Rose and Doc know how important targeting is in playing craps. We must pick a spot and aim for that spot each and every time. It is a very important part of your throw. Taking a few seconds, as taught in the class, before beginning your short back swing is most important. I have a tendency to target very successfully in the beginning of my turn with the dice, but as my turn with the dice continues, I will begin to rush my shot and not target. Guess I simply get too excited.
This really came to mind, of all places, on the golf course. I am a so-so golfer and play the game with the sole purpose to be outside in the sunshine and be with friends looking forward to the beer and burger as the end of the round. Being a great golfer is not on his bucket list. There is a parallel with targeting in both golf and craps but a lot of differences as well.
In craps we look at our spot 4 inches in front of the back wall for a few seconds so that we can (hopefully) hit the same spot each and every time. We have the object we want to project through the air in our hand and try and throw the dice to the same location.
In golf the item we have in our hand is not the golf ball, but the club we are swinging. Yes we have to line ourselves up to have the ball go in the general direction of the green. But once we are lined up we need to carefully target the golf ball by putting and keeping our eyes on the ball. So, what I begin to do, when the revelation came to me, was to place the club head about 1 inch behind the ball and look at the spot for 3 to 4 seconds before beginning my back swing–i.e. targeting. I made much better contact with the ball, got a little more distance, fewer of the balls going left and right. Mind you this did not correct everything but it was a help. Not a lot of improvement in my over all game for an old hacker but satisfying none the less.
I like this because it helped my first love (behind Rose of course)–the game of craps.
In effect I was using the same tool( targeting) to improve my game.
This little routine used consistently has improved both games. I have had several good turns with the dice since I played golf on Wed.
Hopefully others will be able use this concept in their practice as well as in the casino.
Doc
Replies:
Posted by: Dominator on September 21, 2018, 5:43 pm
Dom
Posted by: Skinny on September 21, 2018, 6:58 pm
I certainly agree that targeting is very important in making a controlled throw.
A tool I use with the students is to ask them to tell me the target they are trying to hit. I would point to it on the table to be sure we were talking about the same spot.
Then I would ask them to let me know if they hit their target on the next throw. If not, I would want to know where the dice first hit the table in relation to the target. Was it short, long, left or right of the spot.
Only when they could tell me where their shot landed correctly did I know they were focused on the target. Looking to see where the dice hit would force them to keep their eye on their target.
You would be amazed how this simple question would get students to hone in on their target. Suddenly their shot would improve immensely. They were focusing on the target and not thinking about other things during the toss.
Posted by: JawBones on September 21, 2018, 7:35 pm
That’s a great question for people as they begin their journey to dice control. As an Intern, I have safely loaded this into my bag of useful aids to help students get better.
Thanks for sharing that.
Doc, as usual, another great post that has a simple but very powerful technique to make our throws better. And if you could see me swing a golf club, you likely think I need a lot more advice than targeting but it’s a great place to start. I am an expert in military golf…left, right, left, right.
jb
