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  Dice Setter Precision Shooter's Newsletter  

Volume II : Issue V

October 2002

Happy Halloween!  It's hard to believe we're heading into the holiday season..... I just looked back on last October's newsletter.   At the time, I spoke of "exercising discipline and discretion when demonstrating our shooting proficiency at the tables."    The more things change, the more they stay the same.   One year later, the discussions on the message boards and in articles on the site, revolve around not getting too greedy, showing good judgment, and keeping a low profile.   This topic is perhaps even more important now.   Why?  Because our numbers and our skills are growing and the casinos are beginning to take note.  If, as dice influencers, we begin to get too greedy, too obvious, too smug, the fact of the matter is the casinos will be forced to instate countermeasures.   None of us want that.  So whether you're shooting alone, or with other precision shooters, keep a low profile, don't flaunt your skill and don't hit the same joint over and over.  Remember that as far as others are concerned, we want to be a considered "lucky" shooters and not "skilled" shooters.

In other news, dicesetter.com has reached another milestone.  100,000 crapsters have visited the home page of the site.  Thanks to all of you who stop by, contribute, or participate in any way.  The community we've built together is quite remarkable. 

 

In this edition: I
Get The Edge At Craps - A Book Review
Mad Professor's Mini-Table Craps Tour - Part II
November Axis Power Craps Seminar - Last Call!
A Little Help From Amazon.com Users


 

Get The Edge At Craps....  A Book Review
by dropdeadfred
cover

I was quite excited to hear that a new book on precision shooting was coming out.  I've got Zeke's Book, and Yuri's Book and I've read everything else available on the subject out here on the web.  Sharpshooter's reputation precedes him, so as soon as it was available, I ordered Get the Edge At Craps... 

My review will be broken down into two components, pros and cons, and then I'll summarize at the end.

Pros: Shooting dice is one of my favorite things to do, so within reason, I'd purchase any book on the topic.  The book itself is well edited and published.  I found only one typo that I can remember. (gripping spelled as griping) In that respect, this book is quite a bit better than the other two books I own. Sharpshooter goes into great detail on how he shoots the dice and the reasoning behind it.  There is a large number of charts and graphs in the book supporting what he believes to be the best way to shoot the dice.  As an engineer, Sharpshooter goes into great detail describing some of the finer points of degrees of freedom and parabolic trajectory.  This is where he is at his strongest in the book.   In addition, when he departs from the physical act of throwing the dice, and discusses issues like team play and strategies for precision shooters, his knowledge of precision shooting shines. These nuances are what is lacking in previous book.  Reading the book, you have no doubt that Sharpshooter can do what he says he can do.

Cons:   I'm willing to wager that many of you who have already read the book, skipped the first four chapters.  These chapters introduce you to the basics of the game of craps.  My take is that you should already have a very strong understanding of the game before pursuing precision shooting.  It seemed to me that this was "padding."  But that's not my major gripe.   I was shocked that given how well published this book is, that THERE ARE NO PHOTOGRAPHS!  Only drawings, and only a scant few of those which deal specifically with gripping and throwing the dice.  I feel if you're going to write a book on how to control the dice, you should show pictures of the mechanics involved.  My final negative about the book is the "monster roll" tales that he writes about.   They're sprinkled throughout the book, and for someone like me who is a journeyman shooter, they're not particularly engaging.

To quote someone on one the craps message forums, Get The Edge At Craps is basically the "heart and lungs" of the PARR manual, and closely follows point by point, exactly what Sharpshooter teaches at his seminars. (down to the monster roll stories)  Whether that's a pro or con depends on your own skill level and shooting philosophy.  At times the book attempts to be a "how to" for beginners, while at other times, it discusses some pretty advanced precision shooting concepts. I certainly think it's a book every precision shooter should own.  However, the book tends to waffle between wanting to be a primer for novices while also addressing more advanced precision shooting theory.  Sadly it serves neither mission particularly well.

dropdeadfred resides in the Southeast United States.  Recently retired, he and his wife (who is learning precision shooting) are travelling the U.S. in an R.V.  Frequently they find themselves in various gambling destinations, which suit them "just fine."

Mad Professor's Mini-Table Craps Tour with the Vegas Ghost- Part II

In Part I of this article, we took a close look at both the Mini-Tub tables, and the smaller sit-down type of Crapshoot tables.  We looked at why casinos install them, and how Precision-Shooters take advantage of them. We also reviewed how a few casinos use certain counter-measures to nullify the efforts of Precision-Shooting advantage-players.

Okay, so let’s get into the actual tour.

Knowing that it would be a long day, I left my suite at NewYork NewYork, and stopped at the Il Fornaio’s Panetteria to fill up on super-octane rocket-fuel (coffee).  If you have had a chance to have one of their beans-roasted-on-premises hand-pressed La Pavoni Italian coffees; then you know what I mean when I say; rocket fuel.

Il Fornaio Panetteria

I had an 8:00 a.m. hook-up time set with Mel, so I started the short drive over to our meeting spot. 

We had agreed that the best place to start the Vegas Ghost tour of mini-tables should rightfully be at the current Precision-Shooters shrine of mini-table profit:

CASINO ROYALE

We first explored this small, but super-vibrant casino in my The Ground Zero of Opportunity article back in April of 2001.  Little has changed here over the past 18 months.

This place is so incredibly easy to get into and out of when compared to any other casino on the Strip.  There is a narrow driveway on the southern edge of the property.  You pull into what starts out as Harrah’s northern entrance, then you veer to the extreme left and follow the narrow lane, which leads into the Casino Royale multi-level garage.  In fact, there is surface parking right behind the casino, so it’s a true drive-up, walk-in casino.   That’s not something very many other casinos on the LV Strip can boast about.  The nearest parking space to the main rear entrance is less than two steps away.   Car-to-craps table distance is a whopping sixteen steps.   No valet; just park, make a few strides, and stake out your place at the table.  Total elapsed time, about fifteen seconds.  No mammoth-mall to navigate through; no 3/8th mile people-mover sidewalk; no monorails or overhead cattle-chutes; just park, walk in, and voila, a crapshooters paradise.

- mini table tour continued here

Axis Power Craps Seminar - Last Call

The Axis Power Craps Dice Shooting Clinic descends on Las Vegas in two short weeks!  There are only a few seats remaining.  Join Heavy, and the Dice Coach for this unique opportunity to learn, share and discover the full potential of the precision shooter in you!  Click the link below for more info.

A Little Help From Amazon.com Users

If you plan to purchase books or other merchandise from amazon.com this holiday season, you can ALSO support dicesetter.com!   How?  Whether you're buying gambling related books or not, by accessing amazon.com via the link below (or the one located on the Books On Craps page of the site), a few pennies of the purchase price is credited to my site.  Every penny really helps to defray the cost of hosting the site.  Thanks in advance for supporting the site!

If you have any comments or ideas for future issues, feel free to email me at ed@dicesetter.com  And as always, I'm looking for contributors with a fresh perspective.

If you know someone who would be interested in receiving future editions of Dice Setter Precision Shooter's Newsletter, tell them to send a blank message to dicesetter@aweber.com.

Good Luck!

Irishsetter
 © 2002 Irishsetter All Rights Reserved

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