It seems like it’s been such a long time since I took my primer session in Vegas last August, but I knew my head wasn’t in the correct place for the first couple of months this year so I didn’t rush back to the casino. At the beginning of April I got my head screwed on straight and got serious about my practice again, trying to hone in on those little things and working them out of my throw again. Finally, I felt good and the time felt right so I made my way to one of the local casinos here in NC for my first sessions… I’d love to say it went well, but I made stupid mistakes my first two sessions and hit my stop each time. The only thing I can say I did right during those sessions was that I was RELIGIOUS about using the 5 count, but even that was working against me because it seemed most people would make it past and then seven out once my come bet was established. The silver lining to it all was my last session.

Session 1: Got to town mid-day and got checked in at the hotel. Took a nap, relaxed a bit and took my time getting over to the casino. My mistake, not realizing that I was still tired from everything else I’d been doing this weekend and still going to the table. Sadly, even the amateurish dealing didn’t even clue me in that I should have taken the night off! Lots of folks made it past the 5 count and then would seven out. My turn with the dice I set a point and then rolled 6-8 rolls before rolling a 7. Hit my stop criteria and walked away for the night.

Session 2 – morning: Got to the table feeling rested and ready to go. Different crew was on and there seemed to be some energy at the table. The dice were on my end of the table (sick left) and had to get around the right side of the table before I’d get a chance to roll. 30ish minutes after getting to the table the shift changed and the same group from the previous night rolled in. The person before me was three rolls into his hand when someone told the stick that he’d left his car running in the parking lot and he goes tearing out of there. I finally get the dice and I’m feeling ok about my roll (the dice were splitting some which annoyed me) and part of the way through my hand they switch back because he’s got his car under control. Brothelman’s reply to POed in AC was dead on…

"brothelman" wrote: In 13 years of doing this I’ve come to terms with the fact the dealers are more interested in each other than what they were doing and how they affect the game. If you just step back and watch dealers are constantly having a conversation with themselves rather than monitoring the game…

The positive I can say about this session is that he might have actually recognized that he was more of a distraction than anything else because when I rolled a seven and picked up my chips to leave he did apologize, which was appreciated in a way.

Session 3 – afternoon: After all the mess from the first sessions things finally started to click. The dice looked good, usually together with a good backspin and were landing where I wanted them to. The dice stuck to my fingers on my second throw and this crew, a different group, just shrugged it off which helped me stay relaxed and I think I hit the wall every roll after that. Knowing that they were on every bet with me probably helped as well. I didn’t have any monster rolls, but I tried to make the most of the rolls I had and ended up having the dice four times, two points made with a few rolls between probably in the 10-15 range; point, couple of rolls, seven; two points made again with a few rolls between and then finally another point, couple of rolls and seven. Before my last hand, as the dice were working their way around the table, some Don’t player on my end of the table started making noise in my direction about how it didn’t do any good for me to sit there with money on the rail and I about had to laugh when the stick told him to worry about losing his own money and not worry about what others did with theirs. I did feel slightly self conscious for a bit, but I stuck to my 5 count and it saved me about half the time.

It’s a nice thought to think that I won back what I lost in the first sessions, but that didn’t happen. What I did walk away with was more confidence, more determination and a couple of lessons learned. I’m already looking at my calendar to see when I can fit a refresher into my schedule, but for now, more practice awaits me and any suggestions for simulating "distractions" during practice would be appreciated (I already have the radio or TV on in the background).

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