The Cooler and Other Questions Part One by John
jtrz Posts
Hi everyone,
Just got back from playing at the Empress in Joliet, IL today.
Donna, my wife, was hosting the monthly canasta party at our house and had brunch early before the card game. So I left for the casino abuot 12:15 pm.
Hey Frank…when are they coming out with canasta at the casino huh ? My wife could pay off the house the way she plays.
Later in this report I’ll have a few questions I’d lke some of the GTC Crew for which to provide input. So if you’re out there reading this, please comment. Thanks!
My goals for this trip were to "get back to basics" and concentrate on simple, conservative betting. The trip to Tunica was OK overall for Donna & I. The Jamboree was reaIly good. The fog & rain made it yecchhhh. I was one of the people that did not win on the trip. The only 2 good hands I had all weekend were (a) the very first hand at the Grand – 28 rolls and I was up about $150 and (b) my 24 inthe no 7s contest in which I came in 2nd. Everything else was NOT working. Can’t say I lost my shirt for the weekend. But I was missing my collar, a sleeve, and a few buttons after it was all over. I’ve been in a slump shooting in practice and play for the past month. But today, I think we crushed the slump !
Summary — My best casino performance yet in terms of total rolls…and the fastest ! $10 table. 14′ table shooting from SL. Playing alone at the table. Betting small and starting with 6 & 8 and building up and out from there. First hand when I got the dice: 35 mins – 48 numbers – 5 points. No 7s, even on on come out rolls, until the final 7. Buy-in $500. Cash-out $1165. Never had more than $35-$40 on any number. Was warned about BOTH dice having to hit the back wall more than I usually am. Had a few more short shots than usual where this happened. Actually had a NO ROLL called too.
Details — I warmed up at home with 78 rolls. A strange number, I know. I usually warm up somewhere north of 60 rolls. I roll in groups of 6 until I feel consistent and see the dice doing what I want them to do. Then I was ready to go.
Arrived at the casino about 12:45 pm. By the time I relaxed, gotten some change, and washed hands, I started playing exactly at 1 pm. Finished at 1:35
It all started with a $12 – 8…
I stepped up to the table thinking, "Great ! I have the entire table to myself." Then it hit me. If I start putting larger amounts of $$$ on the table, even starting with the $30 6/8, and I get hot I’ll draw suspicion to myself which I don’t want. Even though I have a players club card there, I have not used it in a while because they really cannot offer a lot in comps with the gambling tax situation in IL. So now, I play anonymously
So I started small. I threw out a world bet and used the world set. I hit an 11 for my first roll. I like getting paid double, I’m starting to like the world set & horn bet combo on the comeout. Thanks for showing it to me in Chicago in July Dom !
I 5-counted myself and had 6 as a point. Put out 1x ($10) odds and a $12 8. Instead of doing alternating pull/full-press betting, I went up 1 unit on each hit. Again, I did not want to draw suspicion to myself if I got into a groove and was hitting numbers. I just didn’t want to get to big too fast. And from there on, I was really hitting the numbers.
Once I paid for the table and got to the $24 level on the 6 & 8, I put out a $10 5 and 9. Started hitting and pressing those numbers too. After a while I decided to do a "mind experiment." I’m not one to normally regress in the middle of a big hand. But after a while, I decided to regress to the table minimum across to see if it would relax me more. It did. Knowing that I have a profit locked up and that I’m now playing with the casino’s $$$, certainly took the pressure off.
I decided to regress for 2 reasons…(a) after playing in Tunica at the table with Billy the Kid and seeing it work for me (thanks Billy !). But also because of hearing Dom’s constant "drone" about regressing when you’re starting out and building a bankroll. Believe me, hearing Dom’s voice in your head while you’re shooting is pretty scary, Even so, thanks for the advice Dom.
Along the way, I was warned about not hitting the back wall with BOTH dice a few times. Most, not all, of what the boxwoman thought were misses were the lagging die just touching the back wall below the pyramids. Once I was tipping the dealers and they were winning (came out with close to $100 in tips for the hand), the heat was off. Had 3 suits watching. Once during the point cycle, she called "NO ROLL" on a legit short shot because one die lander approx 1" from the back wall (I slipped) . But it was a 12 which was a push. Didn’t help/hurt the house/me. But even when she was getting "testy," I was still calm and it really didn’t affect me.
Anyway…I regressed and built up again. now I’m about 2/3 way though the roll. I decided, "The hell with the ‘up 1 unit.’ I’m going full-press now." I did. And I hit a bunch more numbers.
About this time, the point was a 4. I was at like $30 on 5, $30 on 6 & $18 on 8, $20 on 9, and bought the 10 for $40. I had $20 in odds behind the PL bet. I was pretty well covered at this point and I made a number of hits. But I threw 2 crap numbers back to back. Now, I’m not the superstitious one who thinks that if you see a crap number, that’s the end of your roll. But I do think that when I’m throwing crap numbers, it means I’m going off axis. I turned myself off and hit a 10. Figures ! So I turned myself on, and WAMMO – 7 out. Should have left it off for like 2-3 rolls.
So I tried starting again and I hit a point-7 out. And another point-point-7out. I was up a great deal so I decided to color up and leave. One of the dealers jokingly said, "Not bad for a $20 buy-in !" So I threw them a $25 chip and said thank you for the game. Total time in casino: about 1 hour.
One thing though…the stick woman who was about 5’4" asked me, after the long roll, to move over to the left a bit so that when I threw, my arm wasn’t coming close to her face…more specifically, "that my armpit wasn’t IN her face" when I threw. I’ve seen a lot of that lately from dealers at the tables. Hey ! My 24 hr deodorant was still working !
Questions for the GTC Crew 1. Pactice Style
As far as I can tell, there are 2 styles of practice (a) "concentrated block of time" of like 15-60 mins set aside during the day to focus and practice and (b) the practice "a few throws here and a fw throws there" during the day. Frank, I know you do (b). I used to do (a) until about 2 months ago when I started working for myself from home. Now, my practice box is always literally 5 steps behind me in my office so I thought I’d try Frank’s practice style of throw until you get a 7 a few times a day. I changed from putting in 30-60 mins a day and I think that put me into a problem situation. It was like every 3rd roll was a 7 until recently. I use the HW set now and it wasn’t that I was seeing 6/1s. I was seeing 5/2s and 4/3s. A lot of times, the 7s would "clump." There were times when I would throw more 7s than numbers. I used to do 60 warm-up throws and 60-120 actual throws. I recently went back to setting aside a block of time to pratice and it looks to me as if my control is coming back. Maybe I’m just the type that takes a while to get into the groove ? Thoughts ?
2. Concentration
I know that what is taught is "relaxed focus" to get in the zone. Which sometimes gets translated to "intense concentration." But I’m going throw out another idea for comments. A number of times this year, I’ve had really good consistency when the mood at the table was light, fun, and joking. My most profitable roll back in April at the Grand Victoria in Elgin, IL was late at night, not too crowded with a friend of mine who is always fun to be with. I was teaching him about the game and was showing him how I shot. We were having a ball joking around, commenting on things, etc but I was not what you would call concentrating intently on all aspects of my throw. I was not "staring intently into the zone" as it were. Granted, I was practicing a consistent 1 hour+ a day then so it might have been automatic. THis trip, I started to engage the dealers in light conversation and joking around to lighten things up. Seemed to work.
3. Ever have someone act as a "cooler" for you ?
A cooler is someone who affects people around them and sort of brings "bad luck." I recently read an interview with ther actor William H. Macy about his new movie "Cooler" coming up. I’ve never heard this term until I read the interview. I also found out that, just like you don’t yell "FIRE !" in a crowded theater, you don’t say "Cooler" in a casino (at least if you work there).
There was a craps dealer who wrote an interesting screenplay about a casino that hires a cooler to stop people on winning streaks and it’s being made into a movie. An interesting idea for a movie. But back to my question…my wife and I joke that she’ll never get to see me shoot dice (not that she cares as long as the 401(G) grows). I always have a losing session with her around. I usually win and win big when she’s not. Happened in Tunica. I couldn’t get ANYTHING even started when she was at the table. I think it’s mental. When I’m with her, I think I sweat the $$$ more than I do alone. I’ve shot with other friends and that doesn’t affect me. Anyone have any similar experiences or comments ?
4. How do you handle the situation that arises when you’re shooting from SL and they ask you to NOT put your arm across the stick person’s area when throwing ? Seems like we’re hearing a lot of this lately. We did at the GoldStrike in Tunica.
Hope we can start some interesting threads with these questions.
Thanks everyone !
John
NoFieldFive responds:
John,
Sorry I did not get to meet you in Tunica. Seems like the entire weekend was a blur it went so fast.
As far as your practice question goes, when I begin a practice session I am only looking at the dice flight and landing. If I am not releasing the dice properly or softly enough, I practice until I am satisfied with the dice flight and reaction. If this takes 10 minutes or 30 minutes I will not stop until I correct my problem. Now, I take a short break (15-30 minutes) and then I come back to shoot a session until I seven out.
I will not normally spend more than 45 minutes total practice on any day. If the first session starts out well with proper dice flight and soft landing, then I will shoot for points in a virtual sessions taking a break between 7-outs. So, for me, the answer is that I use a hybrid practice routine that can vary depending on my toss for that day.
Concentration is another variable for me that changes depending on my mood. If the dice are looking good I will sometimes engage the dealers or fellow players in light chat. If I am having problems then I do not want to be engaged in any conversation because I need to focus on the toss and analyze the problem to regain the consistency required.
I think it helps to have others at the table who reinforce me when I am shooting in an indirect way. Examples: Street Dog who will say "Smile when good things happen!" after a bad toss avoids the seven. Billy the Kid who will talk a lot even when he is shooting, lightens the game up to where it is less stressful for the participants.
I think that the important thing is that whatever you need to do to stay relaxed and focused is what you should do. Please note that in the examples I noted, the comments are not aimed at the shooter in particular, nor do they require a response from the shooter.
The "Cooler" theory is interesting. We have to perform at the top of our game to control the dice properly. If there is anything that causes internal discomfort such as sweating the money your wife might see you lose then you should not put yourself in that situation. Because I can guarantee you will not be relaxed and in good form.
The "not extending your arm in front of the stickman" has not happened to me yet. In fact, I normally have had the stickman lean back to give me room to toss. I attribute this to the dealer’s line bet I always place when I shoot. I did not play at the Gold Strike because of what I heard from the others. Should it occur, on a 12 foot table I would simply move back to SL2 and shoot the dice. If on a 14 footer then I would leave as soon as I get my contract bet decided.
Daryl "NofieldFive"
Dominator responds
Hi John,
As always an interesting post. Your trip reports are always good. Here are my thoughts on your questions.
Practice
How you do this is an individual thing, as you have learned. IMHO, you need to dedicate practice time. I get this from my old practice the piano days, and 3:30 practice in the gym for Baseball or basketball, or after dinner do your homework. You must get into a routine, because you have to take that routine into the casinos with you. You had a few questions that are intermingled, a "Cooler, not playing well with your wife, have a great day when you were with your friend and you were joking.
I am sure you can see where I am going with this, the questions all have ground, and that is everyone will shoot better when they shoot with an empty mind when you wife is there there is perceived pressure because you want to win in front of her, not an empty mind when you were you lighted hearted friend and shot great it was an empty mind there was no pressure and you probably threw like you do in practice
with the cooler, perceived thoughts that no matter what you would do a 7 was going to show not an empty mind
Remember that practice doesn’t make perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect. Being in the zone doesn’t mean intensity, but a relaxed state and an empty mind. Practice breathing and throwing all the time. Do not deviate from this during practice time. All your points point to one thing and one thing only, this game of controlled shooting is 20% technical and a big 80% mental!
The arm in front of the stick thing. This has only happened to me once and it was at the tag in AC. Mr Finesse was with me, and I have got to say that I didn’t handle it so well, i.e., I didn’t stay relaxed and didn’t listen to my own talks as Frank is eager to tell me often .
Now that comment about hearing my voice in your head is scary, well as long as my voice keeps you focused, then I have to try to sound even more scary but I still love you John!
Dominator
Replies:
No replies were posted for this topic.
