Readers Write

Dear Mr. Scoblete,

Aloha. My name is Chris and I am interested in learning more about setting the dice and holding them properly. I understand that there are a few ways of doing this from reading your book "Forever Craps." I am a visual learner and I am not sure what you are talking about when you put your dice in a V spread, 3-point? Is there anything that shows this by a picture? Also, is there any more info on setting the dice?

Thank you for your time,
Chris

Dear Chris:

It is possible that we can get a graphic of this up along with my response, but let me see if I can draw a "verbal picture" to go along with the physical image (if we have one).

Take two dice. Go to the 3-spot on one of them (three dots going from one corner to the other). Now, do the same with the second die. Put them both on a table top with the 3-spots showing. Now, arrange the two dice so that the bottom of one meets the bottom of the other and you'll have a "V." If you turn it upside down you will have a pyramid. That's all there is to it.

You'll note that no matter which side of the dice set you're looking at no sevens are showing. There are two grips you can use with this set of the dice. You can squeeze the dice together from the outside and gently loft them down the table, or you can put two fingers on top and one on the bottom and also gently loft them down the table, either from above or below the dice (that is, underhand). The object is to have them hit with the least force possible so that perhaps one of the 3-spots stays face up. If you can just do this enough to alter the randomness of the game, you will find that you throw more numbers that can be made with a 3-spot and you'll throw fewer numbers that don't use the 3-spot.

That is the theory and, I have found in my own rolling, that is the result as well.

There is no single book on dice-setting that I can recommend at this time. However, there is an excellent section on it in a general gambling book titled Casino Gambling by Jerry Patterson. That section was written by Sharpshooter, who will be doing the definitive dice-setting book for my new Frank Scoblete Get-the-Edge series. The book is tentatively titled: Get the Edge at Craps: How to Make the Dice Obey Your Will! This book will be out in 2002 or 2003.

In the meantime, I recommend you work on the "V" sets and play the Captain's methods.

All the best in and out of the casinos!
Frank Scoblete

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