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Where Are The
Successful Precision-Shooters? Many times I am
asked, just exactly who and where all of the
successful Precision-Shooters are. Some
readers write in to ask what a pro looks and dresses like, and how to become a
professional craps player. Sometimes I
receive an e-mail question like this: Hey Mad Professor, I hear you say that there
are about a hundred successful Precision-Shooters out there that are making a decent
living off of this game. When I read the
Discussion Forums and Message Boards, there doesnt seem to be that many
successful ones. So, MP, where are they and
who are they? Those are good
questions, and the answers are sometimes simpler than most people think. Lets approach
the Where are they? question first. Most are based in
Nevada, but there are a good number in Atlantic City and Mississippi. There are a much smaller number of them in Canada
and the northern states of New York, Michigan, plus the northern and central Midwest, all
the way down to Louisiana. There are probably
a few more in some of the more non-traditional locales around the nation and around the
world. There is also a small number of
professional Precision-Shooters who literally travel the globe as they earn their living
from this great game. For the most part,
almost all of these players are not out there waving flags and shouting about their
success from every rooftop or website. In
fact, for the most part, I would say that at least 80%, and probably 90% of the successful
Precision-Shooters are not even on the Internet. The ones that are e-wired, rarely show themselves
and remain as lurkers on the popular dice-setting sites.
There are about 30 professional-players who sometimes lurk (but never
post) that I personally know about. As far as the, Who are they? question, I will say this: Most successful
Precision-Shooters use craps as their sole source of income and they consider it to be
their job. There is a certain
unease that these players have about openly discussing what it is that they do. Most of them are even reluctant to acknowledge
that playing craps is actually their income-producing occupation amongst extended-family
and acquaintances. To admit so, seems to have
a certain social stigma attached to it, in addition to the IRS reporting-cloud
ramifications. For the most part,
a majority of successful Precision-Shooters consider it part of their job to
shield what it is that they actually do for a living. They too want to protect the golden goose that
lays all those profitable golden eggs. I can
certainly understand that position. You cant
really blame them for wanting to keep a good thing to themselves. It makes sense that the casinos regard consistent
skill-based winning on ANY game to be a threat to their own livelihood. Correctly, most
successful shooters want to protect and guard their income-stream from casino interference
or even banishment. You have to remember that
professional players have no union, no pension, no 401k, no company medical insurance or
paid vacation. They arent provided with
a company car, first-class airfare or a corporate credit-card. Their craps profit has to handle those expenses as
well as covering their monthly nut, while still inflating their playing-bankroll and their
rainy-day retirement nest-egg on an ongoing basis. The successful
Precision-Shooter has to cover all of those travel, accommodation and food costs either
out his own winnings or through casino comps that accrue to his Players Card account. So
professional Precision-Shooters feel the NEED to protect what it is they are doing. Now dont get
me wrong. Making consistent money from an
unbeatable game is a load of fun, and the first urge is to shout about your
success. However, maturity and
self-preservation usually temper that exuberance. For
most pro-players that reach that consistent profit-point, maintaining that income-stream
is of absolute importance when you dont have a regular corporate gig paycheck to
fall back on. Ill tell you
this about most of the really good professional craps players. They keep a V-E-R-Y low-profile
at the tables. They do not call their
shots; and they almost never make Hop bets. The reason for that should be clear, but Ill
explain it anyway. Hop bets are usually
considered sucker bets by the casino. They
have a high house-edge and of course for random-rolling bettors; they usually lose. Now if a highly-skilled Precision-Shooter comes
along and consistently hits those Hop bets, you shift the focus from dealer-booked and
paid bets, to ones that are booked and pay-directed by the boxman. While most of us
think of box-men as glorified dealers or as lower-rung floor supervisors; their integral
role for maintaining game security and integrity is crucial for the casino
corporations. A skilled Precision-Shooter
that is a consistent hop-bet-winner, actually increases the focus on his possible
dice-shooting ability. While it
may reinforce your ego to be recognized this way by casino employees, it will sooner or
later have a negative effect on the entire game as a whole, and eventually on your own
ability to play in particular. Dont
let your precision-shooting success shoot you in the foot! Where and when are
you most likely to see a professional Precision-Shooter? Simply, they are
right there in the casinos, and thankfully the really good ones usually go unnoticed. They play during
the low-traffic off-hours to afford themselves more shooting opportunities, or
theyll simply walk into a crowded dice pit, and wait for their turn with the dice. A lot of them use a hitnrun strategy
to generate one good profitable hand, then they scoot with the loot. I can tell you this
with a certainty
they ALL arrange and set the dice VERY quickly
and almost
unnoticeably. Let me say that again. They ALL arrange and set the dice VERY
quickly
and almost unnoticeably. Lets think
about that for a second. When the dice are in
the middle of the table, they are looking at the upward dice-faces, as well as the
side-faces. As the dice are being
stick-handled towards them, the professional is already pre-arranging the dice first
in his mind and then with his fingers as he sweeps them closer to his playing position. It is done so quickly and nonchalantly that
hardly anyone notices. There is no fumbling
or searching or endless flipping. To most
casual observers it appears that no real intentional set has been made at all. It all looks totally natural. The game speed is maintained and there is nothing
unusual about any of his movements. You have to think
in terms of other professionals in other pursuits. They
almost always make their moves look so easy and effortless.
All the huge effort actually goes into the endless practice sessions and
preparation before the event. That is why
they are the professionals, and that is HOW they make it look so easy. Practice, practice, practice
oh, and then
practice some more! What do these
professional players look like? They look like
ordinary people. They look like
you and I. Just normal guys and girls who are
there to play craps. They dont look
like a hired gun from outta state. They
dont have tombstones in their eyes, and they certainly arent the
surly, cantankerous, grizzled-up old sea-dogs that are there to waste their pension
checks. Neither do they look like drunk
young pups who have a hard time keeping the dice on the table. They just look like ordinary players. Professional
Precision-Shooters smile when they throw frequent winning Pass-Line numbers, and they toke
the dealers fairly well. A lot of them have
that look of I cant believe how lucky I am grin on their face. In fact, youll hear them say those exact
same words, or words to that effect, quite frequently.
Youll never hear them talk about skill or
sweet-spots or SRRs or different dice sets and grips at the tables. While they are at the tables, theyll tell
you that its a game of luck
even a trained monkey could throw
the dice
theres no skill to it
I just cant believe how LUCKY I get
sometimes! Hooo-boy these dice
are HOT tonight. Do you see where
Im going with this thought? Even if someone
comments on the pro-shooters dice-setting skills, the professional passes off the
compliment with a kind thank-you, but adds that hes just having a lucky roll. The professional player is usually satisfied with
steady small to moderate wins, and keeps a VERY short-leash on loss-limits. While they will sometimes have mega-hands which
result in outstanding treasures; the reliability of steady earnings is what really drives
the main thrust of their income. Whats the
difference between a professional gambler and a professional craps
player? Some others have
suggested that professional gamblers have more than one game that they
specialize in. While that may be the case
with gamblers, it fortunately isnt usually the case with the guys who
make dependable money from craps. Gamblers
gamble, while most professional craps players use their skill to master this
one game, and they are usually satisfied with the life-changing profits that craps can
generate. They engineer as much risk out of
craps as possible, and they profit from the reversal of house-edge into player-advantage. Yes, there are some
players who like the challenge and risk of other games, but they usually fall into the
action-junkie semi-professional gambler category. An
action-junkie likes the chase and the gamble of
various games of chance. They like the thrill
that comes from having their bankroll at constant risk. Those guys like to bet on virtually anything and
everything. From professional and college
football, baccarat, basketball, roulette, baseball, slot machines, soccer, keno,
water-polo, Pai-Gow, golf, horse-racing, Caribbean Stud, tennis, Sic-Bo, billiards, Let It
Ride, backgammon, darts, Super Pan, poker, cricket, Red Dog, pole-vaulting, blackjack and
even chess, the action-junkie kind of semi-professional gambler will bet on
almost anything. Hell, they are probably
willing to bet how many worms are under a particular rock.
THAT IS NOT what
professional Precision-Shooting is all about. We remove as much
of the gamble as possible out of the game.
We are not in the casino to merely get our rocks off on the betting process. If you like the chase or thrill or
the risk of living on the edge more than you like the consistent profit that
Precision-Shooting can give you; then there is a good chance that you still lack the
discipline and mind-set to join the professional ranks and the consistent profit that goes
with it. So what does it
take to join those professional ranks? Again, you have to
look at almost any other profession where the challenge to reach the top is difficult. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. That remains true for nearly any accomplishment
that is worth achieving and it certainly holds true for Precision-Shooting. If you are prepared
to dedicate the necessary time, effort and energy to improving your game to the point
where it becomes consistently profitable; then you can make the decision at that time
whether or not you want to try to reach the next level and go professional. And thats a subject well cover
shortly. Until then my
friends, Good Luck & Good Skill at the Tables
and in Life. Sincerely, The Mad Professor
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