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Ask the Mad Professor
Part 3
(read part I
here or Part 2
here)
Two campers where hiking in the forest. All of a sudden, a bear jumps out the bushes and
starts chasing them. Both campers start
running for their lives when one of them stops, and starts to put on his running shoes.
His partner says, "What are you doing? You can't outrun a bear!" His friend replies, "I don't have to outrun
the bear, I only have to outrun YOU!"
I mention that, because the first question reminded me of
it.
Q: |
No matter how good your dice-shooting
is, the 7 is eventually going to appear, and it will wipe out all of your big bets.
If I press my bets more than two times, the 7 usually appears. How do you contend
with that? |
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A: |
Its
pretty simple. Before you start pressing (increasing) your bets, you want to lock-up
an early profit that exceeds the sum of all the bets that you currently have on the table.
Take a look in
The Mad Professor's Playbook,
or read-up on regressions or up & pull methods elsewhere on this site.
You are not looking for the elusive never-ending roll.
Thats just a silly dream. Rather, you simply want one hit that will allow you
to regress your wagers, and then take further profit from additional hits. You
dont have to outrun EVERY 7, you just have to run quick enough to catch that first
paying hit. After that, you are in Fat City, and a 7 cant dent your bankroll. |
Q: |
I usually just scan your articles looking for stuff about your
long rolls. I read about your long-rolls,
but my game still hasnt improved. Whats
wrong? |
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A: |
I would suggest that just looking at one
aspect of the game is a big mistake. It took me a long time to put together a
cohesive plan that would actually work consistently in a casino. |
Zeroing in on just one aspect is limiting your
game, and therefore limiting your chances of success.
To be a well-rounded player, you have to do MORE.
Skiers and golfer alike fall into that trap. They think that if they buy the best clubs or ski
equipment that they will excel. This usually
couldnt be farther from the truth. For
success at craps, or for life itself, it takes the right attitude, aptitude, skills-set,
methods, and approach.
You then take all of those well-honed
attributes and practice until you are ready to puke.
Then you practice some more. You
intersperse your practice sessions with occasional in-casino sessions. These sessions bring a perspective and real-life
experience to your game. I would recommend a
ratio of at least 30:1 practice-to-real sessions. After
each of those real sessions, you go back and analyze what went wrong and what
went right. You look at the threats and
opportunities that are present in your game. It
takes a lot of maturity to do that. Most
people will rationalize their mistakes, and over-emphasize their short-term successes. You then continue to work on sharpening the skills
that you already have, and you work on gaining the skills that you still require. It takes a tremendous amount of commitment. Then you practice some more until you wonder
whether it is all worth it. Then you still
have to practice some more. At that point,
you start at the top of this paragraph and do it all again.
When you have fully, honestly and completely
finished 70 to 80 full-circuits of this process; you should be seeing meaningful results. If you are not willing to do that; then there is
always those big, shiny, flashing Wheel of Fortune slot machines that are waiting for
those who dont have the dedication or commitment.
Like I said before, its
The Toughest Way to Make An Easy Living
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Q: |
I like reading your articles, but some of them are pretty
long-winded. Dont you ever have a
short answer to a question? |
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A: |
No. |
Q: |
Do you ever give out advice to other
players at the table? If so, what is it? |
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A: |
No, not
unless they ask me a specific question. If I am with friends, the only advice
I will give them is to hold off on my shooting until I get into a groove. They
usually ignore that advice. I dont even tell my girlfriend how to bet.
If, on her rolls, shes not taking advantage of something, I will sometimes make a
bet on her behalf. |
Q: |
Im planning a trip to Vegas. How difficult is it to find empty tables, and will
they give me any heat if I win too much? |
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A: |
Empty tables
are pretty easy to find, even in the big houses. Now I cant promise that there
will be an empty table at Ballys at 11:00 pm on a Saturday night. You may have
to shop around for an empty table especially on the Strip on a busy weekend
during prime-time. Off-hours, from 4:00 am to 10:00am are the best times to find
them. |
To answer the
second part about heat, Ill relate it to what I do. If I stick around and roll hand after hand, the
casino will soon associate MY face with the disappearance of THEIR money. I dont mind if they think that Im
lucky. I DO NO want them to think that I am
skillful.
Additionally, as I start having a good hand
on an empty table, other players from surrounding tables will quickly drift in. It doesnt take too many small waves of
players to fill up what looks to be a hot table. After
I 7-Out, it usually will take the dice another 45 to 60 minutes until they rotate around
to my position again. So, as soon as I finish
my hand Id rather get the hell outta Dodge City, and seek greener felt-pastures at
another empty table, or at a different casino, where Ill start the process all over
again.
Q: |
I e-mail
requested and received my Players Card from Terribles Casino Hotel in Vegas.
Thats the first time that a casino has ever sent me my card by mail. Anyway,
they sent some incredible offers for food, gas and cigarettes. Can you confirm that
they give away free cartons of cigarettes? |
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A: |
Yes, beside all the normal food and room
comps, your slot points or table play can be converted into cartons of Marlboros,
cases of Pepsi, or gallons of gasoline. I dont smoke, but the free gas is a
good bonus. |
Q: |
What dice set do you use? What is your throw like? Back-hand or
under-hand? Do you favor backspin, no spin
or forward spin? Using the "pincher grip", I would think there is not much
spin or rotation? |
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A: |
All the sets and grips
that I use for various situations are contained in my articles. The "bounce" of
the table determines how much forward-spin, back-spin, or no-spin (dead-cat bounce) that I
use. I keep detailed records of every table that I play at. I know that it sounds like a
lot of work, but the results are worth it. |
Dice Doctor and I were discussing this very
subject where it concerns certain Downtown LV casinos, especially those at the Freemont
Hotel. I cover this subject in much greater detail in an upcoming article.
The Pincer-grip is ideal for ME, because I
can control exactly how much spin of any sort that I impart to the dice. I haven't found
any other grip that does it quite as well.
Q: |
What criteria do you use to qualify a
shooter? Is it strictly 5-count? |
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A: |
No. If it is for a random-roller, I am looking
for anything that might indicate a certain rhythm that he may unconsciously be using.
If he starts to throw a good amount of Place numbers, then I am not as hesitant to
bet on him. But you have to understand, that betting on ANY random-roller is risky.
You are in a casino, and it is gambling. I like the idea of de-randomizing
the dice so that we engineer and reduce the risk associated with craps. The only way
I know how to do that, is by Precision-Shooting. The next best alternative, which is much lower on my list of profit-generators, would be to get in on a lucky
roll with a random-shooter. That is a rare occurrence, and cannot be counted upon to
pay the freight. |
Thanks again for all the great questions. I hope the
answers were helpful.
Good Luck & Good Skill at the Tables
and in
Life.
The Mad
Professor
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