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Mad Professor's Mini-Table Craps Tour with the Vegas Ghost - Part XII- continued A female Pit
Boss recognized Mel (the Vegas Ghost) as we settled into our spot at their mini-table. I was about to say, Hey Mel, shes
got a fake smile with your name written all over it, but it was fortunate that I
didnt, or I would have been wrong. She turned out
to be one of his former Table Game Supervisors from when he tended over the flock at
Circus Circus, Silver City and Slots o Fun at a time when unicorns still
happily frolicked about the earth. I smiled
at the thought that Mel had worked as a senior executive for every major casino
corporation in Las Vegas, and was still highly regarded by all of them. When your competitors and former employers still
hold you in the highest regard and esteem, despite long-standing rumors of having dug
a few holes in the desert, it says a lot about the character and integrity of
the man. The
Belles Table Ill start
by telling you that their mini-tub is VERY bouncy. In fact, most people are taken aback by
the trampoline-like effect that rebounds the dice into the ionosphere if they hit at the
right (or wrong) angle. However, with a
carefully adjusted throw, this table cannot only be tamed, but can also be turned
into a meek, mild and very generous benefactor. Setting
is allowed and even encouraged by their friendly dealers. Just as
youll find at the regular table, the mini-tub is set at a $3 minimum and a $500
maximum bet. Dont feel insulted that
they only offer 2x-Odds. If you can make
consistent money at a 5x, 10x or 20x-Odds table, then you can still make money on one that
only offers double-odds, albeit a little slower (or at least with LESS volatility). Instead of
whining about the stinginess of the place, take what they offer and make some money off of
it. When in Rome, its best to think
like the Romans do, and indulge in the riches of their treasury. Our First CB
Session While each
Vegas mega-resort is like an ocean-liner on land, but without the sea-sickness, the
Colorado Belle is more like a wharfed paddle-wheeler that is trying just a little too hard
to be a party boat. Although all
of the party atmosphere accoutrements are there, most of the players just dont seem
to have the enthusiasm and energy to party 24/7. Thats
where the concept falls a little short. Since
you dont have the energetic, and never-ending foot-traffic that youll find on
the Strip, a Harrahs-type Party Pit just doesnt work very well. The players
that are attracted to this place tend to be low-rollers on a limited gaming budget. Thats a segment of the market that the
Colorado Belle caters to perfectly, and the party atmosphere attempts to give them more
entertainment for their gambling dollar.
On the other hand, the speed at which their money erodes does not slow down,
so the good-times only lasts as long as their modest bankrolls do. Several players
shooting at this table were nothing short of spectacular during our first session. As I mentioned above, the distance to the far side
of the table is so short that it seems that you can reach out and almost place the dice in
the desired landing spot. The benefit of
course, is that they tend to stay on-axis for a much higher-percentage of the time. Ill give
you an example. There was an
under-endowed young lady to my right side. The
first time I saw her throw, she was as random as anyone could be. After I threw a hand that was good enough to fuel
some newfound-riches-giddiness from her and a few of our tablemates, she leaned over and
said, Im going to try doing that thing that you do with the dice the next
time that I shoot. I thought that
shed forget the idea by the time the dice came around again, but she set them and
gently reached out and released them with a super-slow backspin just as I had done during
my previous roll. The dice plunked down with
that distinctive solid, clunking sound that marks a low-energy landing that isnt
going to stray too far from its initial touchdown spot. She turned to
me and asked if that was the way they were supposed to land. I told her that she was doing fine, and to just to
keep throwing the same way. When the very
next roll produced a Pass-Line winning repeater, everyone at the table, including our
dealer, looked at me as though I was the one who threw the dice instead of her. I just shrugged innocently and said, Thats
the luckiest roll Ive ever seen. The point is,
even rudimentary setting by a total novice who takes the time to send out a nice relaxed
throw can catch on pretty fast. She went on
to make another PL-winner, which thankfully for my Place-bets, took many more tosses than
her first win. Someone said,
Shes a natural dice shooter, while I added, Shes
just a natural winner. I wanted to
deflect any notion of dicesetting AWAY from the other players (and dealer), and in its
stead, replace it with an Isnt she the LUCKIEST?! sort of
consensus. Mini-Table
Specialist Now in fact,
she probably was luckier than she was skilled, but you have to put all of
that into perspective. The throwing distance
from where she was reaching out from, to the table sidewall/corner where she was aiming
for, was about 40-inches away. Were
only talking about three-and-a-half feet, NOT the eight or ten or twelve feet that most
players have to overcome on a normal table. That
small snap-shot of a beginners luck (or skill) really brought the entire Mini-Table
Specialist subject into clear focus. I reasoned, if
someone with virtually no training at all can unleash a string of great on-axis tosses
from a very short distance like she did, could someone with practiced-skill do at least as
good, if not considerably better, and then continue to do it consistently. Further, could they do it on the variety of
mini-tables that are scattered around Clark County, Nevada. The idea of
specializing in Precision-Shooting specifically at mini-tables remained intriguing. While there are less choices on which to play,
there are also many fewer variables between those small tables which a professional player
has to adapt to. Therefore, it is much easier
to shoot consistently as you move from mini-table to mini-table in your pursuit of
consistent profit. Could
You Play Mini-Tubs Full-Time A
number of readers have asked whether a semi-skilled Precision-Shooter could dedicate
themselves to mastering those small tables, and make enough money to sustain themselves
financially. They reason that the
short-length and relative numbers make it a likely combination for sustainable advantage
play. They further reason that if shorter
throwing distances make it easier to keep the dice on-axis AND end up on one of the same
four primary faces in which they were first set, then you could make more profit, more
consistently. While
that is true, its tempered by the fact that some of the mini-tubs are in
mini-casinos, and a few of them are much less setting-tolerant. Colorado
Belle- Session #2 We
had a light lunch at the Mississippi Lounge. I
made a meal out of several appetizers that populate their menu. I knew we were penciled in to the Boiler Room
Brew-Pub later in the evening, so I didnt want to carry extra baggage into my
afternoon sessions. Upon
our return to the table, there only remained one lone holdout from the previous group of
players. The sole survivor said that the dice
turned cold almost immediately after we left. I
inquired as to how our little sweetie did.
He replied that she continued to hold her own during her shooting, but lost
it all back on everyone elses random tosses. With
a practically empty table, it was definitely a lot more comfortable now that there was
room to really stretch out when tossing the dice. In
fact, my non-planted foot extended far back in the air to allow an even greater extension
on my dice release. I made sure that there
werent any errant pedestrians behind me; otherwise theyd get a permanent
imprint of my Size 11s that they could carry around for the rest of their lives. With
the amount of bounce that this table imparts, I find that the less backspin and the lower
the speed of the toss, the easier the dice will settle and stop immediately upon their
touchdown. By combining the long reach,
together with a super-slow toss, and about one full rotation of backspin, the dice just
stick wherever you throw them. To
your minds-eye, it seems like your target is only about 18-inches away from your
release-point. While it is somewhat farther
away (about 38+ inches), the close proximity of the backwall instills confidence. A side benefit of adaptive Precision-Shooting is
that your confidence level tends to build much more quickly on the shorter tables than on
their longer brethren. On these
mini-tables, you CONFIDENTLY FEEL IN CONTROL. Surprisingly,
your mind-set quickly changes from I HOPE this continues, to I KNOW this
WILL continue. Good Results
Tempered by Common-Sense During
that second session, Mel and I collected on a profusion of Place-bets that we worked up to
some lofty proportions. I became conscious of
just how lofty, when during my last hand, there was a break in the action as two new
players bought into the game. That
interruption permitted me to actually look at the stack of chips on all of my box-numbers. Although
the Table-Game Supervisor didnt have a look of concern on his face, I didnt
want to find out whether he was just naturally unconcerned or whether he had learned to
put on a studied, tell-no-tales poker-face. Based
on the amount of my chips on the table, and the fact that I was even thinking those
thoughts in the middle of my hand, it was enough for me to reduce those bets back down to
more normal levels. When the dice were
reactivated, I continued to toss for another half-dozen Place-bet hits. I can honestly admit that there wasnt one
twinge of regret about regressing my bets. I
wasnt irked about the money that I was losing on each winning hit. Rather, I was satisfied that I was still
collecting money without any amount of consternation or concern from the pit. I
figure that Im mature enough at this point in my life that I dont need the
ego-gratification of biting the hand that feeds me. I
derive my living from the tables, so why would I piss them off to the point where they
want to curtail my activities, or even make them uncomfortable enough to keep a contunued
eye on my shooting activities. At
the end of that hand, I decided that it was a good time to take another break from the
action. There was a shift-change coming up
shortly, and I didnt want the current Pit-meister to point out my purdy face to the
incoming suit. I also didnt want my
Rating Card to be carried over to the next shift. I
had been hiving off some of the green chips to shield a healthy portion of my winnings. See
Profit Skimming -
101
for more details about this concept. Colorado
Belle- Session #3 I
waited until after a new herd of dealers and suits came in and replaced the A-team from
the prior shift. Mel lagged behind as he
pursued some pretty young things that were playing at a nearby Let it Ride game. When
he finally got to our table, he looked surprised at the amount of chips in my rail-space,
and asked how much I had bought in for. When
I replied that I had used my normal amount, he was even more astounded. I shrugged and said that the table had been going
fairly well with everyone making at least one, if not two points. I asked him if he had made any headway with the
two lovely girls at the L.i.R. table. He
replied with a slight negative shake of the head. My
shooting for that session was passable, but not overly impressive. I fared about as well as everyone else. Id make one, two or sometimes three
PL-Points before sevening-out. The money was
steady, but there was no single hand that was outstanding, and we never got to the point
where our bets were pressed-up anywhere close to where they had been in our first or
second session. Another Word
About the Dealers Normally I just
mention if the dealers are good, bad or indifferent.
In this case, I have to add that they are not just friendly at the Colorado
Belle, but some well-timed tokes on the Pass-Line with Odds, will bring about a level of
accommodation that you wont see very often in any other gaming jurisdiction. Let me
put that into perspective. If youve
read my TIPPING: Is There Two Sets Of Rules? article, you
already know the fifty or so great reasons to get the dealers into action when you are
shooting. I now have one more to add to that
list. At the Colorado
Belle, the dealers will almost permit you to "place" the dice at the other end
of the table. I was stretching almost three
feet over the table towards the opposite end, and not one dealer on any of the shifts I
have played there on, have EVER said anything about it.
I will sometimes reach out so far, that I just have to virtually drop the
dice onto their target, and they still havent said a word. Now THAT is what I call accommodating. For more information about the CB and its tables, you could have a look at my Laughlin Table Report. Colorado
Belle - Session #4 Dinner
at the Boiler Room Brew-Pub ran significantly longer than I anticipated. Mel still wanted to throw the dice, but my heart
wasnt really in it. I should have
listened to my heart! To
say that the fourth session was a losing one would be an understatement. For Mel, it was a total disaster. For me, it was an irritating punch that I could
have, and should have avoided. Playing when I
dont feel like playing, is the kiss of death when it comes to winning. I had consumed a few drinks at dinner, all with
the understanding that we were NOT going to be playing any further that night. The
group that we dined with wanted to do a full-table take-over at the mini-tub. I was a reluctant participant, but no one held a
gun to my head to either bet or to throw the dice, so I only have myself to blame. When
Im annoyed to begin with, a loss at the craps table only compounds it. Fortunately it also INCREASES my INTOLERANCE for
losing. That annoyance forces me to cut back
on my always-low loss-limit even further. I
figure, why in the world would I continue to let myself lose, especially when Im not
having fun, and I didnt want to play in the first place. For
Mel, it was a total meltdown. He was trying
to recapture the good times that we had enjoyed at the previous sessions, and he was
prepared to lose his entire session bankroll in pursuit of regaining that magic. Alas, it was not to be. Although he ended the day with a net-win, that
last session cost him about 80% of his profits. Until
next time, Good
Luck & Good Skill at the Tables
and in Life. Sincerely, The Mad Professor |
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