Howdy Dice
Coach,
3-24-05
I purchased a Cigar
Aficionado late February in the airport on my way to see one of my
clients out in San Francisco who loves cigars. On the plane
flight there I thumbed through the magazine to catch up on the
latest and greatest in the cigar world. An interesting article
caught my eye about Las Vega$, dice throwing, and Stanford Wong, a
famous professional gambler.
The article opened
explaining the phenomenon of pre-visualization of goals, for
example how people train themselves to throw darts at the
bulls-eye on a dart board and mentally train for chipping and
putting in golf. A well-known example: a good basketball player
shooting a free throw knows if the ball is going to go in the hoop
by the way the ball comes off his fingers. This made perfect
sense to me so far. This introduction was a segue into the real
thrust of the article, precision dice shooting wherein people can
train to influence the dice to hold a small percentage edge over
the house.
The next paragraph addressed
skepticism with the concept right off the bat. The author frankly
admitted he had been cynical at first. I had to agree but
continued to read. The author then introduced two experts in the
field, man named Stanford Wong and another identified only as the
“Dice Coach”. Following was an account of what it was like to
follow the two through several practice sessions and then an
actual live game. In the actual live casino play session,
Stanford went through a 70-minute roll and won thousands.
The story was
riveting, and I was hooked. My first thought, of course, was to
look for the contact information for the Dice Coach. It wasn’t
there. Undeterred, like any good techie, I Googled “Dice Coach”
and came up with 4,160 hits. Fortunately the first one on Google
was “Dice
Setting & Rhythm Rolling for the Winning Craps player.”
This was
the official Dice Coach, a.k.a. Beau Parker’s website. Since I was
going out to Vega$ in March for my friend Gabe Hoke’s bachelor
party, I thought it would be cool to take a lesson.
The only time slot open during my visit was the afternoon of March
16th. I booked it. I have to admit that I was
incredibly skeptical. Why in the world would anyone sell the
secret to beating the casino for under a $1,000 in a single
session? I asked my friend Martin Radley if he would like to go
with me. When he got excited, I knew we were at least going to
have fun.
We drove out to Beau’s house on Wednesday March 16th
not knowing what to expect. Immediately we were set at ease. When
we met the famous Dice Coach there was an instant bond between the
three of us. The Dice Coach had just redone his backyard, so we
had an interest in landscaping in common. Plus, I liked his easy,
laid back demeanor. I had a feeling we would become lifetime
friends.
Soon after, in a comfortable setting, the Coach taught Martin and
I the basics of craps. He outlined the discipline of the game, the
betting structure, betting strategy, dice sets, and even dice
grips to throw. The session was awesome! Next we had a live
session in his house where Martin and I got to throw and bet with
chips. During this session I had a 25 minute roll which set the
hook, line, and sinker; I knew I would be addicted for life. I
made around $1,000 betting like I would have in the casino, and
Martin made several $100’s. The way things went down, it was truly
a shame the chips could not be cashed in for real money. The Dice
Coach congratulated us, but he also reminded us that what we were
doing is not a guaranteed system. In fact, he told us it is not a
system at all, but a skill…a skill of which we will need to
practice often to obtain.
The Dice Coach invited us for the casino session to come play with
him, someone named Pablo the Webmaster, and another student in a
live casino session the next day. Martin and I were both so
excited, we had trouble sleeping that night. The next morning,
Thursday, March 17th I am could not wait to try out my new skills
in a casino setting. Unfortunately, Martin found out that he had
to catch a flight at the time we were supposed to meet the coach
and reluctantly headed back home to Denver. He did promise to come
back out to Vega$ sometime time soon.
For over two hours we went to 6-8 different casinos looking for a
table on which to play. Since we were in town during the NCAA
basketball tournament March Madness, a big fight at MGM, and WSOP
qualifiers, Vega$ was even busier than usual. All the craps tables
we stopped by were completely full. Finally, however, we found an
open table at Palace Station. Not only was it open, it was
completely brand new. This was the first time the Dice Coach had
ever played on a new table in the Casino. We literally had to wait
over 30 minutes for them to vacuum the table and get chips on it.
The Coach throws first, and I end up making $800 on this roll.
Pablo wasn’t on, but I broke even on him. Then it was my turn.
Suddenly I realized I was nervous. Consequently, my dice sets
were off and I didn’t do well. After my toss, the Dice Coach left
and told me to leave as well and keep my winnings. I decided to
stay and learn first hand a lesson that was taught in class. The
lesson #1 “If you play long enough at the table you will lose”.
So I gave back the $800 and cashed out even. I mainly viewed this
session as paying to practice in real live casino conditions;
however, I was not losing on me but the other the other players.
Later that night, 17 of my other friends rolled into Vega$ for the
bachelor party. While waiting for them, I practiced all the dice
sets over the course of several hours. I enthusiastically told my
brother and friends about my newfound talent. Soon they were all
pumped and ready to become millionaires with me. (Note: this
violated lesson #7 “Don’t swing for the fences, a few base hits
will do”) We all went to downtown Vega$ to find a $5 craps table
due to budget constraints. There was no luck with that limit, but
we got on a $10 table at the 4 Queens. When the dice came around
to me I was so nervous that I had trouble setting. (Looking back
on it, I was nervous because I wanted to make my brother and
friends money and the $10 was over their budget, so the money had
to be made upfront. This is totally the wrong idea and strategy.)
The 4 Queens stick man was the fastest I played on all weekend,
and I could not get anything going. We left the table down $100
or two. We went over to the Freemont and all got on a $10
table. I calmed myself down and explained to everyone that the
system was not a guaranteed win. With my nerves calm and level
set expectations with those I care greatly for, I rolled four
different times averaging at least 14 rolls per session. All my
friends on the table passed when it was their turn to roll, so I
had taken $800 into $2,000 in less than an hour. I was exhausted
and the energy of the table had changed because everyone was tired
from flying in and such. I decided to stay and learn first hand
lesson # 2 that was taught in class. The lesson? “If you are
tired, don’t roll. Leave the table and try again another day”. I
tried one more roll and bet huge coming out. Lesson #3 “Don’t
over bet your bankroll” followed by lesson #4 “Tiptoe in and
qualify the shooter before betting large”. After breaking lessons
2-4, I left the table even, giving back the $1,200 that I had
won. I immediately analyzed the entire session and realized my
folly. I knew I should not play again until rested the next day.
The next day, I had no doubt that I could roll. Since we stayed
at the Rio, I went down early afternoon to play with Uncle Tony.
The table was a $25 minimum and the highest limit I had played.
The energy was incredible, so my first roll lasted for 55 minutes,
and I took $1,100 buy in to $4,900 betting very conservatively. I
left after Uncle Tony’s roll due to exhaustion. I looked back and
realized that my betting was too conservative since the smallest
stack to cash in was well more than double mine. I called the
Dice Coach to report the win and see if I could get in for another
class. He too was enthusiastic and said he looked forward to
meeting the bachelor party the next day for a half day lesson.
During this session I applied lesson #5 “When you get frazzled
closed your eyes and take a deep breath and only focus on the
dice.” I was in the zone so much that twice the stick man had to
tap me on the shoulder to let me know the dice were out.
Friday late afternoon 16 of us go play on the strip. We first
tried the Mandalay Bay. With an empty table 6 of us took
positions around the table. Since I shoot stick left, I need to
buddies to cover the right hand corner of the table to ensure that
my dice have a good place to land with no chips. I have two rolls
in the teens and average at least 1.5 points during them. All is
going well until the table fills up with random people. We leave
up a couple hundred and looking for the next table. Most of the
tables on the strip going into the weekend are a $25 minimum so we
do not play again that day.
Saturday Uncle Tony and I are the only ones sober enough to go
spend a half day with the Dice Coach. This second session truly
honed my skills and betting strategy. I highly recommend for
anyone to take at least two classes and put a day or two in
between them. Uncle Tony is leaving Saturday night and would like
one more craps session. Uncle Tony and I go down and play the $25
minimum table at Rio. The session was fairly good and I took
$1,100 buy in to $3,400. Actually, this was the most fun one due
to the betting strategies we learned and the discipline that was
in place.
Saturday night I decide to indulge in VIP Bachelor Party at Rio’s
Voodoo Lounge. Sunday morning hung over and exhausted I go to
shoot craps at Rio. This violates lesson #2 again ““If you are
tired don’t roll and leave the table”. I only played because
there was an open table. I loose a quick $1,100 due to me also
breaking lessons #3 & #4 Lesson #3 “Don’t over bet your bankroll”
followed by lesson #4 “Tiptoe in and qualify the shooter before
betting large”. After this quick session I at least abide by
lesson #6 “Don’t rebuy if the table is bad.”
We leave and go play at Ceasar’s. After thirty minutes we find a
table and I start to shoot. Halfway into my $1,100 buy in I
decide to quit because I can not shoot good at all. I decide to
quit around $400 down and go to bed. After I wake up Sunday
evening, I am ready to go with my friend Kevin.
We both feel much better and head downstairs at the Rio to fleece
a $25 table. Kevin goes on fire first and rolls around 35
minutes. He hit the 8 for point five times in his roll. I have a
20 minute plus roll. The whole table energy was incredible.
Kevin and I wait and roll one more time. During this session my
$700 buy in (I stick to either $700 or $1,100 for obvious reason 7
come 11 baby!) went to $7,000. I walked. Kevin took $600 to
$5,000. We both applied the Dice Coach betting strategies and
discipline.
My recent trip to Vega$ is the most exciting one I have ever had.
Dice Coach I feel very blessed to have you as a friend and a
mentor. Thank you! I have to go since FedEx just delivered my
Custom Made Portable Craps Practice Table & Case, and Throwing
Station & Case! I look forward to hearing from other setters who
want to go play in Shreveport or Vega$.
Cheers, Mark
The Price is Right
