|
Mad Professor's Mini-Table Craps Tour with the Vegas Ghost - Part XV- continued There is just
one mini-table here, and it is of the six-seat sit-down Crapshooter variety. Although the table is slightly bouncy, and the
felt is a little bit worn; you should have little difficulty adapting your throw to the
shorter throwing distances. The game is
usually set at either a $1 (most times), $2, or rarely a $3 bet-minimum, and a very
appealing 10x-Odds offering. These two
elements equate to an awfully attractive betting situation, especially for skilled
shooters. One bonus to this place is that
Ive yet to see them sweat any major wins that Ive been able to
extract out of their craps game. On the other
hand, with the growing proliferation of skilled dicesetters, you may want to temper just
how much you take off of the tables, so that it doesnt spoil future visits for you
or other Precision-Shooters.
First Session Four intrepid
players were already in action when we sat down and bought in for $100 each. Although my two favorite seat positions were
occupied, I took up a spot at the #3 chair (when counting from the left). The far-wall right-wall/corner is approximately
45 away from this table-location. From the
immediate Stick-Left position on mini-tubs and Crapshooter tables, I shoot with a smooth,
back-handed knuckle-ball release that is suited to this type of hard, but slightly bouncy
layout. By the time I
had settled my cheques in the rail, and had a drink (OJ) in the built-in cup-holder; two
players had 7d-Out with seemingly blinding speed.
I ventured a buck on the Pass-Line in hopes that the player on my immediate
right might actually throw at least ONE Box-number before getting blown away. In truth, I wanted to have a line-bet down in case
they enforced their randomly-enforced, You have to have a line-bet (PL or DP) on
the previous player if you want to throw the dice rule. To my mind,
the $1 bet was a sacrifice to the gambling gods, or at least to the
gambling-corporation-gods for the right to shoot the dice when they came to
me. As it turned out, the sacrifice lasted
about as long as the virtue of a drunk virgin on Ecstasy at a frat party. Since I
wanted to calibrate my throw to this table-position/distance first, I intentionally
didnt venture very much money on my first turn.
I put a buck on the line, and backed it with 3x-Odds (instead of the full allowable
10x). I wanted to adapt as painlessly as
possible (yet still have a chance to win a bit), so I Placed $22 Inside, with the
intention of Pressing them only after I dialed things in.
Surprise, surprise, surprise
my roll lasted almost as long as the
previous shooters did. So much for instant
gratification
this was more like instant emasculation, with $26 worth of bets being
lopped off the top of my bankroll. I knew Mel
was staring at me, because I felt the heat of his glare on the side of my neck. He had lost half of his buy-in in the space of
less than one minute. To be fair, he did get
to see a total of four rolls from two different shooters, so by reckless gambling
standards, he was getting his moneys worth. I
intentionally didnt look in his direction because I knew him well enough to know
that Id see the What the hell happened there? look. He ended up throwing a fairly good hand when the
dice went to him. Once he finished his hand,
the dice quickly circled around the table. Our never-been-married,-never-want-to-get-married
female dealer was doing more laughing than actual dealing as Mel regaled her with
dealer horror stories that he had lived through over the decades that
hes spent on the other side of the casino tables.
The Pit
Supervisor came over and Mel recognized him as a former employee whom Mel had passed over
several times because of his incompetent skills. Mel
congratulated him on his new posting and said, At least you dont have to
torture the players with your lump (lousy dealer) moves anymore, I didnt
know if hed take it in the good-nature that Mel intended, or whether our
playing-time at Silverton was quickly drawing to a close.
Fortunately this guys sense of humor was obviously much better than his
dealing skills, because he laughed right along as he and Mel traded a few more sharp barbs
before he moved on to watch over a crowded BJ game. My
second go-round with the dice was quite a bit better than the first. At least the dice were landing flat, and no longer
doing a pirouette, then veering towards the outer wall.
I recouped the $26 loss from my previous hand, and added another $58 to the
win column. The target area for my initial
dice-touchdown was about 18 from the backwall.
Although this gives a lot of running room for the dice to do
what they have to do (exhaust their energy), it also gives them a lot of opportunities to
go awry, and NOT do what they are SUPPOSED to do (pop and scatter instead of staying on
axis, and maintaining their primary faces).
On the other
hand, the close proximity of the backwall means that all their energy has to be spent by
the time that they reach their destination. Since
my table-notes indicated that a high-lob does not work well for me on this tub from the
SL-positions, I used a higher-energy, low-trajectory, moderate-backspin toss that made the
dice bounce twice and tumble on-axis (but they do not maintain their primary faces very
often with this toss), before coming to a stop. I
would characterize this type of throw as more of a percentage shot rather than
an actual precision-shot, but on this particular table; that was what the
table and my current shooting-position limited me to.
So far I was satisfied with the results.
Mel Rehashes
the Mini-Table Specialist Idea Mels
next two hands made him more confident than ever that a modestly talented
Precision-Shooter could make a fairly decent living exclusively specializing at mini-tubs
and sit-down Crapshooter games. His reasoning
went something like this: Ø The shorter
the throwing distance, the easier it is to keep the dice on axis. Ø Mini-tubs
have throwing distances from 30 all the way up to less than 60 if you are at
the closest-to-the-backwall player-position. Ø So far, none
of the mini-tables use any serious amounts of underlays or foam padding, nor are there any
tables that have uncontrollable bounce-characteristics. Ø Dealer tokes
bring quite a bit of dicesetting latitude, even at the No Dicesetting Permitted
casinos. Ø With few
exceptions, the mini-table casinos are rarely packed with serious players. Therefore, its an infrequent occasion when
you wont be able to get into an open spot. Ø Since most of
the regular players who frequent these places are low buy-in low-rollers, it rarely takes
very long for your favorite table position to open up. Ø If Las Vegas
is the Mecca of the gaming world, then it is the center of the mini-table universe, based
on the sheer number of them in the immediate area. Ø That being
the case, it is relatively easy for a player to move from casino to casino, without
wearing out his welcome too quickly at any one of them. Ø All of these
good thoughts were tempered with the fact that most of the mini-tub casinos
are also loss-adverse. That means that a
dedicated mini-tub Precision-Shooter would have to fly VERY LOW below the casinos
radar to keep Pit-heat to a minimum. Mel looked at
me as though I was going to disagree with his analysis of the situation. I shook my head, and said that I couldnt
find any real problems with his reasoning,
but it would all depend on just HOW MUCH money a player NEEDED to earn on a per day or per
week basis, that would really determine if the mini-layouts were appropriate for this kind
of low-buck, low-profile casino-earnings lifestyle. The First
Session Continues
Mel continued
to shoot better than normal, and the rest of the random-rollers continued to shoot
like
random-rollers. Some of the players
did good, some did bad, and the dice did exactly what they usually do when they are in the
hands of casual players who throw them haphazardly. That
is, there was no discernable pattern, and I used a low-buck version of my Choppy-Table
Short-Leash Method (as discussed in
Dodging Bullets As A Darksider and further
expounded upon in Part Two of the article of the same name). Instead of
using the usual $5 as my base-bet, I would commence each sequence with a $1 DP-bet after
any RR made their first PL-win. It was
working so well that I increased my base bet to $2 after it brought in a win on every
subsequent roller that I bet against. By the
time I had thrown another pretty remarkable hand of my own, I re-raised the base-bet on
that method up to the $3 mark. I never cease
to be amazed at how effective this betting-approach continues to be. Even when a lucky player comes along and throws
six Pass-Line winners in a row, and I reach my $285 loss-limit on $5 base-bets, I am still
satisfied with the more-than-matching profit that the successful hands do generate. With a $1 base-bet, your maxed-out loss-limit is
$57; not an entirely ungodly amount of money to risk when kept in perspective of your
overwhelming chances of winning. Ive
been playing this game for nearly 25 years, of which the last 13 years have been full-time
as a professional Precision-Shooter (a minimum of 1200 hours per year over the last 10
years), and I can say one thing about this particular betting method. I have NEVER come across ANYTHING that comes close
to matching it for bankroll-safety and profit-consistency.
On the other hand, it cannot be used on any every shooter basis
unless the table continues its choppiness. Stated
another way; youll find yourself in choppy or cool table situations at least 60% of
the time. In real-world conditions, nothing
else comes close to reducing bankroll-volatility and increasing profit-generation than
this approach. End of sermon
now go and
sin no more. Mel needed to
make a couple of work-related calls, and I had to make social arrangements that included
the ultra-hip, ultra-retro Shady Grove Lounge at Silverton (complete with an Airstream
trailer, outdoor bowling lanes, and an innocent-age sort of Shady Rest late
40s trendiness), so we took a break from the action. I had been sitting on my ass for just over ninety
minutes, and a leisurely stretch was in order if I wanted to maintain my focus and
throwing consistency. Second
Session By the time I
returned to the mini-tub, a couple of our former tablemates had disappeared. The dealer said that they had gotten chopped up
by
wait for it
THE CHOP. I smiled
wryly since Mel and I had just finished talking about the merits of my choppy table
method, and here was a perfect example of how otherwise perfectly sane gamblers had let
their fairly decent winnings get chipped away by the back and forth unceasing erosion of
choppiness. Oh well, I
wasnt here to convert the infidels over to my brand of religion, nor was I going to
preach to a congregation that was no longer present (they ran out of money before they ran
out of faith in their PL with max-odds, two Come-bets with max-odds
devotion). To my mind, its probably
better to say a couple of novenas and make a generous contribution to a worthy charity
rather than being subjected to the constant bankroll whipsaws of but the gambling
books tell me that is the best bet in the house way to lose. On the
upside, their steady losses meant that there was more of their money in the casinos
coffers for me to win, and my profits would have less of an impact on the corporate
bottom-line. Besides, it also meant that the
dice would be moving more quickly around the less-populated table now. Both of the
two seats that I really would have preferred to be in were the only ones that were still
occupied, so I returned to the chair that I was in during the first session.
Physical
Limits, Mental Limits
Your Limits
When you
choose to shoot from out of position there are two big factors at play. First is the physical one. Obviously, the distance to the backwall and the
way you are positioned to it, is different from the shooting-spot that you are most
comfortable with. Second is the mental
factor. If you get it into your head that you
cannot win from a new and different position, especially the one you are in NOW; then
chances are YOU WILL NOT WIN, and it has everything to do with the way that your HEAD is
positioned, and not by the way your body is positioned!
If you think
that you wont win; then you rarely will. Returning to
a table that has been sending some cash-flow in my direction has a way of inspiring
confidence. Winning breeds confidence, and
more confidence tends to bring in more profit. Good
karma and bad thoughts both have a way of becoming self-fulfilling prophesies. When I first
walk up to a table, I am confident that Ill do well.
However, that confidence is tempered with caution about not venturing too
big of a chunk of my bankroll until I have dialed in a particular layout. However, if Im returning to it after just a
short break (less than one day); then my confidence level is higher still. Now that doesnt mean that I am willing to
bet the farm or even a prize cow from out of the herd. Rather, it means that Ill step up my bets a
little quicker, and Ill be more likely to let some of the successive-hitters rise a
lot quicker to the comfort level of the particular casino that I am in. Comfort-level
that is matched to your bet-tolerance and that of each casino is very important, but still
quite subjective. The rule of thumb is; The lower the casinos minimum-bet, the
lower their win-tolerance will be. Although
this isnt always the case, you have to let COMMON SENSE, not COMMON GREED
guide your decisions!
Know YOUR
Limits as Well as THEIR Limits
Youve
heard the term, Bet with your head, not over it? Well in the heat-control context (to
ensure that the casino dont start to sweat the money by worrying about
how large your bets are, or how much of their money that you are winning),
we should also say, Bet to THEIR comfort-level, not just YOURS. Even
though you may be quite comfortable with much bigger bets, dont let greed ruin a
great thing, especially on the mini-tables. If
they are comfortable with flat-bets under $25, then dont go in their like a bull in
a china shop or a like crack-whore in a drug lab. Dont
start making big bets that will make them regret the presence of your dicesetting
ass in their casino. Dont
burn your future opportunities with current greed.
Second Session
Continued
I was keeping
a close eye on the Pitmeister to make sure he wasnt keeping too close of an eye
on me. The winnings were flowing, but
the table wasnt exactly hemorrhaging red. Instead,
I was bleeding off about $100 every thirty minutes or so.
That wasnt an unreasonable amount to extract from such a low-budget
gaming-house. My shooting
continued on track, and Mel suggested that I should think about shooting from the SL-spots
on the Crapshooter tables more often. I
agreed that my shooting from here was actually MORE consistent, but it never gave me the
ohmygawd, that was a MEGA-roll type of hands that I was used to on
these sit-down games from the SR-positions. Instead,
from this spot, Id usually deliver hands in the 8-to-20 roll-range, but fewer
Point-then-Out results. I decided that
it would be a good idea to go back over all of my previous session-notes to calculate
whether it was more profitable to have steady 8-20 roll hands (and rare quick Outs), or a
few more early outs, combined with a much healthier number of hands in the 30-to-40 roll
range. The dice came
around again, and my consistency was still there. A
decent length hand combined with an early regression, and what some might refer to as
Passive-Aggressive Pressing; led to excellent profit in my rail, without having an excess
of money left exposed on the layout. Though
we all understand that you have to bet money on the table to make money in your rack,
there is always that fine balance to consider when it comes to how much you should
initially put out there, versus how much you should keep out there,
and finally just how much you should push your winnings in the hope of
winning more on each and every subsequent hit. Press,
Same Bet or Regress?
Normally,
what I will do when I am on a good roll at a low-budget casino like Silverton, is to press
my bets up to a level that is near the high side of their comfort-zone (but still careful
not exceed it), and then keep the bets at that level.
While some people regress their bets once they reach a certain level, and
then try to build them back up again; I prefer to continue receiving the larger payouts
for the duration of the hand. Both methods
are certainly valid and have merit. Its
just that if my shooting is up to par, I would rather not artificially restrain my
winnings for the sake of a lower locked-in profit. I still ALWAYS
lock-in an early profit as often and as quick as I possibly can. However, I also believe in letting my winning run
when Im on a good roll. I suppose this
is part of my, I am NOT a gambler, I am a PROFESSIONAL Precision-Shooter
mindset. That pretty much dictates that my
priorities are: Ø Maintain the
safety of my bankroll through strict loss-limits, and by avoiding unqualified bets on
random-rollers. Ø Lock-in an
early guaranteed profit through regression on my currently strongest Signature Numbers. Ø Let excess
profits pile up and multiply through passive/aggressive Pressing. If I reach
the point where Im concerned about how much money I actually have on the layout;
then Ill simply stop the alternate-pressing (on every other hit) until I lock in a
few more wins. If Im feeling
particularly uncomfortable about the size of any of them; then I either regress them
(which is very, VERY rare for me at this juncture), or Ill turn them off for a roll
or two simply because I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THINKING ABOUT DISTRACTING STUFF LIKE
THIS during a good roll (or during ANY roll for that matter). Mel and I
each shot three more hands before heading towards the 24/7 Sundance Grill with an ample
comp in our hands, a healthy profit in our pockets, and a wide smile on our faces. Things had gone quite well for both Mel and I on
the Mini-Tub Tour, and this seemed like a nice casino to complete the journey. Some
Reflections and
Reminiscences By this point, we had played at
fourteen mini-tub houses here in Las Vegas and nearby Laughlin. We had made a ton of profit, yet we had been
careful not to wear out our welcome at any of them.
We had shielded a good chunk of our profits, as well as our
Precision-Shooting skills. Mel was more convinced than ever
that even a mediocre dicesetter with enough practice under his belt, could turn these
mini-tubs into his very own profit playground. We
both acknowledged that greed and discipline were the principal limiting factors when it
comes to keeping things under the radar and on a sustainable track. Over a plate of decent, but
unremarkable food, Mel asked where I had encountered my first Crapshooter
"sit-down" table. I responded by
telling him that I played at what I think was probably the first one to be installed in
the U.S. way back in 1989 at the Sands in Atlantic City. It was only open for about one
and a half years, and got very little action. My Precision-Shooting skills were still in
the formative stages at the time, and I had contemptfully smirked every time that I walked
by this felt-covered aberration. On one very busy weekend (I wish I
knew of ONE weekend when A/C wasnt busy), all the other "real"
tables were full, so I sat down at third-base to play. Like most others who tried it out,
I found the throwing angle to the backwall/sidewall was kind of weird. What was weirder
was that the dice were sometimes landing in whatever top-position the stickman was sending
out to me. That is, if he delivered them with the 5 & 3 on top, the dice would
sometimes land in an Easy-Eight 5 & 3 call. Believe it on not, that was my FIRST
sustained evidence that the dice could be thrown and not only stay on axis, but also
consistently end up on the primary faces that they were first set. It would take YEARS and YEARS of additional
experience before I was able to transfer that particular skill to the longer, more
conventional table-lengths. Thousand and
thousands of craps-playing hours later, and the rest, as they say, is history. As we were heading back for a final
session at Silvertons sit-down game, I told Mel that I had just made arrangements to spend an
entire week in Mesquite, Nevada. He looked at
me as though he had just heard the most ridiculous nonsense of his entire life, and said,
Mesquite?! Mesquite is like
Satans waiting room
only hotter! Why
would you even consider going there? My
response was a simple, Because of the craps, baby, because of the craps. He just shook his head in disgusted disbelief. Ill have a full report on my Mesquite
craps-exploits in an upcoming article entitled On The Road In
Mesquite.
Session Three
As soon as
we neared the table, we both gave each other a What the hell is going on here?
look. The table was full and there were
another half dozen players waiting to get onto it. We
didnt even have to say anything. We
both knew this third session just wasnt going to happen today. It was an unceremonious end to what had been an
outstanding tour. Mel asked if
I was sure that we hadnt overlooked any other short-length money-makers. Wellllll, I replied,
there is a smallish 9-footer at the Mark
Twain Casino in La Grange, Missouri (across
the ditch from Quincy, Illinois), and there was one at the Blue Chip Casino up in
Michigan City, but theyve gone to a conventional layout, and there was one at the
Fort Garry Hotel up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but Im told that one has also been
replaced, so thats about it, buddy.
He nodded his head and added, Then lets piss on the fire and
call in the dogs, cause this hunt is over. I
was pleased by the results that all of the mini-tables had produced
although some of
them contributed WAY MORE than others. All in
all, it was a memorable, and VERY profitable trip. Thanks
for joining me on this one, and I hope youll be part of the next one as well. Until then, Good Skill
& Good Luck at the tables
and in Life. Sincerely, The Mad Professor |
|