The best advice I have seen on slumps and long losing streaks is found on p. 159 of "Casino Craps – Shoot to Win". If you don’t have that book, buy it. It has been very helpful and encouraging to me in my quest to be a dice influencer.

On a personal level, I have found that table conditions play a major role in my success at the tables. I will no longer play on a bouncy table because I can not win consistently. Sure I have won on a bouncy table on occasion, but in the long run I have more losses than wins.

A few months ago I was really doing well winning consistently and then suddenly I hit an unbelievable losing streak that really discouraged me and I began to wonder if I had deluded myself into believing that I had an edge. I went back to basics examining every aspect of my throw. What I found was that I had developed bad habits in my grip. This should be no surprise since Mr. Dom says repeatedly that most problems are in the grip. After correcting the bad grip problems, I have had success at the tables once again.

The last comment I have on this subject is ‘ variation’. Variation is the difference from probability that can occur in the short term. The edge we have is based on the long term, that is, 1000’s of rolls as opposed to 3 or 4 sessions at a casino. Variation can cause pretty wild results. I once rolled 17 double pitch 7s in 50 rolls on my practice rig – that’s 34% double pitches compared to 11.1% random probability. Almost anything can happen in 50 rolls, but we are in it for the long haul.

Mentally, I have found if I am not "feeling it", I am probably not going to have a good night. I always do better when I have enthusiasm for what I am attempting.

I mirror much of what Bminus1 had to share. I took the Primer and 1st Refresher. I went to the tables playing GTC "Style" beginning in January and had a some fairly decent success for the first couple of months being up about 50% my 401-G. Not sure where I got off the tracks, but around May, I was starting to see my rolls come crashing down average/below average. I had developed a hitch in my throw.

Mindset is incredibly important. I can suffer from complacency and that’s usually when my bad habits try to sneak back in. Also, a positive outlook is needed. Sure, we have our bumps in the road, that’s part of the battle, but I have always found that if I am lacking enthusiasm, I am destined for a bad time.

Much of the issues are in the grip and that’s where I battle with being complacent. The redundancy of practice, can sometimes cause me to go on remote control. I have battled that hitch in my throw most of the summer and just finally feel like I have it sorted out, at least for now.

Stay positive, know that you’ve have the knowledge to have success and keep practicing.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for the replies!

"Back to basics examining every aspect of my throw" this is true beyond a shadow of a doubt. I am currently going back to my roots as it were. I used to practice hours a day and kept logs of my rolls and what each die was doing. Over the past few days I have been taking some super slo mo videos with my S9+. it is fascinating seeing a double pitch happen in real time, all .4 seconds of it! I feel as though I need to do this stuff again to regain more confidence in my shot. Currently, if I try any bets other then then a pass line it is instant seven out. (This is a huge sign that I have a mental block that needs to be addressed.)

HOWEVER…

What I was getting at in the original post is more of the metaphysics of what is happening energy wise at the table. I will share my experience.

On the 17th I caught a monster random roll. I literally could do no wrong! Before hand I noticed a few things. Normally I run a min table DC bet on a random shooter about the 4th or 5th roll. This lady had the dice and I could tell she was a beginner but knew a little bit about the game. She tossed a Hard Six. A few numbers later I ran my DC bet and it Traveled on her second hard six. I remember knowing that my DC bet was going to lose, but I actually found my self rooting for her because she parlayed her first two hard sixes so now there was $100 on it. A thousand win would be nice score for her. After a few more rolls she lost her nerve and split it among all the hardways a few more rolls and she sevened out. A near miss!

I didn’t bet the next two shooters and I was just casually watching Mr. Hot Roller. During the course of this I saw a new guy behind me asking how to you play this game? The other guys at the table didn’t seem interested in helping him, so I turned to him and say it was an easy game, seven you win and seven you lose. After look of confusing he says what does that mean then laughed. I then helped him understand the game and the etiquette involved. I started placing numbers just to show the new guy how it is done, and low and behold Mr. Hot Roller starts slamming them! I helped the new guy turn his $60 into $800 and I had won a nice little sum myself in the process. I also noticed that the dealers were very focused and passionate about the game. There was definitely a cadence to it and it was electric. Also these three business men had come up to the table and I could see that the one guy was teaching his other two friends how to play craps. It was like I had witnessed a perfect storm of events.

Then fast forward to yesterday, similar style of play, and I could not do anything right. I got slathered! So I am asking what changed, how to you quantify the "magic"?

Any insights are greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,
Lou

I do really appreciate a table that has positive energy and a fun atmosphere (although I do only play at sparsely populated tables). I have just one word for what you are have experienced and what we all experience in my humble opinion. Variance. Math is what the long run of the game is based on but it will be expressed in variance. As a dice influencer I try to impact that math a little but even then it is in small bites. Is it easier when a table has positive energy? I don’t know. More relaxed and more confident. Doesn’t hurt anyway. Also, I will leave a table if energy turns bad in my perception such as argument over bet or payment, someone is being rude to a dealer or another player. Yes, energy does influence me in certain ways but the dice have no emotions, I do. Great question for discussion Lou!

The meta physics of this game. A subject I love!

In class I talk about the "movie test"

You know what I mean people – there you are after dinner and you want to watch some TV. Nothing on your DVR is what you want to watch so you get that remote in your hands and you start to switching stations. You stop on one and you think you might like the movie, but within minutes you know you won’t so you switch stations again. You finally find a movie you have seen many times that you love and you stay there and watch it again.

This should be done at every table you move into. Have you seen this movie, (what is happening at the table) before? Did you like the results? If not move on!

I also do a lecture on this game being 80% mental and 20% physical. This is what I am talking about. Try to remember what was on your mind when you had that big roll and you felt comfortable. Try to get back into that feeling. Remember that this is an athletic endeavor and sometimes the basketball hoop looks like it is twice it size and you can do no wrong. Sometimes it looks smaller than a baseball.

Remember those feelings

Dom

I love the idea of "movie" test. I have been visiting the casino’s a lot in this time that I have been between jobs, I don’t play very often but I love to observe. It is shocking to me how many people I see there day are day as regulars. Obviously these people are losing their shirt day after day and bringing that negative mindset to the table. I am convinced of it.

My emotional state on the monster roll was this: I had just Ace’ed an interview for a job that I very much wanted (they offered me the position 24 hours later) and I was genuinely happy to be explaining this game that I love to a new person and seeing them light up with the enthusiasm of learning something new with the same passion that I have.

On the monster loss roll I was bound and determined to desensitize myself to playing playing more then a $10 pass line. Also I was a little bit upset that a guy that I was supposed to meet with ended up not showing and within in an hour of "waiting for him" I had hit my "loss" limit. Since I was playing with "their" money from the big win, I decided to keep going. BIG MISTAKE!

The error in my thinking was that it was their money. I set up the law of attraction to send it right back to them. Funny how that works out, huh?

Sincerely,
Lou

PS I agree with getagrip. I HATE playing on busy tables and that is mainly the reason I do not play the majority of the time. But it is nice to have a positive vibe from the other players and dealers that are actually focused on the game. I believe the dice are an extension of ourselves, so in a way they can reflect our emotional state. We practice physical mechanics all the time, but how offend do e practice the Meta-physiscal aspects. Even something as simple as taking 30 deep breathes to clam our nerves before hand can make a huge difference. As Dom says, it is 80% of the game…

"Wirenut" wrote: Mentally, I have found if I am not "feeling it", I am probably not going to have a good night. I always do better when I have enthusiasm for what I am attempting.

I mirror much of what Bminus1 had to share. I took the Primer and 1st Refresher. I went to the tables playing GTC "Style" beginning in January and had a some fairly decent success for the first couple of months being up about 50% my 401-G. Not sure where I got off the tracks, but around May, I was starting to see my rolls come crashing down average/below average. I had developed a hitch in my throw.

Mindset is incredibly important. I can suffer from complacency and that’s usually when my bad habits try to sneak back in. Also, a positive outlook is needed. Sure, we have our bumps in the road, that’s part of the battle, but I have always found that if I am lacking enthusiasm, I am destined for a bad time.

Much of the issues are in the grip and that’s where I battle with being complacent. The redundancy of practice, can sometimes cause me to go on remote control. I have battled that hitch in my throw most of the summer and just finally feel like I have it sorted out, at least for now.

Stay positive, know that you’ve have the knowledge to have success and keep practicing.

Mentally, I have found if I am not "feeling it", I am probably not going to have a good night. I always do better when I have enthusiasm for what I am attempting that is right on for me too if i feel that i go play video poker or sometimes slots not a big slots fan

Hope this helps.

Whenever I start to struggle, I always go back to fundamentals. Flaws creep in slowly and silently become habits. The watchful eye of another person or video usually helps me find when I am losing control. Most phones now have such great cameras, there is no excuse for not looking at your toss from a different perspective.

Sevenout,

I agree completely. My phone has been a great teacher the past few weeks.

Sincerely,
Lou