The first commandment of the 20 commandments of dice control is as follows:

1. Do not take longer than 10 seconds to set the dice, grab, grip, aim and throw the dice. If you take longer than 10 seconds the casinos will think you are slowing down the game and that will bring attention to you. The good dice controllers of Golden Touch average about 7 to 8 seconds from start to finish on their rolls.

The first step in throwing the dice is setting the dice. This is the easiest part of the throw. You should be able to set the dice in 1 second.

That is right, only 1 second!

Setting the dice is a simple technique that can be learned without any equipment other than a pair of dice. After a bit of practice it becomes automatic and you will find it only takes 1 second. In class we say it should take no more than 2 or 3 seconds to set the dice. But in reality, if you work at the proper technique and pay attention to what you are doing you can get it down to 1 second.

The first thing you should do is decide how you want to set the dice. What pips do you want on top and what pips do you want facing you? Once you have made that decision, you need to be sure to set the dice the same way each and every time. You always want the same numbers on top and the same numbers facing you.

Even though you could rotate the dice 1/4 turn each in the same direction (up to 4 times) and still have the same dice set you do not want to use different orientations of your dice set. It is best to have the same numbers on top and the same numbers facing you every time for two reasons.

First, it becomes easier to set the dice quickly if you always have the same orientation each time.

Second, when you get into a rhythm with your toss you are more likely to see the exact same results if you have the same numbers on top and facing you for each throw.

There are 6 faces on each die. With the same number on top and same number facing you, the other 4 faces will have the same numbers each time as well. By having the same 2 faces on top and facing you, you also have the same other 4 faces in the same position (left, right, bottom and facing away) each time as well. That is why it becomes easier to set the dice quickly with the same orientation.

In the beginning you need to memorize the other 4 faces. What number is facing away from you? What number is on the bottom? What number is on the left and right sides of the die? By knowing what numbers you want on top and facing you, you automatically have decided what numbers are on the other 4 faces as well. Once you have that down you are ready to decide what to do with the dice when the stickman has them in the middle of the table before passing them to you.

When the dice are in the middle of the table you can see at least 2 faces on each die. But you now know exactly where those 2 faces should go in order to accomplish the dice set you want with your favorite top and facing numbers. When the dice are in the middle by looking at exactly 2 faces on each die you can decide how you want to turn each die in one motion in order to put the die into your preferred dice set.

For example, let us say you want to set the die with the five on top and the four facing you. Then each time the six will be on your left, the one will be on your right, the three will be facing away from you and the two will be on the bottom. So if the die is sitting in the middle of the table with the four on top and six facing you, how are you going to rotate that die in one motion to get your set?

You know you want the six on your left and the four facing you. Therefore when the die is put in front of you, grab it with your thumb on the six and a (perhaps the index or middle) finger on the one. Pick it up and put it down in front of you, all in one motion, rotating it so you put it down with the six on the left and the four facing you. You might have to twist you hand slightly or rotate the die in your fingers as you put it down. But you should be able to put it down with the five on top and four facing you all in one motion.

Let’s do one more that is a bit more difficult and requires some dexterity to do it in one motion. You still want the five on top and four facing you. The die in the middle has the three on top and two facing you. Since you know where all 6 faces are in your dice set, you want to pick the die up so that when you put it down the three is in the back and the two is on the bottom. One way to do that is to pick up the die by twisting your hand to grip it with your thumb on the right (on the six) and index finger on the left (on the one). Flip it over so you have the three facing away from you and the two on the bottom. The die will be set with all the faces in the proper orientation (five on top, four facing, six left, one right, two bottom and three away).

Now I don’t care if you use this specific hand/finger technique for putting the die in front of you. The main point is by looking at only 2 faces when the dice are in the center of the table, you should be able to decide where you want to put those 2 faces in one motion to get your desired set when the stickman passes the dice to you.

If you only know what you want on top and facing you, then you have to waste time flipping the die around until you see those two faces. But if you memorize what numbers are on all six faces for your desired dice set, you only need to see two faces. With a bit of practice you will know automatically where you want to put any two faces you see to get your set. This is the key to setting the dice quickly. There are only sixteen possible combinations of two faces of any 6 sided die. Given any one of those combinations you should be able to know where you want to put each of those faces to have your desired set.

Learning how to do that in one motion quickly can be learned in a very short period of time. It is the easiest part of the throw to learn but one of the most important.

Let me know how this works for you after you have practiced it for about a week.

Replies:

No replies were posted for this topic.