“How do you know
controlled shooters take longer to deliver the dice
than random rollers? How long is a craps roll on
average? How long does it take for a random shooter,
once the dice are put in front of him, to get a
decision? From point A, the pushing of the dice
to the shooter, to point B, the two dice stop and
the stickman calls out the number, what is the average
length of time? Is there a difference between the
controlled shooter and the random rollers in total
time elapsed?”
I had no idea. The
Captain thought there might a small difference.
I figured there would be a big difference. But neither
of us knew for sure. In fact, neither of us could
even make an educated guess at the answer. As far
as I know, no scientific study has ever been done
concerning the difference between, say, careful
shooters (defined as anyone who sets the dice and
takes time with his or her rolls) and careless shooters
(defined as those who pick up the dice, shake them,
kiss them, blow on them, talk to them, promise them
improbable things and then wing them down the layout
where they bounce, bump and bang all over the place).
So I decided to do one myself. Here’s what
I found, checking my watch as I watched the shooters:
There was very little
difference between careful and careless shooters
from starting point A to decision point B. The average
careful roller takes between five and ten seconds
from the time the dice are passed to him until a
decision is rendered. The average careless roller
takes between four and ten seconds.
I took 10 shooters that I considered careful rollers
(including such accomplished rhythmic rollers such
as Dominator, Sharpshooter, Howard “R&R”
Newman, Bill Burton, Mr. Finesse, Billy the Kid,
and the Captain himself) and 10 who were careless
shooters, and I then tried to answer the following
questions:
1. When the dice are
pushed to the shooter and the stickman takes the
stick away, how long does it take the dice to get
into the air?
2. Once the dice leave
the shooter’s hand, how long before a decision
is rendered?
3. What’s the
total elapsed time for the event?
Here’s what I
found: There was only a two second difference between
careful and careless rollers in the initial stages
of the shoot. Careful rollers took two to four seconds,
the actual setting of the dice, before they shot.
Careless rollers just picked up the dice. Most of
the careless rollers, however, shook the dice in
their hands from two to three seconds, whereas the
careful shooter, once the dice were gripped, shot
them. So, believe it or not, the delivery stage,
while slightly longer for the careful shooter, was
not that much longer. The biggest difference I discovered
concerned some careless shooters who never bothered
to actually pick up the dice but just took them
and flung them a nanosecond after they touched them.
This accounted for the one second overall difference
in the lower average time for careless shooters
on the figures above.
However, because the
careful shooters’ throws were soft, when the
dice arrived at the back wall, they tended to die
faster than the dice of the careless shooters, whose
dice, propelled by much greater force, took extra
time to settle down.
If we were to take
a typical roll, here’s what it looks like from
both a careful and careless shooters’ viewpoints
and the range of times we could expect to see:
Dice are delivered
by stickman:
Careful shooter sets the dice (2-4 seconds).
Careful shooter aims (1 second).
Careful shooter’s dice arc and gently land
-- decision (2-3 seconds).
Time range: 5 –
8 seconds
Dice are delivered
by stickman:
Careless shooter picks
up the dice (1 second).
Careless shooter rattles dice in his hand (2-4 seconds).
Careless shooter wings them down the felt –
decision (2-3 seconds).
Time range: 5 –
8 seconds
Note that while the
overall time is the same, the pattern of each event
is different. Also, all the controlled shooters
I watched shot from stick right or stick left, or
once removed from either. The random rollers shot
from everywhere. There might be a second gained
or lost there, but I couldn’t factor that in.
So, based on my admittedly
highly unscientific study (yes, I just used my wrist
watch, and the number of people I “clocked”
were not much of a sampling), I’d say that
controlled shooters don’t have to worry about
“taking too much time.” They don’t
slow the games down; they just try to slow down
the casino’s profits on them when they roll.
And who could possibly get upset by that?
If you are interested
in controlled shooting sign up for one of the Golden
Touch seminars or join us one-on-one by calling
1-866-SET-DICE.
Visit Websites Of The Scoblete Network
www.goldentouchpoker.com
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