Beginner's Grips

Please remember!  These are archives!  The Dice Setter message board was shut down. What is published here are just a few of the threads documenting the early days of dice setting strategies and opinions written by the pioneers of dice influencing.

See Dice Setter Links below for pictures of Grips.

Spiff

Well, I finished my practice table. I quickly learned how much I have to learn!

What grip would you recommend for a beginning shooter? I have tried the 2-finger grip and its very hard for me to say on axis. Granted, I have not practiced much, but I can already tell that I am staying on axis only 1 out of every 10 throws.

Any advice?

Engineer

The three fingered grip is the most widely recommended grip. It should give you the a lot of control with practice.

dreamwater

I agree with Engineer. There really is no such thing as a beginners grip in my eyes. There is just good grips and bad grips and personally I feel the 3 finger grip is the best.

Chemo Savvy

The best way to start out is to try some throws with a few different grips and pick the one which is most comfortable. My opinion on bad grips is that there is no such thing IF you can throw well with it.

Steve_S

From the start I am only comfy with the 2 finger grip, with thumb and middle finger / top edge grip.
Should I force myself to get use to other grips? Steve S.

dreamwater

Steve, I just have one question for you. Are you making money with your grip? If you answer no then yes you should change your grip unless you just started it. But if you have been at it a long time then perhaps something else may be better for you.

As for Dude's comment. Though you make a good point I still feel the stack (one on top of the other) is the worst idea when it comes to grips. And even if someone says they became a millionaire doing that I will only reply, You got lucky.

Dylanfreak

Spiff I went to Dice Setter`s pictures of grips and tried them all and have finally settled on two-fingered pincher from SR1 or SR2 and the Diagonal grip from the end of the table. But I do try other grips in practice. But you must find the ones that you are comfortable with

Spiff

What is the three-finger grip? I don't have my book in front of me. Is there a picture on IS's website?

Engineer

Spiff,

Three finger grip is three fingers across the top front of the set of die with the thumb about half way down the back of the dice. Keep your fingers straight across the front, with no space in between the two dice.

Take a look at heavy's picture of the 4 finger grip. Heavy counts his thumb as a finger, but his picture of the 4 finger grip is what I was referring to as the 3 finger grip.

Heavys picture: http://dicesetter.com/setting/stackingtopbottom.htm

T-shooter

The first couple of pics on this page http://dicesetter.com/setting/mytoss.htm is the three fingered grip. The grip is shown with fingers "deep" which means close to the bottom of the dice. Most shooters who use this grip probably grip them closer to the middle or the three fingered top grip. (Fingers on the top corner of the dice) By adjusting the depth of the grip (both front fingers and back) you can make adjustments in the amount of backspin you impart on the dice.

Spiff

I played around with it today but I like the 3-finger diagonal grip better. It lets me have more control on the backspin.

dreamwater

Two fingers and the thumb is the three finger grip from what I always considered. Sure you can argue the thumb is not a finger but we aren't in science we are talking craps. Also Spiff quick question for you. When you say you have control of your backspin better do you mean you like to cause a backspin or attempt to stop it?

Dylanfreak

Spiff I had had some of my better tosses at casinos using that Diagonal grip----Good luck

Spiff

The best results I am having is using the three-finger diagonal grip, a low toss arc, and a medium amount of backspin on the dice. One of the major concerns I have is that my table is REAL bouncy and I am not sure how "casino-like" it is. That's why I like a bit of backspin so I can counteract some of the bouncy-ness.

I did 270 rolls today and ended up with a 7.3 SRR which I thought was pretty good for my first serious practice session. But, because my table was so bouncy, my dice were all over the place. I had good movement in the air - I could see them staying on axis about 75% of the time until they hit the table. I had good focus on the landing zone (about 3 to 6" from the back wall) and most the time I hit the table with the dice traveling perpendicular to the back wall. But then my bouncy table would send the dice every which way. I am going to get a nice backed layout and some diamond rubber in the next couple months but until then I am stuck with what I have.

Engineer

Spiff,

Your SSR is good, excellent in fact. When you do that in the casino you will be sure to make money and with a little common since you will be taking something home with you all the time.

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