Can dice control be proven?

2 November 2012

By Frank Scoblete

The concept of dice control or precision shooting or rhythmic rolling (all synonyms) is perhaps the most controversial topic in the field of craps. Can a shooter change the nature of a craps game by his throwing technique?

First brought to the modern casino world by the late, legendary Captain from Atlantic City who believed that certain shooters, ones he called “rhythmic rollers,” changed the nature of the game from random to controlled. From his perception of such shooters from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, he became convinced that this was unquestionably true. When I met him in the late 1980s, he had developed a complete concept of a controlled shot’s nature.

The controlled shooters he was interested in set the dice a certain way (please note: simply setting the dice is not dice control), gripped the dice a certain way, and threw the dice in a soft arc with backspin. He felt these consistent shooters changed the nature of the game to favour the players on certain bets. Today we call such players “advantage players” because they have an advantage over the house.

Perhaps the greatest controlled shooter I ever saw was a woman known as “the Arm.” The Captain too was an excellent shooter. I was fortunate to play with both of them for over a decade.

Still many traditional gambling writers, players and casino executives claim there is no such thing as a controlled shooter. Indeed, when Golden Touch shooters (www.goldentouchcraps.com) come to a table, some box personnel and/or floor people will make it a point to tell such shooters, “You know, that thing (or dice control) doesn’t work. You can’t win that way.”

This is in itself a strange statement since you will never hear casino personnel say such things to random rollers; those shooters, who throw, wing, loft, fling, heave or bounce the dice down the table. Obviously such random rollers have no edge over the house – so why don’t the casino folks tell these shooters that what they are doing will not work?

Still is there a way to truly test whether someone has the ability to change craps to favor himself or herself? The simple answer is “yes,” unquestionably yes.

Every single player who has read one of my books on dice control and/or taken one of the Golden Touch dice control classes knows the incontrovertible proof for dice control exists.

There are two methods dice controllers or would-be dice controllers can prove just where they stand on whether they have an actual edge over the house. The first method is to keep a record of one’s SRR, which is the shooter’s seven-to-rolls ratio. In a random game of craps the SRR is 1:6, that is, over many decisions, the seven will come up once every six rolls on average.

Over many rolls, if the shooter has an SRR over 1:6, he or she can be confident that they have control. The better the SRR, the more control. Shooters will throw 10 to 20 thousand rolls before they can say with confidence that they are indeed changing the nature of the game. Such motivated shooters have practice rigs in their home; some others actually have regulation craps tables.

So what kind of SRR would a student need, as a minimum, to have an edge? If you have an SRR of 1:6.3, you can overcome the house edge on certain bets. Shooters without axis-control must use the hardways set, where the dice show hardways all around – 2:2, 3:3, 4:4 and 5:5 with the 1 and 6 being on the left and right sides, respectively.

The second method for proving you have dice control skill is to pass the SmartCraps tests. SmartCraps is a software program that analyzes throws to determine if the shooter has axis control. The SRR does not in and of itself measure axis control; in short, you do not need axis control to have an edge at the game. When you use the hardways set, if the 1 or 6 spot shows, that is an off-axis result for that die, but one such result cannot end in a seven out.

With axis control, you are shooting for certain specific numbers. For example, the use of the 3V dice set looks to hit sixes and eights. A shooter could have an SRR of 1:6 but if this shooter is hitting an inordinate percentage of sixes and/or eights despite such a low SRR, he indeed has control. My new book "Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players!" goes in depth about axis control, who has it and what to do when you do have it.

The passing of either or both of these tests is flat-out verification that the shooter does have the ability to change the game. You can't fool yourself into thinking you control the dice when your SRR shows you aren't or when your SmartCraps tests show you don't have enough axis control to use sets other than the hardway set, even if your SRR is decent.

Our Golden Touch students can test themselves. Again, you can't con the SRR or the SmartCraps tests. Dice control is firmly proven by the players who are passing these criteria. There's no nonsense here. You think you can control the dice? Great – test yourself and see if it is true.

The SRR and SmartCraps tests are the be-all and end-all of proof. The in-casino results should then be there. The critics? Let them carp and moan and try to sell their ideas to the public. The casinos realize that this works. That's why they tell you it doesn't work. Thankfully, so many dice setters (as opposed to controlled shooters) exist that the casinos find it hard to see who does and who doesn't actually have the skill to beat them.

Can dice control be proven? Certainly.

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