There are some people in this world that will go out of their way to help you. This is what WildChild (WC) did for me.
Most who have traded PM’s with me know that I will pass along my mobile number in a heartbeat. If we’ve passed two PM’s and I haven’t given you my mobile number it is because I think I already have.
WC called me to chat about craps – what else! During this conversation he suggested that if I were serious and could make the drive I should try to get a one on one with Heavy. At the time I didn’t know Heavy other than he ran the Axis Power Craps Board. What I was to learn much later is that WC was initially trained (I am not sure he’d use that term) by Golden Touch Craps (GTC). I am not here to get into any war of words with, against or for GTC. I have met and tossed with several GTC trained DI’ers - good guys all and I would like to meet up with them again.
I contacted Heavy and we set a date for me to travel from San Antonio to Tyler Texas. I have a real bad back so I had to get the help of TSOMM to assist in the driving. Since she does all of my proofreading I guess I should say she had to do most of the driving.
We thought we’d make a weekend of it and after we finished up in Tyler we’d just mosey on over to Shreveport and finish off the weekend there. Let me finish this train of thought off: There Was No Room at the Inn! We left Tyler and started making phone calls to set up a room for the weekend – they were all sold out! So we never made it to S/B on this trip.
So TSOMM dropped me off at Heavy’s and departed to do some shopping. Let me just say the Tyler economy had a big up swing that weekend.
My first impression of Heavy is that he’s never met a stranger. We started out by sitting down at his family table just to chat a bit, just to get to know me a bit. Eventually we headed for his practice rig(s).
Heavy was kind enough not to laugh at my efforts and this was to be the day that really turned me in the right direction. His style of teaching is ---- I am not sure how to say this, but he doesn’t try to force you to tossing like he does. He (Irish and Maddog also fit into this mode) works with what he has (that would be you). I don’t wanna put words in his mouth but I do believe that he will tell you “consistency” is the key (Ok I took the word out of his mouth). He made some adjustments with my grip and then he actually tossed a few himself, just to demonstrate what the dice should look like in flight. He only tossed a few; he’s not one of these guys who think he needs to impress you with his skills. This lesson was about and for me.
Before I knew it we were way over the scheduled amount of time we had discussed for this lesson. I know it wasn’t very pretty, but I left Tyler thinking, “I can do this!” Positive re-enforcement is a powerful thing.
This is where my practice takes a very serious turn – in the right direction. Muscle memory is a large part of what we do. It you are practicing wrong then your muscle are learning “wrong.”
When I first retired from the USAF I got a job selling land. I got hired because I knew someone that worked for the company. The sales manager told me he didn’t want me and I was to really piss him off by coming in on my days off to listen and watch the other sales people. He even threatened to fire me if I didn’t stop listening to their conversations, but I wanted to know how the did “it” – sell land. Six months later he was to promote me over all the sales staff and make me the first Assistant Sales Manager in the company’s history. What I am getting to is – if I do something there are no half measures.
I wanted to toss the dice the correct way. What is correct for me may not be correct for you. I can’t suggest strongly enough that you contact someone who has experience not only in the art of Dice Influencing, but the ability to teach. After all the sooner you become proficient, the sooner you can turn a consistent profit at the tables.
A quick flash-forward to today: today I can toss with confidence from SL1, SL2, SR1, and SR2. On top of that I am working on an underhanded toss from the SR positions. There are reasons that I work on the #2 positions. First SL1 or SR1 may not be open plus SL2 and SR2 on a 12-foot table are about the same distance from the backboard as SL1 and SR1 of a 14-foot table. Many believe that you should concentrate on one position and not worry about the others. For many, this may be the best way to go. I put in 10 to 14 hours per week practicing, so these extra positions help cut down on the boredom.
Soon I will write a little more about my practice routine, but where we are at in my journey it (my practice) hasn’t really become the routine that it will. Please don’t think that I am kidding about the value of practice. How often does Derek Jeter practice? How often does Payton Manning practice? Maybe once you reach a certain level you can back down on the practice. But, are you at the level you want to be? I’m not.
The importance of my trip to Tyler cannot be over stated. And it all came about because of a suggestion from a gentleman who just simply took an interest. That was almost a year ago and WC and I keep in close contact still. If fact we chatted today about me traveling to Biloxi – Can you say “Road Trip”? Of course you will have to be a member of the board to read about that.
Next up my first attempts at an actual casino!
