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Getting Back To
Basics So
hows your game been lately? SRR still
healthy or is it looking a bit anemic? How
about those point-seven hands; becoming more and more frequent? Not sure what bets to make anymore! If you answered: bad, anemic, yes, and yes to the
above questions then youre in a slump. If
you answered: bad, dead on arrival, definitely YES with capital letters, and Im so
lost a map couldnt help me, then you better put a padlock on the piggybank because
you need more fixin than a twenty year old lawnmower. OK,
now that weve identified the problem, how are YOU going to fix it? My suggestion is simple: Get back to basics! It doesnt matter whether your transition
from riches to rags has been an overnight thing or (more than likely) a slow,
imperceptible decline. The bottom line is
that the mechanics, which you worked so hard to develop, have eroded and you need to
re-establish what they were and bring them back up to snuff. I liken this dice setting problem to my golf game. Each season starts the same way. Hit the practice range with numerous sessions of hard work and attention on my targeting, ball position, grip, stance, backswing, and follow-thru. After my results improve, its time to play a few real rounds at the golf course. Things usually go well for awhile, but then start to slowly unravel until it gets to the point that Im actually afraid to swing at the ball! (Sound familiar, dicesetters?) To get myself back on track I follow my own advice. I check the basics.
I go back to the range and start from the beginning. What I normally find is
that one or more of my swing mechanics has changed to some degree from what I established
on the practice range. The ball position may
have moved an inch or two further ahead in my stance causing me to top the
ball, or my swing plane may have shifted to an out-in movement causing me to
slice the ball. This careful re-examination
of the basics always pays benefits and gets my game back to where I want it to be. There is no difference between this golf scenario
and dice setting. If
your game has turned sour, the first thing you need to do is go back to the
beginning and check your basics. Look at every element of what you do to toss the
dice. One of the best tools to use in this phase of your recuperation to dice throwing fitness is to check the notes you made during all those winning practice sessions as well as your in-casino notes. If you havent kept notes stop here and read my previous article, Notes Notes Notes. If youve done your homework correctly, then you can find out what you did right before and how what youre doing now is different (and counterproductive). Im willing to make a significant bet youll find something or things have changed! And dont be surprised if its very
minor. Maybe the foot closest to the rail is
now pointing away from the table ever so slightly where before it was parallel to the side
rail when you made those two consecutive 30 roll hands. It could be that your arm is
hanging straight down from your shoulder when you throw instead of being bent at the
elbow! Its critical to realize that
the slightest changes to any element of your throwing mechanics can lead to diminished
results. (Read that sentence again because it is very important!) So,
if your game is in the dumps, get back to basics and answer those questions this way: Running
like a fine tuned machine / Couldnt be better /
Point-seven? Whats a point-seven? Is that a hunting term? / Hop the sevens for a nickel each! May
the Dice Always Bounce in Your Favor, Mickey
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