I actually like the fact that the underhand, palm-up, forward-spin toss gets short shrift by most dice-instructors (and is outright banned in some schools like GTC); that just makes it more of an under-the-radar, hide-in-plain-sight toss than any other.
I mean, that's not the main reason why I like it so much; but it's one of the reasons why dice-influencers who use it are pretty much immune, or at least not the easy-pickin's target of bitchy, bored, or belligerent crews, like some of the slow-setting O-H "conventional toss" types are.
Why the U-H Toss Tracks Truer and is More Likely to Stay ON-Axis
The main reason I like the Underhand forward-spin toss so much, is because of the truer on-axis tracking that the dice exhibit once they hit the felt for the first time.
Don't believe me?
No prob, prove it to yourself...but this assumes that you have heavily practiced both an O-H and U-H toss, and you are fairly proficient at both
For this exercise, let's eliminate the backwall altogether.
~Move far enough away from the b/w so that your 'normal-energy' toss does NOT reach the backwall. All we are looking for is a nice clean landing and an uninterrupted roll-out.
~Roll 10 O-H throws and then 10 U-H throws, keeping track on your on-axis rate for each (and any other metrics you think are important).
~Keep alternating 10 O-H with 10 U-H tosses until you have a book of let's say 100 tosses for each; though more would be even better.
~Honestly compare your On-Axis rate for your best-effort O-H tosses versus your best-effort U-H tosses.
You may be surprised to find that the O-H toss' initial table-contact transition from backspin into forward-spin imparts all kinds of off-axis instigated disturbance to an otherwise very pretty toss...while the U-H toss tracks truer and stays on-axis for a much higher percentage of the time.
Now obviously this is just an illustrative exercise and is not meant to be conclusive in any way, other than to show you how much closer to the perfect on-axis 'ideal' an Underhand toss can come than an Overhand toss can.
As Deadcat mentioned in the wide-ranging U-H Toss discussions that we’ve been having on the DiceInstitute Message-Board over the last couple of weeks; "...since the dice don't have to transition from backspin to forward-spin upon their first contact with the table; they tend to maintain their forward-spin characteristics until they hit the lower non-alligator margin of the backwall...and in doing so, they are more likely to remain on the same axis after their initial contact, as opposed to possibly having one or both of the dice de-axis during that transitional backspin-to-forward-spin conversion period".
One of the nice things about doing the monthly Chat Nights (always held on the first Thursday of every month), is that we get to talk about the technical aspects of this kind of stuff on a real-time basis.
For example, during the one last week (February 5th), we talked extensively about the specific hand/wrist/finger positions of this particular toss, and how to eliminate any upward 'lob' effect at the critical release-point, and how to follow-thru towards the backwall as opposed to upwards in a rising-arc manner. Our good friend, BigBen, coined it the Lob-B-Gone method of ensuring that the dice stay on a nice flat, super-low trajectory and same-axis post-contact flight-path. Even during the previous Chat Night, there was a tremendous amount of discussion about the technical aspects of the Underhand forward-spin toss towards the end of that epic 5-hour get-together which really brought things into perspective for a number of attendees.
To my way of thinking, for the Underhand-toss to be branded as the illegitimate red-headed step-child of the D-I establishment, is not a BAD thing. In fact, I think it plays right into the hide-in-plain-sight approach that a growing number of successful advantage-play dice-influencers are finding quite useful.
More important than that however, is the commensurately higher degree of axial integrity that the U-H forward-spin toss is able to maintain across a much wider variety of table-types and layout-characteristics. And ultimately that is why I think it will find an ever-greater acceptance within the D-I community, despite it's less-than-noble bloodlines.
As always,
Good Luck and Good Skill at the Tables…and in Life.
The Mad Professor
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