What is your mental assessment of your position in the Dice Community?
For years there have been three basic groups of craps players. They are: Gamblers, recreational players and professional players. Just about everybody that plays craps will fall into one of these three groups.
Which category do you fit? Are you a gambler? Do you have to bet on every shooter? Do you play a lot of high risk bets? Do you play other table games or video poker without learning basic strategy? Do you bet on all sports, just to have action on the game while you are watching the game? Are you stopping at the casino, boat or OTB everyday to make some kind of bet? If you do, you’re a “Gambler”.
Another sign is when you are betting with money that is ear marked for essential things in your everyday living. If this is the case, you better consider calling that phone number that is posted on all the casino publicity material.
The second group you might fall into is the “Recreational Player”. The recreational player could be someone that only plays when on vacation or plays once a week or on special occasions. It could be someone who just enjoys the game and has plenty of money he can afford to lose. He will make more bets than practical and doesn’t mind the losses. These are usually the one’s that go to Las Vegas once or twice a year and that is the only time they see the inside of a casino. They usually have no strategy or plan of what they want to accomplish at the table.
A Lot of your high rollers, known as whales, fall into this group. They just have too much money they don’t know what to do with.
The third group encompasses the “Professional Gambler” or in our case the “Professional Craps Player”. That’s the player that makes a living shooting craps. There are not very many in this group. The few that I know all have other sources of income to fall back on. You could put those who qualify as instructors, sell dice products, hold seminars and write craps books in this category. Does that make them professional craps shooters? That’s your call.
Because of the emergence of the dice setter we have the need for a new group. Call it the “The Advantage Player”. This category would include the people who excel at influencing the dice and mastered a consistent set, grip and toss. Hopefully they would be schooled in dice educate and try to stay under the radar.
The Advantage Player cannot be compared to the Gambler because his skills are used only when he has the dice. When random rollers have the dice, he is usually on the side lines waiting for his turn or another AP to shoot. The AP could be a recreational player. The professional player would most certainly have to be an AP. The gambler may have the AP skills but invariably cancels them out when he bets on everybody and everything.
Where do you fit in? Where do I fit in? The question I hear the most, is why don’t I play more often? You should go to the boat every night. I don’t think so. I know my limitations. I am a conservative by nature and fit the recreational player group. We all have a little gamble in us. But I rule myself out of that group. I like to call it a hobby. I like to teach the game and help maintain this Website and write a book or four during the winter months when I can’t participate in my other hobby, golf.
If you are going to be a dice setter, you must have the proper mindset to succeed. You must mentally know your limitations and where you fit into the Dice Community.
Good luck and good shooting, but not necessarily in that order.
Charlie009
