That phrase will get you arrested in some neighborhoods. But for dice influencers - it's a call to action.
Not only to we want to LOOK at the other guy's rig, we wan't to toss a few on it. Often those tosses are followed by explitives which, in the interest of maintining a PG13 rating, I'll eliminate. Yeah, we get upset when the dice bounce out of the rig or - worse still - we toss the dice and miss the rig completely!
If you wish to "get good" at precision shooting then you need to "get good" equipment. Clearly everyone does not have room (or the budget) for a full sized table. Not to worry. There are alternatives.
My first practice rig was a cardboard box with a hand towel spread across the bottom. From there I moved up to the dresser drawer - something I practiced with for years in casino hotel rooms before moving up to something better still.
Eventually I undertook to build a rig. I studied what some of the other folks I knew were using, decided I really didn't need something portable, and built a 2' by 2' square practice rig with an 8" high back wall. I built it this size because it used every scrap of a 2' by 4' piece of furniture grade plywood. I glued felt to the deck and side walls, and purchased a slab of pyramid rubber for the back wall. I was in business.
Of course, it wasn't long before I decided I needed ANOTHER practice rig. I already had the rail rubber so all it took was another 2' by 4' piece of plywood and I was on my way. I made this rig a little bouncier than the first one so I could simulate a variety of playing conditions. In fact, I made it too bouncy and in the end seldom used the rig. It's still out there, though, gathering dust in the garage with the other . . . do I dare say it? The other eight practice rigs I own.
Oh, and did I mention that I have a professional casino craps table at home now as well?
The practice rig I own that caused the most stir was built by my pal Shootitall. SIA and I were having lunch one day when I mentioned to him that I wished I had a practice rig that would fold up and fit in a 2.5 inch thick attache case so I could take it to the casino with me. SIA scratched his chin for a minute, then said "I can build that."
The prototype was nifty. He built it out of scrap lumber and the rail rubber was pieced together from a couple of leftover pieces he had in the garage. It was a thing of great beauty.
"I think you can sell these," I told him, and I took the prototype with me to Las Vegas to one of the CrapsFest events we were running. By the time I got back from CrapsFest SIA had a stack of orders waiting for him.
Along about that time - most likely over another lunch - SIA told me he was going to start using magnets to hold the rigs together instead of lift out hinges and pegs. "That won't work," I said. You won't be able to find a magnet strong enough to hold it together.
Boy, was I wrong. In short order I had big rigs, little rigs, corner rigs, and more . . . all held together with magnets. STRONG magnents. SIA, it seems, is something of a genius when it comes to putting stuff together.
One night I got an e-mail from him telling me to bring my micro rig with me to lunch the next day. He wanted to re-do it for me. I did - and he did - and it came back with the original hinges off and the magnets on. Now, I LOVE this micro rig. So I was surprised when he told me the other day that he had a NEW VERSION of the micro rig for me to test out. Well, we got together for a good barbecue lunch, then he started unloading things from his truck and filling up the back of my Mountaineer. He brought - not one - but THREE new rigs for me to test out. And that included the new micro-rig. Here's a photo of what it looks like set up:
Well, I put this mini-monster together and studied on it a bit. The back wall was much taller than my old mini-rig. And the add-on piece for the deck meant I could practice my low, slow and easy on the rig as well as my standard toss.
I tossed a few dice into it and discovered they bounced much the same as they did on the table itself. Hmmm. This thing has definite possibilities, I thought. But will it still fit in the attache?
Well, the answer is yes and no. It won't fit in a standard 2.5 inch attache. I had to unsnap the expansion panels on the briefcase to make room for the add-on deck. But in the end my new mini-rig was packed and ready to go.
One thing I'll say about Shootitall. When it comes to out of the box thinking - he leads the field.
