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How To Get It, and How To Keep It
One
day, at a casino buffet, a man suddenly called out, "My son is choking! He swallowed a quarter! Help! Please,
anyone! Help!"
A
man from a nearby table stood up and announced that he was quite experienced at this sort
of thing. He came over, with no look of concern on his face, wrapped his hands around the
boy's genitals, and squeeeeeezed. Amazingly,
the quarter popped out. The helpful man then went back to his table as though nothing had
happened.
"Thank
you! Thank you, sir!" the father cried. "Are you a paramedic?"
"No,"
replied the man. "I work for the IRS.
Squeezing
Profit From Your Current Skill
Just
like the I.R.S., we have to look at various ways to squeeze the most money (and profit)
out of our plays WITHOUT resorting to simply throwing more money (higher bets) at it. In most cases, all it takes is some minor
adjustments to your betting routine for your current skills to generate more profit when
you win, and less significant losses when you lose.
We
are always hoping to improve our skills for the future.
Some
people longingly look down the road and say, Some day, Id like to make
enough money from craps so that I can play when and where I WANT, but still not NEED to
play. Others look at
Precision-Shooting as a possible self-sustaining retirement hobby, or
even a potential route to augment their income.
Thinking
about and planning for the future is a VERY wise move, but its what you do with your
CURRENT skills and abilities which largely determines how easily youll reach your
future goals, and just what youll have to do to get there.
To
a considerable degree, Precision-Shooting reflects and echos lifes labors,
triumphs, struggles and achievements.
Im
of the firm belief that you work with what youve got; yet continually strive for
ever-evolving advancement. Based on that
concept; we should squeeze as much profit out of our current skill-set, yet
continue to seek steady improvements and measurable milestones for the future.
When
Were Both on the Same Page
I
swear that Irishsetter is either an excellent mind-reader, or at the very least, quite
prescient when it comes to the entire subject of profitable Precision-Shooting play.
I
was dictating this article when he answered the following Message Board question for a
poster:
Irishsetter
responded by saying that elements like Concentration, Intensity
and Focus are so critically important to your ongoing success, yet many
players REDUCE each of those factors once they wrongly conclude that
theyve got it all figured out.
By failing to accurately replicate the same things that led them to success in the
first place, most players quickly lose their grasp on consistent on-axis, primary-face
success.
By
mistakenly lowering their mental guard and reducing the power of those critical elements,
their results quickly start to slip. In fact,
most players wrongly try to OVERCOMPENSATE for that quick decline from near-perfection. This over-correction usually leads to
missing the Holy Grail objective altogether by bigger and evermore frustrating distances.
So
lets take a look at how it is that we stumble across what appears to be the Holy
Grail of Precision-Shooting (an unbelievably high number of on-axis, primary-face
outcomes) in the first place; and then figure out why it is that
near-perfection is so damn fleeting. Finally,
after we do all of that, Ill show you an effective way to GET IT and KEEP IT,
LONGER.
Whenever
we try a new method, or grip or toss, we tend to be more deliberate in that fresh process.
From setting and gripping the dice, to the flatness of the back of your hand and the
elevation of your arm on its follow-through; EVERYTHING is more deliberate
when we are LEARNING (that's a hint). INTENSITY
Instead
of mulling over the prospects of parlaying our most recent Place-bet win, or wondering
just where the hell the beautiful cocktail waitress is; we tend to passionately center our
thoughts on the new task at hand.
Instead
of over-thinking the mechanics of the throw, we wring as much "sweetness" and
smoothness out it. Our brain is relaxed, so our body just naturally relaxes along with it. Instead of busily thinking about what we are doing
wrong, our mind puts us in a calm, self-satisfied state of Gee, I did that right.
The
sweetness of our shooting flows from the BRAIN ON DOWN, and NOT from the FINGERS ON UP.
Success
STARTS in your brain and is executed (carried out) by your fingers, NOT the other way
around!
I
used this analogy in another article, but it bears repeating.
Think
about how you first settle in behind the wheel of a new car. You check where everything
is, and your brain quickly logs the new sequence of actions that it takes to turn a
corner, choose a radio station, or set the cruise-control, etc.
The
signals that your brain WAS sending to your fingertips are no longer as sharp and astute
as they were when the grip/toss was new.
The
signals they are receiving NOW are not nearly as finely-tuned as they were at the start of
the I found the Holy Grail process, so its little wonder that the
results dont stay very GOOD, for very LONG.
In
essence; when we are LEARNING, we know that our Concentration, Intensity, and
Mental Acuity is MUCH higher than when things (processes) are "old hat"
and normal. That brings us to the next element. FOCUS
As
a Precision-Shooter, the clarity of your purpose, and the single focal point of your task
must be focused on just ONE thing.
Without
a consistent on-axis throw, ALL of the other elements of your play will quickly fall to
the wayside.
In
fact, the importance of EVERYTHING ELSE about the way we play advantage-craps
will quickly evaporate if we can't get a consistent on-axis (and preferably primary-face)
result.
If
we dont have a quantified dicesetting-advantage; then the effectiveness of our
money-management and betting-methods loses a tremendous amount (almost ALL) of their
usefulness.
Here's
why:
Ø
You
can have various betting-methods down cold. I mean, you can have every wagering approach
on
Jim The Systems Man Ferr's excellent website
memorized
backward, forward and in chronological and alphabetical order. Ø
You
can have discipline that would make a Shaolin monk proud. You can set your loss-limits
even lower than my current 15% of buy-in level, and have the self-control and restraint to
press when things are great, but turn and walk away EVERYTIME things begin to turn bad. Ø
You
can turn money-management and 6-Sigma bankroll-control into both an obscure art-form and a
secret science that would make Enron, Global Crossing and Worldcom executives teary-eyed
proud.
...but
without CONSISTENT ON-AXIS OUTCOMES, you will NEVER get to a high level of revenue
reliability
and, YES, its THAT simple.
So,
how do I bring those required levels of heightened concentration, intensity and focus to
the live tables; and once youve found the Holy Grail, how do you hang onto it a
little longer?
How Do I Do It? Ø
I
treat it as though it is the ONE and ONLY throw that will get the dice back to me.
Ø
Each
throw means the SURVIVAL and GROWTH of the bets that I have on the table. Ø
Each
throw stands on its own.
Ø
When
Im shooting, I NEVER pre-think about what I will do if such and such happens several
throws (or even one throw) down the road.
Ø
I
deal in the here and now, and apply that single-minded intensity on the
immediate (next few seconds) future. Ø
I
may re-aim, re-target and re-calibrate the trajectory and speed of my very next throw, but
Ill quickly put any previous off-axis results out of my mind. Ø
My
sole focus is on the very next toss. Ø
The
longer that I can maintain my absolute concentration, my raw intensity, and my
single-minded focus; the longer the stickman will continue sending the dice back to me. Ø
I
want the dice to end up on the same axis and the same primary-face that I first set them
on. ALL of my focus is on them, because at
the end of the day, that is where the profit is. Ø
John
Dillinger once replied that the reason he robbed banks was because, Thats
where the money is. For a
Precision-Shooter, the money is in the roll. It
all starts with the dice, and it ends with them as well.
Thats where the money is! Ø
MOST
importantly, as long as I continue to do what I am supposed to be
doing at the intensity that I am supposed to be doing it at; then THE MORE THE DEALER WILL CONTINUE SHIPPING CHIPS ACROSS THE TABLE TO
ME.
Its
That Simple, and Its That Difficult
All
of that may SOUND simple, but its not.
The
difficulty for most people is that they exhaust themselves just trying to get to the point
where they can exert that much mental energy. It
shouldnt be a struggle. Rather, over
time, it should feel comfortable and totally natural.
You should be able to slip into it as easily as an old pair of slippers.
For
me, its like entering a higher, more focused, yet more relaxed state of intense
consciousness. A number of players have also
found that Kent Glines hypnosis tapes have helped them get to a point of relaxed focus and
mental clarity.
Now
granted, I do play a lot, so at first glance it would seem that all of this should come
very easy to me. However, its partially
BECAUSE I play so much that I too have to work at keeping the sharpness of my
concerted focus and the required level of controlled intensity. Its NOT easy, so I keep a few things front
and center in my mind.
Ø
Each
toss is a fresh opportunity for my bankroll to survive and grow.
Ø
Each
toss is a new opportunity for me to THRIVE!
To
put that into perspective; for me, Ø
Each
throw is part of a continually improving process. Ø
Each
new throw should be at least as good, if not better, than the one before it. Ø
Each
subsequent toss is a fresh and new opportunity to excel and profit.
So
when you stumble across a new grip or tossing-motion that appears to GET the
Holy Grail (in terms of an unbelievably high number of on-axis, primary-face outcomes)
youll want to KEEP IT for as long as possible.
To
keep that flow of sweet near-perfection, you have to maintain the FRESHNESS
in each and every single toss that you make.
Good
Luck & Good Skill at the tables
and in Life.
The
Mad Professor
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