Dice Control For Beginners – One Person’s Take On Starting To Learn Dice Control

February "Post of The Month" winner is YOOW

Winning Post: Lurkers New to Dice Control Post ONE

Yoow I would like to thank you along with the entire committee for a truly great post. It was well written and touched on many very important aspects of achieving skill in dice control.

The evening I was reading it for the first time (I have read it 4 times in all) I had made up my mind it was in the running for Post of The Month and by the time I had finished it I knew it was going to be hard to beat.

Thank you again for a great great post and I believe every one who is new to dice control should read this post, it will help them see what they are in for and also learn of the commitment they will need to achieve any skill in the game we enjoy.

We would like to award a "Post of Distinction" to Silverback for his post on 2/9/08 "How The West Was Won". This was a fun post to read about a day at the tables in the Northwest section of the USA.

Those of us who know one of the individuals mentioned in the post just smiled and giggled as we read it.

Good job Silverback and thanks again.

Members thanks again for another great month of reading. The content get better and better each and every month. I find myself staying up late into the evening making time to read all of the posts.

Mr Finesse

Yoow's winning Post in Full

GTC Grad-Chicago 07 "Work" is the difference between practiceing when you feel like it and practiceing when you don't.

For those just beginning dice-control; you may have a few questionsÂ….

Like; after hearing about that dice control thing; then reading so much about it on this board, how do you actually make it happen for you?

Naturally, for those with the bucks, you just sign up for a class and wait.

But for the rest of you, whose commitments (family, work, schooling, travel to class sites, budget, etc.) wonÂ’t allow for that, what about you? Are you left out? You want to win too; what can you do?

Moreover, if you do decide to join the fray, what should you expect? WhatÂ’s it like? I hope to give you some insight.

As a fledging dice controller myself, I’m going to presume that, for “that” category of interested people, it’s more of a “try and do it yourself or it’s never going to happen” sort of issue.

Is it possible for youÂ…Â…or anyone else, to get started without taking a class? Answer: Yes, it is possibleÂ…Â…Â…. to a degree.

Lots of people across this board are doing just that as you read this. Many have chosen to try and get a head start by buying or building their own table and, as best they can, taking that first step; to throw on their own. I laud their efforts. All is not well in dice - land if you can not afford to take a class from day one.

Many have done it; that is, started to throw before taking a class, including myselfÂ…Â….so can you; and thatÂ’s what these posts are about. What to expectÂ…..

Make no mistake about classes. Nothing will take their place.

In order to be successful, most of us will need professional advice. You can put your own spin or interpretation on a book you have read, (what you think the author meant) as you attempt to toss the dice, but you must take a higher level of instruction to have any chance of nailing it and being really good. These posts are not it.

They are, quite simply, some things you will face and other things you MAY encounter as you progress.

LetÂ’s get my cards on the table first. FrankÂ’s job is safe. IÂ’m not a writer. I am not a dice controller by any stretch of the imagination. I am not an instructor. Hell, IÂ’m not even a good craps player.

I only learned the game a year ago and IÂ’m math challenged to boot. So, we may have a lot in common, you and me, about this dice control thing. If you have been playing for years and now want to learn how to throw correctly, you are already ahead of me (experience).

Yes, I have managed to take a class (well worth it, I might add), but, thatÂ’s getting ahead of ourselves, isnÂ’t it?

I simply write of some of my “discoveries” while trying to learn about the game itself and about throwing dice with nothing to rely on but my “I think this is what the author meant” ideas. Nothing is technically correct here unless by mistake (remember that, please) or something I have since learned from GTC.

Nor, is this a confessional. It is meant to be of value or vague assistance to someone wishing to begin, knowing little, and to get them thinking about what they may encounter. My logic is my own. I do not wish it on others, but if it helps in some small wayÂ…Â…..so be it.

Before knowledgeable people of this board jump on my back about skewed offerings as they read, try to understand this from a point of view of where you were when you began and what you did not know; not where you are now.

Tell me all you want about a beautiful view from the mountain top and IÂ’ll nod my head; but if IÂ’ve never left the valleyÂ…Â…Â… I wonÂ’t have a clue what youÂ’re talking about.

Such is my thinking.

So, where do you start?

Reading Frank and Dom’s book on dice control and Sharpshooters as well, is a must. You have to grasp the concept of what has to be done in order to control what you want to do with the dice. So read the books. Everything the authors want you to do will be in those books. A lot of it will also be foreign. “Tossing that stupid motion won’t work for me.” “What the heck did he mean by that?” “I’ll do it my way.” “I’ve been playing craps for years.” Yes, and throwing random as well. That’s why you’re interested in dice control now . Whether a newcomer or an old salt at the game, some things will become very apparent to you rather quickly; you need dice, you need some where to throw from and you need some where to throw to. That’s just the beginning.

For openers, no, you can’t rob the dice from the kid’s monopoly game because dice are dice and “they don’t play with the game anyway”. That just won’t work.

You need regulation 5/8 or 3/4 inch dice. GTC sells everything you need, ask for a catalog; or Gamblers General Store in Vegas is a good source. Cancelled dice from you local casino is a no-no. The canceling process usually upsets the balance of the dice and in dice control efforts, everything must be just right.

You should read earlier posts on this site about throwing stations and receiving stations to get an idea what is available; what you need or may want to get started; and what some peoplesÂ’ methods are to replace what can be bought, such as building your own.

Since you wonÂ’t take the time to review, let us move on.

Another thing to consider is the space available issue. Where are you going to put this “rig”? How big does it have to be? Will it collapse when not in use?

The wife will get testy if you leave dice dents in the dineing room table around the holidays; and grumpy gets pissy when you clear his work bench to practice on.

YouÂ’re going to have to work some things out.

But letÂ’s cut to the chase. You have to make up your mind that you will be willing to throw as often as possible for three to five thousand rolls, minimum.

ThatÂ’s thousand, folks.

Throwing once a week will take forever; and will be useless in terms of repetitive learning. Throwing twice a week is almost useless; but better than nothing; if thatÂ’s all you can practice, so be it. Still others commit to practicing everyday faithfully; fortunately, my circumstance allowed for that.

This practice intensity can be pretty intimidating for someone who is just “thinking” about getting started into a project such as this. Don’t let that stop you. Remember why you became interested in this.

Realize even if you donÂ’t become a world class shooter, what you do learn will stay with you forever. You may need a touchup every now and then, but you will still know what you are doing. Come on in. The waterÂ’s fine.

When you can, take a class. Until then, donÂ’t be afraid to do the best you can with what youÂ’ve got.

Doing the math, one hundred throws a night will get you three thousand rolls in a month. ItÂ’s only one crummy month at that rate, but, can and will you commit to that?

Figure that if you canÂ’t commit to that strenuous a regimen, half that number will mean two months of your time. Two months may seem a long way off for some; or like no time at all for others.

One thing is for sure, this is not an un-achievable feat. It only requires you to take that first step.

Somewhere, probably in the wisdom pages it is written; three thousand rolls is a generally accepted number to BEGIN to grasp the concept of controlling the dice physically.

You may not take that long. You may be the fortunate one to take half that long. Assume you will take twice that long so you wonÂ’t be disillusioned after that many tosses. ItÂ’s not a given, you know.

In time, it will become very apparent to you, as everyone has said; that it is a lifetime pursuit that never ends. Three thousand rolls is nothing.

It doesnÂ’t stop. It never stops.

You get off when you want to. As you learn this skill, what you want is to constantly get better.

ThatÂ’s the chaseÂ…Â…. (More to come)