Yea, it is a superstition, but I hate it when there is a stick change. When that happens on my roll I will hop my point number for $1 … yea, i said it! 😆

Dom

Superstitious? Some. When I am rolling and having a good roll someone will always start begging for the point. I am hitting numbers all over the table but one asshole always wants the point, pisses me off and sure enough here is the devil. If I do hit the point it gets worse, I ask them to just relax, enjoy the roll and
most get it. I have also said very loud stop begging.

I play often enough that a lot of people know me and usually the table gets real quiet. My favorite casino the dealers will ask others to not call for the point.
When I am in a zone I hear practically nothing until they start begging and that breaks my concentration because they get so damned loud, as if it would help.

OMC

Couple others, building on OneMoonCircles’ point (I always want the point) 🙁 :
[list][*]When I call for numbers, I get seven-outs[/*][*]On a good roll, I’ll sometimes press the shooter’s odds one unit. That almost always goes wrong[/*][*]I’ve worked a crew hardway bet on a come-out roll a bunch of times, and it seems like it’s always a seven[/*][/list]
Again, cognitively, I know this is nonsense. But it’s extremely hard to overcome.

I love the thinking that blames a player for placing a bet. Recently, I’d five-counted a shooter and put up my six-eight place bet on a $15 table. A guy who clearly shouldn’t have been playing these stakes had his pressed across bet taken when the seven-out came, and decimated his rack. He would not stop talking about how I’d caused it. I colored up and got something to eat — some players will get in my head. I am fairly good at tuning everything out while I’m shooting, but I can get rattled in between and be unable to focus when the dice get to me.

Another one I see frequently is putting a Come line bet after a five-count. Players will treat that as if I’d hopped the sevens. Guys, I’m hoping for a number, not to win 1:1.

I am too ingrained in science and math to believe in superstitions.

Although there was a time when I kept a "lucky" penny in my pocket when I played craps. I also had a ring I wore when I played craps that I bought in Mexico. It had a Mayan expression on it that translated to Good Luck or something like that.

But I did these things for fun, something to talk about during meal conversations, not because I actually believed in them.

There are things, some have been mentioned already, that on rare occasions distract me during a roll. But I work hard on them so that they normally do not bother me. I have a routine whereby once I start to set the dice I tune out all distractions by focusing on what I am doing. Before I toss the dice I look at my target and that is all I can see at the table. It is very hard to break my concentration once I start setting the dice until they have left my fingers on their way to my target. That is why I am able to talk to the dealers and joke with the players when I am throwing in between tosses. I do it deliberately so that I am not distracted while waiting for the dice. But once the dice are passed to me and I start setting them I am all business.

It is much like the way Billy Chapel, played by Kevin Costner, used a technique for concentrating in the movie "For the Love of the Game" when he was pitching. When he got ready to throw the ball he would look at the batter and repeat a phrase to himself: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126916/quotes?item=qt0307406. That trigger enabled him to block out all the noise in the stadium, focusing solely on the batter and his pitch. Watch this 1 minute clip from the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykV1z7NPr60.

Setting the dice is my trigger to block out all distractions as I go into my throwing routine. I use my target the way Billy Chapel used the batter to help him focus. It is not easy to do. It takes a lot of practice and concentration. But the benefits make the cost worthwhile.

OMC,

Not sure yours is really a superstition. Just a mental block that gets in your head. I personally don’t really like anything being yelled in my ear when I am ready to toss. In your situation here are a couple of things I have tried saying to the person who is yelling for the point number. Depends on their personality or amount of liquor in their system whether it works or not.

Here they are:

"That number is on back order at the moment. Be patient and it will come."

"I like to enjoy my meal first. Your dessert will come after the meal."

"I’m filling up on appetizers right now. You should try some yourself. I will give you your bread and butter later." (Guess I like food related thoughts!)

Think of your own and try using it with a smile on your face. Sometimes it will diffuse the situation.

I am not really superstitious. I will use any known superstition to call bets off or down on a random roller. On myself If something gets in my head and I can’t shake it then I will be off and try to regroup or pass the dice and leave if it is too bad. On other DI’s I will usually turn off my bets if the dice go off the table. That is so rare that I think most shooters are surprised and will try to adjust their shot to compensate and I think that is not a good thing. If it is a known DI and I know something bothers them and it happens then I will be off on my bets for a couple of tosses. For instance, if I was on the table with OMC and someone was calling for the point number I might turn my bets off for a few tosses.

I agree totally with Skinny on the rhythm thing. It is just too easy to blame a scapegoat for a 7 out when you are tossing. I am in control of my shot and my head space and no one else is! The whole rhythm thing between shots is just crazy. The only rhythm and time frame that matters is when the dice are in my hand. If it takes me 5 seconds to set, grip and shoot then it should be virtually 5 seconds each time. The space in between the shots doesn’t matter at all.

There is one thing about Skinny and that is he can talk to the dealers right up to the time he is throwing the dice and throws a great shot! The only other person I know that can do that is chatter box Billy the Kid! 😀

Dom

Getagrip, I LOVE the lines, will have to remember those.

Agreed on the comments that it’s basically what we allow to bother us. Kind of like road rage. What I do and what I SHOULD do are two different things. I am REALLY working on it though (both rages) 😀

Skinny is spot on for how we should be. I was acing the throws one day and next time around, I let myself get caught up in the conversations and laughing while setting. Bad move with really bad results. Chalked up to lessons learned and am constantly working on improving the routine.

It may not be a superstition but it happens so often that it feels like it should be. I think it is their timing, always as you begin your delivery. Really
pisses me off. Unfortunately I am a little like Dom and have a short temper. And I am not one to keep my mouth shut so lash out, probably too often.
I virtually never ask for the point but congratulate the shooter when they make it.

Obey the principles but do not be bound by them.

OMC

The persistence of superstition is deeply rooted in cognition. The way our brains work makes us very likely to mistakenly attribute causes to otherwise random events. Although everyone thinks their own views are pretty objective, we’re all blinded by biases.

The largest of these brought to bear in Craps is the gambler’s fallacy, or the thinking that leads people to believe that a roll is influenced by previous rolls. There is also confirmation bias, which leads us to notice results that confirm our suspicions and ignore results that do not. We remember good things better than bad things. When we win, we attribute it to how smart or skilled we are; when we lose, it’s bad luck or circumstances (self-serving bias). We think we control things more than we do (illusion of control), we think shooters get hot (hot-hand fallacy) and after the fact, no matter what the result, we think we knew it all along (hindsight fallacy).

The casino not only has a mathematical advantage over the players, but the players are predisposed to help the casino by seeing the results incorrectly. It’s what makes me skeptical of controlled shooting, even though I work at it. I’m glad there are ways to measure SRR that are not based on perception. Noticing a change of a few percentage points is almost impossible without external measurement. You’ll remember those times you had a great hand more than you remember your PSOs, and believing it works means that you’re going to find ways to confirm it.

I think that after taking the class I started to use the superstition thing more then before . Not that it is recommended in class but that it does draw attention away from you a lot .
I think that I have lost less by doing some strange things that I did not do before .
One time when I left the table the dealer said how are the other players going to know when to turn off their bets . You were right 17 times I have been keeping track . He may have been just fooling around to see what I would say but I did same a lot during that session by turning my bet off .
It is nice when it works even if have only one bet out there .But you do have to be careful that they don’t take it .The one off bet gets lost some times when they are raking in all the chips .Had to TELL them many times my bet was off .They forget SO easy . 🙂 🙂
Bman you know that I am not a big better and do not press right away usually .
Did have some thing happen last night tho that you may think was luck . I was at casino with friends which one never plays . So I told her just for fun since you are using my card here is 20.00 and if you win we will split the win since she was going to put in 1.00 I was thinking that would not last long enough to get 1 point .Well I then told her that for sure don’t hit the max. button and pointed to it .
So I have her on one side of me and the wife on the other . We are playing cave man for 25 cents .Which at this casino pays 1,000 q for 7 out of 7 .Well to make this short they were all over me about not changing my numbers . I told them that I change them if I hit 6 .Well low and behold I hit the max. button by accident and told myself what the f …. and I need to change my numbers . I changed my numbers real fast and hit the button so wife would not see what I did but I hit 6 for 960.00 which she took NOTICE AND SAID PLAY HAND OFF AND cash out . 🙂 🙂
That is biggest hand ever for me with cave man .
Hope all is well and hope to play with you again .
Good Rolling. 🙂 🙂

That is great camouflage Finisher!

Dom

I let a guy get in my head recently.

We’d actually been having good conversations and the table was doing okay. I’ve made some recent adjustments to my throw, though (slight grip change, extending my arm more to make sure I’m pendulum-ing and not throwing). I think it was my third hand — I’d hit some numbers, but no points before — and he and a guy next to him start talking. They’re ostensibly talking to each other, but it’s clearly about me.

"This is a luck game, man. You just pick up the dice and throw ’em down the table."
"Yeah, there are skill games and luck games. This isn’t a skill game."
"People who think they control luck are crazy, man."

I seven-out. I redden (I assume), color up and leave. Of course, on the way out to the parking lot, I’ve got the perfect rejoinder: Look, if it’s all luck, then it doesn’t matter what I do, right? You don’t hassle the guy who’s training the dice at the other end of the table for fifteen seconds before he throws. Why are you hassling me? If I believe it’s an athletic endeavor, I’m trying to focus here and you’re like the crowd behind the backboard trying to distract the foul shooter. Are you rooting for me to lose while placing bets that I’ll win?! Shouldn’t you be laying, if you think I’m so misguided? Would you rather be right, or win?

…wish I’d thought of it and said it.

All good points Berto to those that say stupid things at the table about people who are trying to control the dice. It doesn’t make sense to me either.

There is one thing though that can egg this on …. students that take FOREVER to set, grip, and throw. I have noticed this more and more. If the student can’t set, grip, and throw within 7 to 10 seconds they deserve to get that type of comments from dealers and customers. I know that is harsh to say, but it is true. From the casino’s perspective, the need to get X amount of rolls per hours and the pit people will get hammered from their bosses if this doesn’t happen. From the player’s prospective if some takes 20 seconds to set, grip, and throw and then throws a 7 out, the student will get looks.

Getting into a routine is important to what we do, but it has to be done in 7 to 10 seconds.

Dominator

We have a standard answer to questions such as " have you taken one of those expensive classes?" or "are you with GTC" or other comments. Doc always says something like " I won’t pay that much for a class but I did read a book. Throwing like this can’t hurt—Can it?" And he follows up with "but I probably paid too much for the book." This usually gets a good laugh and we move forward.

Rose says, something like "my husband read some dumb book and told we to give it a try." Again a good laugh.

Have a comment in mind in advance so it is automatic, and quick. Make your comments short and sweet and add some humor as it usually stops the talk and erases any tension at the table.

Just a couple of comments from the peanut gallery.

Rose and Doc

PS–if you haven’t signed up for the AC classes do so as soon as possible as it will probably fill up quickly.

I LOVE those replies, Doc! I’ll formulate one for myself based on both of your comments. 😀

Dom, I totally agree and always try to have the 10 second clock in mind and do checks on myself from time to time to make sure I’m within that. I’m getting much better in keeping to that these days.

It’s funny, in NW IN, there are an INCREDIBLE number of shooters who go through a ridiculous ritual when throwing. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty, but it’s the shear number of shooters who do this in relation to the national average I’ve seen. Even slow GTCers wouldn’t get heat here!!! 😆

I’m fairly quick to throw. Maybe it’s that I snap my fingers after releasing the dice and shout "GET ‘EM, GIRLS!" every time? 😎

Doc — another good one is "I watch a lot of YouTube."

I recently had a great roll. Unlike most other people, superstition does not bother me. In this particular roll, we went thru numerous stick changes. I bounced the dice off the table once and did not care that they gave me new dice. However, something happened that freaked me out during this roll. Somewhere around the 75 minute mark, there was an incredible amount of money on the table and I hit the hard 8. There was lots of payouts on the hard 8 and while the time was ticking by, I noticed the boxman pick up my dice one by one and give them a twirl for balance checking. Now we all know that there was no balance issues with the dice. He clearly wanted/needed to do something to cool this table off.

Anyone who knows me knows that I happen to be a very cool calm and collected person. Not much bothers me. I turned to him and incredibly politely said "excuse me James, if you touch the dice again during my roll, I will contact the casino manager and report you as well as put in a formal complaint." He apologized and said he didn’t even realize he touched them. "BULLSHIT" Anyway, I continued to roll for quite a bit longer. So I guess after writing this, it proves that everyone has a little superstition in them.

Midnight

If a CFer is rolling and I have money out there all it takes to get it down is .
Dice go off table .
crap number is rolled .
Table action slows .
Come bet is won.
Place bet is won.Some times depends on how roller is throwing .
This all worked on last trip .The guy next to me was dumb founded how well I did with those silly things .He would say you called it again . 🙂 🙂
That puts a little more fun in the game when you are not rolling . 🙂 🙂
Like DOM SAYS winning is fun so I hope this is fun for ALL of us.
Good Rolling. 🙂 🙂

I want to bump this thread due to the new bunch from the class in AC. Post your superstitions, or stories about ’em.

I was told it is bad luck to be superstitious. 😯

I view superstition in gambling similarly to chicken soup for a cold. Chicken soup can not harm a cold and if you believe it is helpful, the placebo effect can be beneficial to you.

As long as the superstition has a positive effect on you then there is no harm in believing in it. But if any negative thoughts can come from your superstition, it is best to ignore it.

I once found a penny when I had a particularly good craps session. I made sure I carried that penny with me for quite some time whenever I played craps after that. When I inevitably misplaced that penny, I started carrying a different penny in my pocket for awhile. Eventually I got tired of the game and stopped carrying the stupid penny around.

It was fun to have a "lucky penny" but I never gave a second thought, nor did I feel unlucky, when I lost it. That penny was my chicken soup when I had it. But when I lost it I adjusted my thinking appropriately so that it did not affect me adversely.

Scientists have discovered that chicken soup does help a person with a cold get better! That’s not a superstition any longer. It is amazing what scientists
find these days. One even discovered I can talk and walk at the same time!

OMC

The placebo effect is so strong that it works even when you know it’s a placebo.

It’s clear that it’s possible for superstition to affect outcomes due to forces like these.

I really need to get rid of the superstition on which urinal to use at the casino! I do actually work to keep the superstitions and what-nots out of my game. I think about them at home during practice…. sevens up accidentally while setting dice, issues with a certain point, and other things that can get into your head. Let them in, learn how to deal with them whether it’s via a placebo or not, but we definitely learn how to deal with them…. a life long battle, I’m afraid.

Don

Just a thought . If everybody turned OFF their bets when the dice bounced off the table MAYBE the casino would change the felt .
Good Rolling. 🙂 🙂