There are a couple of things that have occurred to me recently. It all started when Dr. Crapology and I had some private time together. Nothing romantic, just a one on one tutorial and for me a new perspective on this GTC toss that we are all practicing. What Doc and Alligator Rose have accomplished with their tuneup class is nothing short of phenomenal. Many times during practice I play with chips and buy in for let’s say two thousand dollars. To make it real, I pretend that this is real money and important not to lose i.e., I focus hard on winning. Now, there is nothing wrong with wanting to win. Let’s beat the casino every chance we get, right?
Here’s the catch: I was so focused on winning and outcomes that this drew my attention away from the fine mechanics of the toss. What is your hand and fingers doing as the dice leave your grip? How is the back swing and follow through looking? Is your arm straight? Are you flicking your wrist right at the end of your toss? Is your wrist remaining perfectly level with your arm? These were all details that Doc and Rose pointed out to me just from a few minutes of observation. I finally got the idea. Unless I work on mechanics and step away from the "action" aspect of the game for a time, I could never get to the next level with my toss.
Sometimes we become so compassionate about winning that this fever pitch desire to win distracts us from what our practice is meant to accomplish, namely, the development of near perfect muscle memory. It is not always about trying harder to win and becoming frustrated with the outcome of the dice. We all know that once the dice leave our hand, the dice will do what they are going to do and are no longer being influenced by the shooter.
What I have discovered by letting go of the outcome and just focusing on the mechanics is that the results start to magically appear on their own. Instead of allowing my index finger to point out in space while the dice leave my hand, I am now able to maintain a "C" shaped grip with my hand that provides a beautiful fulcrum for the dice to pivot on. I have stopped flicking my wrist at the end of the follow through. My wrist remains flat with my arm fully extended. When I really stopped to study what type of muscle memory I had developed by being so "outcome" focused, I realized it was time for a pivotal change in my practice regimen. I see that the moment my mind starts to wander, the fingers will move and distort or the wrist will flick, the grip will be uneven etc… These dice have a very direct relationship to what your body is doing. Pay close attention.
Work the NoFieldFive drill before you go to bed at night. If you don’t know what that is then it’s time for another Tuneup with Doc and Rose. Better yet, why not take a Refresher. Get back to working your basics and stop complaining about losing. The dice will respond to a focused practice routine and this upcoming class has all the instructors excited to look at your toss and work with you individually.
Looking forward to seeing all of you in Vegas. This really is a journey…..
Replies:
Posted by: Dr Crapology on August 11, 2019, 9:34 pm
Look forward to seeing you in Vegas in about 10 days.
Rose and Doc
Posted by: RMI on August 11, 2019, 11:41 pm
Posted by: Dr Crapology on August 12, 2019, 2:09 pm
Set the dice in the hard way set, get your grip as we teach with fingers straight across the front of the dice with the thumb centered on the back of the dice as well. For this drill you will not target since you will look down for most of the entire drill. You will not release the dice. As you look down watch yourself take your short back swing (about 3 inches) and make sure you are going straight back and come forward to the position where you started. Do this several times to make sure you are not coming inside on your back swing.
Next step, do the back swing (again you are not looking at your target area) and swing forward to about shoulder height and stop. You are still looking straight down and not forward as you would with a regular throw in the casino. This way you are insuring that the beginning of your forward swing would be straight forward down the table. Do not release the dice and hold your arm and hand straight with the dice still in your hand. NOW and only NOW do you look at the dice in your hand (which is extended forward) to insure that the dice are still level with the table at the position where you would normally have the dice roll off of your finger tips.
It is a great way to insure that while the dice are in your hand you have the beginning of a great throw. Remember as the great Mr. Finesse (God rest his soul) used to said "the only time you have 100% control of the dice is when they are in your hand". Once the dice roll off your finger tips the laws of nature and physics take over.
Hope this will help. RMI, make it a point to take a refresher course, take a tune up or simply come to the open house so that an instructor can work with you on the NFF drill.
Rose and Doc
Posted by: High Arc on August 13, 2019, 12:23 am
High Arc
Posted by: BigCasino on September 7, 2019, 3:24 am
The Mandalay dice react so MUCH differently hardly any bounce and die very quickly. Now I’m sure it is not due to my skill level coming up. I mean it is drastically different. I wish it was all me but know it is the difference in the dice.
What do you all use for practice dice? Used Casino dice?
JackD.
Posted by: Dr Crapology on September 7, 2019, 11:30 am
We practice only with new dice. After several thousand rolls the corners of the dice will become somewhat rounded and they don’t "bite" into the cover on the dice table. We replace them with new ones. We mostly purchase our dice from Dom. On occasion when in Vegas, we go by the Gambler’s General Store near downtown and purchase a sleeve or 2, but mostly we use dice that GTC sales. These dice or similar to almost all dice you will find in live casino play.
Rose and Doc
