Gus Rose is a gaming writer for the Southtown Economist and StarNewspapers
Casino games come and go, but without a doubt the two most popular table games are craps and blackjack. While almost anyone can play blackjack, maybe not well enough to risk a few dollars every once and awhile, craps can be as complicated as it is exciting. That’s why very few newcomers are willing to belly up to the craps table and start throwing their money around.
Several months ago I reviewed a book by a local gentleman, Charles C. Westcott, mainly for beginners, called “Craps and Smelling the Roses, Book II, 2002”.
Westcott laid out the groundwork for anyone who wanted to get his or her “feet wet” at the craps table.
He also has a new book out called, ”Wake Up Crap Shooters and join the Dice Revolution,” in which he lays out his views on what accomplished craps players should do to improve their game.
He doesn’t go into a lot of complicated theories backed by thousands of runs on computers. Westcott pretty much lays out the program in the introduction, and goes on from there in 26 chapters written in easy to understand language to back up his theories.
He readily admits the book is not for the beginner or faint of heart. You are going to learn about table positions and table energy. “Dice setting will become second nature to you, once you learn all the basic sets,” Westcott said. These involve such things as proper grip and pickup, spin control and controlling the bounce of the dice, advance betting strategies and much more.
He said all of these things has to do with Dice Influencing and requires record keeping and practice, lots of practice to do it properly.
“I have thrown in some of my experiences while shooting with some of the best craps players in the country,” Westcott said. For obvious reasons, he said he does not use real names of his friends and associates, not even alluding to the fact they are men or women.
Westcott also talks about the Craps Revolution that is going on regarding the two schools of thought on dice setting and dice influencing across the country.
The use to be one happy family of shooters, he says, “and believe me, they are all good,” but instead of Big Red (the dreaded 7) being the enemy, they fought among themselves.
The two camps, Westcott says, were in the east (Atlantic City) and west (Las Vegas). He admits he has many friends in both camps, and being a Midwesterner, he was caught in between, but managed to avoid trouble. He basis the reason for the split upon greed, pure and simple.
He says the craps scene has changed over the last few years, primarily because the Dice Influencers are getting a foot hold. It used to be that craps players grabbed the dice and just flung them across the table in any old way. He calls them random rollers or chicken feeders. But the dice influencers are taking over and more and more serious players are attending seminars to sharpen their knowledge.
Westcott goes through a number of these new methods, with such things as setting the dice, the grip, the pickup, delivering the dice, spin control and controlling the bounce. He covers these keys in a number of chapters, explaining all the nuances associated with them.
He also provides illustrations and photos to give the reader a better understanding of what he is talking about. He also discusses training methods and equipment for the more devoted craps player.
Whether or not Dice Influencers worry the casinos is an open question. However, as Westcott points out, the majority of craps players are the flinging type and the casinos have little to worry about with them.
Just like blackjack, there are students of the game who can take a hunk of money from the casinos. But the majority of players fly by the seat of there pants and that’s how the casinos make their money.
Westcott’s book, “Wake Up Crap Shooters” is published by iUniverse and is available online at their site or at Amazon Books. It sells for $12.95
