks those mega-businesses right where it hurts--in their wallets. Do you honestly think the casinos would tolerate and allow a player to play with an advantage over the house? The answer is obvious to me. Is it obvious to you? Put yourself in the casinos' shoes. If you have the right to deny service to anyone for any reason, why would you allow anyone to play with an advantage over you and, thereby, risk losing your wallet? I doubt that you would.

If you agree that casinos do allow dice-control specialists to play, and if you agree that casinos don't allow players to play with an advantage over the casino, then what does that tell you about all the books, articles, websites, newsletters, and magazines that claim you can beat the heck out of the casino by using dice control? I don't see how the answer could be any more obvious or simple. Let's do an easy analysis: Casinos allow dice setters to play; casinos don't allow a player to play with an advantage over the house; therefore, it stands to reason that the casino doesn't believe the dice setter can gain an advantage over the house. It's that simple. You wanted proof that dice control is a scam? That sounds like awfully convincing proof to me, how about you? If it's true that the casino doesn't believe the dice setter can gain an advantage over the house, then why should you believe it?

If you still don't see the light, it's probably because you're desperately clinging to your blazing desire to beat the heck out of the casino. You want so badly the idea of dice control to be legitimate that you can taste it. You think, "Regardless of what you say, I saw a guy last night set the dice and he rolled point after point. It worked for him, so how can you say it doesn't work?" Simple. It was his turn to get lucky at that particular instant in time. Everyone has good times, mediocre times, and bad times. Even the dice setter gets lucky occasionally. The question is whether the dice setter is consistently a winner. He's not. His hot streak turns cold, just as it does for everyone. Minutes after his hot roll, the dice setter again goes through his wacky motions, but this time he immediately rolls a losing 7-out. As we'll learn in a later lesson on variance, it's not the player's dice-shooting skill or the player's betting system or his silly craps strategy that makes him a winner; it's the distribution variance. The game is designed for the player to lose, so the player's only hope for winning lies with the phenomenon called variance. Nothing more, nothing less. Remember, the knowledgeable player plays for fun and excitement, not because of some misguided false hope of winning.

What these dice-setting gurus have done is quite entrepreneurial. They realize more people are learning that no true winning system exists, so profits from selling them have dropped. They probably asked themselves, "How can we still make money off these money-hungry get-rich-quick fools?" It didn't take them long to figure it out. They probably thought, "If we can't get them to buy our bogus betting systems, our only other option is to convince them they can control the dice." I must admit, it's brilliant. Throw in some fancy words and statistical terms to make it sound scientific, get some of their acquaintances to plug it and write a few testimonials, then cleverly advertise it as a way to beat the casino for untold profits. Woohoo! Where's my checkbook? Oh, and don't forget to buy the practice box, too. You'll definitely need that.

I can't help wondering why these so-called experts waste their time giving seminars and writing books instead of playing craps. If their dice-setting skills can beat the house out of thousands of dollars each session, why aren't they making millions each year by putting their skills to work? Student testimonials on some of these dice-setting websites claim winning thousands after just a few hours of playing time using the techniques learned in the seminars, so why don't the dice wizards and writers make millions for themselves by applying what they claim? If students can win thousands after attending a short seminar (as the testimonials state), imagine what the experts can win using the skills they've supposedly honed for years.

I suspect that their response might be such nonsense as, "I enjoy teaching (or writing). It's in my blood. I love sharing my knowledge with others, helping them to obtain wealth to make their lives easier and more satisfying. I'm a teacher (or writer), not a craps shooter. I've devoted my life to teaching (or writing)." (Excuse me while I throw up.) Gee, that sounds so noble of them. Let's have a group hug and sing Kumbaya. If they love it so much, why don't they provide their services and books for free? Wouldn't it then be much more self-rewarding, self-enriching, and self fulfilling?

Here's an idea for them to consider. Spend each morning playing craps using their dice-setting skills to make a minimum of $1,000 per day (that's at least $365,000 per year). Apparently, this is easy to do, according to the testimonials. Then, in the afternoons and evenings, they could teach their seminars and write their books for free. This approach would accomplish two goals: 1) Make plenty of money to live well (probably much more than selling seminars and books), and 2) Achieve harmony with their inner spirits by doing what they love and feeling good about themselves for helping the less fortunate. Because of their enormous craps winnings, they wouldn't have to sell their books or services. This would allow them to reach out to even more unfortunate people because, if it were free, more people would take their seminars and read their books. Imagine how many more lives they could improve if it were free. Imagine how much more heartwarming and rewarding it would be for them if they selflessly gave it away for nothing. If they could beat the house for millions, they certainly wouldn't need the relatively minimal income from book and seminar sales. I don't know about you, but to me, it doesn't add up. These shysters are settling for a fraction of what they supposedly could make if they simply implemented the schemes they're peddling to you and me. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

When you experience these clowns at the table, act like a beginner and politely ask, "Why do you do set the dice like that?" You'll be amazed and amused by their stupid responses. But don't stand too close while talking to them; their bad breath from all the bullshit coming out of their mouths is strong enough to knock you down. For even more fun, ask them, "What number are you going to roll?" If he responds (he likely won't), then say, "A buck side bet says you won't roll that number." If you're lucky and the idiot takes your bets, you'll win more from him than you will from the casino.

When it's your turn to shoot, casually pick up the dice and smoothly toss them using a natural, fluid motion. If you need to apply some mojo, it's okay to gently knock the table once or twice with the dice or quickly blow on them as part of your tossing motion. But, please, we all beg you, don't set the dice before each and every throw.