Question: Hi Michael – Quick question…
In the Up As You Go don’t progression, does a loss on a Come Out Roll also bump you up to the next level of betting – the way a shooter hitting the established point would? Or do you “ignore” it and remain at the current betting level?
Also, what are your thoughts on testing out strategies on a computer simulator (like Wizard of Odds) versus actually throwing real dice?
Thanks very much, Chuck
Answer: Hi Chuck,
When you are progressing up and get knocked back, your next bet is at the base bet, $10 or if you modify, $20. Only venture into the chase maze following a loss of the base bet.
I am not familiar with the Wizard of Odds simulator. I have met Michael and know him to be meticulous. However, I have used Win Craps. It used to be $20 and probably still is. Stein has been improving the program for about as long as I have been on-line… 1995. I thought I still has his website up with links at my site, but just checked, no. Search Win Craps. Oh, here you go… http://www.cloudcitysoftware.com/
The new version allows multi players. You can also run turbo which means lightning fast games with reports in minutes. You can program exactly how you want the game to be played, as though you were standing at the table.
I struggled with the programing part, but Stein helped me set up my pass line P4K which is very complicated. Complicated for a computer, not a person. Anyway, you get my point I hope.
Of course, you can also play same as a real game, bet and roll the dice. I like to use a few different strategies with one player as a base line. This allows me to compare the outcome, profit and loss with each strategy exposed to the same random results. Of course the base line is my P4K play.
I used Win Craps a lot, years ago, when I would be asked for my opinion of a particular play or strategy. Win Craps has a RNG, random number generator, so it is not like live dice, but Stein says, it is based on randomness of outcomes to have gaps with sevens. You can also program your game to make sevens a little less dominant. I never messed with it so can’t tell you how that works. But, if you wanted to see how a dice system churns when the sevens are out of probability, then you’d have an answer. Thanks for writing Chuck. Cheers!
Question: Hi Michael – I received your dice playbook the other day and am still in the process of digesting it. Great stuff. Thank You! Two questions.
- Is there any one particular book from White Dove that you would recommend for stock/commodity traders?
Answer: The Quickening has the information about Turbo Thought. That process or touching into the near future, or other dimensions if you will. Also, you may find the Trick to Money is Having Some or Little Money Bible of interest from the stand point of thought form, dogma and energy around money. I have attracted traders from around the world interested in my approach to the game, and how it parallels with the markets. Big casino I call it. Just be clear with perception, and set aside ego, judgment, and emotion. Come from feeling… how do the perceptions influence your feelings.
- The “Up as You Go” betting system starts at $10 – but has values as small as $8. Can I assume this is for a $5 minimum table? Guessing I can just double all the values on the laminated card for a $10 table? All the best and thanks, Chuck
Answer: Yes, it is a nickel table play. Regarding doubling the numbers on the card, that should keep it proportional. Consideration for the buy-in is $201 to risk and still be within a player’s comfort zone. I ran the math for a quarter table, $10 x 2.5, but some of the bets are decimals and you have to round to the whole number. Sometimes the hard part of the play is accepting the 45%. You only need to win 45% of the outcomes and still show a profit. However, following the energy, you better be playing the don’t because the dice are ice.
With that said, understand that the 45% wins is the safety net for this modified chase bet. It really is intended for times when you recognize an ice cold game and no one can hold the dice and naturals for the pass line have disappeared. It is preferred to run the 50% progression, loser after loser, than bounce between the bets on the betting card, grinding it out. The don’t pass is not for everyone.
Anytime with your question mate.
mv
Question: Hi Michael, I just read The Mad Professor’s Crap Shooting Bible. I’m a beginning craps player and really enjoyed the book. Does the Do’s & Don’ts of Dice playbook have additional info or is most of it covered in the book I just read?
Thanks, Walt
PS Just signed up for your newsletter
Answer: Hi Walt, Mad Professor and me, the “Happy” Professor are not one in the same. I was producing live dice workshops four years before the Mad Professor was published on-line at DiceSetter.com and I was on-line with Playing4Keeps.com in 1995, five years before DiceSetter.com existed.
So, no, totally different approaches to the game. Although I do set the dice before shooting, in no way does my P4K approach to the game hinge on dice setting, dice influencing or the misnomer of dice control. You do not need dice influencing to be Playing 4 Keeps®.
For me, it all about the energy, the unseen element that is Omni present sets what I do apart from all the others. Sure the betting schemes that I use are math based. Bets with the least exposure to house odds for a nice bang for your buck should the dice roll in your direction. Never miss out on a hot hand P4K, is my motto. I can prove it.
When Playing 4 Keeps®, you are not just buying a ticket to ride the ride. Using intuitive perception, I determine best conditions for my investment. I’m not always right, but about 80% of the time I am. Because I play with strict discipline, the other 20% is split between a 10% push and 10% loss.
For me, gaming is a spiritual experience. Using information from the physical and metaphysical provide me with a powerful edge.
I have been the web editor for Dicesetter.com since 2005, I am quite familiar with MP’s approach and writing. No system works all of the time and any system better produce when the dice are rolling favorably.
Walt, not saying that you need my playbook. If you are satisfied with your current results, you can’t beat that. However, if you are a $10 player, my stack’em don’t rack’em play will recoup your invest in the playbook. You have to work a little, it takes three consecutive rolls of the dice.
Spend a little time on the P4K site reading some of the blogs. I had over 100 articles published at the original P4K web site plus, I don’t even know how many years of newsletters written. Bit by bit, I will add them here at the new site.
I am in the process of updating my entire web site. The new site does not have all of my articles yet. It is just too much work to move it from the old site to the new site. Thanks for writing Walt and all the best to you!
Question: Professor, Reading your Do’s and Don’t of Dice, playbook, I get the impression that you shoot with your hip to the table and your throw is straight out instead of across your body as your facing the box, which is the way I have been doing it. Do you feel that it is better to have the hip to the table? Also what does a lesson consist of and what is the cost?
Thank You for your timely reply. I have your Do’s And Dont’s of Dice playbook, and I have found it very helpful. When I am out in your area I would like to book some time with you for a tune up. Thanks again Mitch H.
Answer: Hi Mitch, First, everyone has a comfortable position for shooting craps. When I work with a client, comfort comes first, I then address their form. Sometimes the adjustment in the form means to leave the comfort zone and learn a new posture. Nevertheless, once the client sees the merit of a new posture, and they practice for a while, they adjust and become comfortable with the new way.
Next, for your shooting described below, you do not say “left handed or right handed,” only facing the box. Just the same, your posture sounds like what I will describe when I shoot right handed, from right stick. In short, your description of how you are shooting, sounds correct.
Long ago, I recognized the importance of shooting with confidence from any position on the table. From left stick, my hips are parallel to the table. I hold on to the rail with my left hand for stability as it allows me to stretch out perhaps another foot or so closer to the end wall. From stick right, my right hip is against the table and shooting right handed, with a perpendicular stance to the rail. From table end my toss is straight out, feet shoulder width apart. From inside hook, either end, it is like stick left or stick right.
I have written a few articles about dice influencing and shooting technique in my newsletters and there are also about 100 other articles posted at P4K.com.
Regarding booking a lesson with me, I tailor a private instruction to meet the needs of my client. So, it consists of a specific focus on whatever part of the game that a person is seeking help. In many cases, my P4K craps betting method is a big part of the lesson. P4K does not rely on dice influencing. As for dice setting and dice influencing, I can either start off with a complete novice or help a skilled player tweak the bugs out of their toss. As I stated above, I prefer to keep the player in their on comfort zone, if possible, before making wholesale changes. I teach from my home in Pueblo, Colorado.
Question: Hi Professor, Well after taking the Do’s and Don’t of Dice with you, being an accountant, I could not help dig into the math of why Playing 4 Keeps works so well. Hope you don’t mind.
Nothing deep here. If the pass line player and the come bet player wager the same amount of money, over time both bettors stand to lose 1.41% of their flat bet on each wager that they make. This is the casino’s mathematical advantage, and holds true whether we make a pass line bet or a come bet. However, the probability of catching a long winning streak is considerably greater on the pass line then on the come line. 45% of pass line wins, are going to come on naturals; 75% of those naturals are going to come on winner sevens; and, winner sevens are going to constitute just over 33% of all wins.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that when a point is established, we are going to lose almost 60% of the time (14.25454/24), and it is highly unlikely that we will score more than one winner seven on any come bet. Most conventional pass line systems miss this and rely excessively upon the shooter rolling a lot of repeating numbers. Those systems fail to get much out of the 45% of pass line wins that come on naturals. Your system, in contrast, gets the most out of all pass line wins, be they point wins or naturals.
Because the shoot ends when seven is rolled on a come bet, sequences of consecutive pass line wins tend to be longer then consecutive come bet sequences. This explains why betting the pass line performs better in your system then does betting the come line. When a shooter comes out, the chances are slightly greater than 22% that he will roll a natural. If he does roll that natural, he will keep the dice, and were on with our “party”. The come line, however, is much choppier, and presents fewer opportunities to hit successive naturals. The chance that a shooter will roll a eleven (the only way to roll a natural and still keep the dice once a point has been established) is only 1/18 (or 5.55%). If the shooter rolls a seven when there is a point, the shoot is over, the dice pass to a new shooter… and we start a new sequence with a new shooter.
I hope this analysis hasn’t caused rigor mortis to set in, but it helps me understand why Playing 4 Keeps® is so good. It also will make me count to ten the next time I get the hankering to make a come bet. A player having the bankroll to make both a pass line bet and a come bet would be better off skipping the come bet and simply making a bigger bet on the pass line.
Best wishes and good luck. – Michael H. – In D.C.
Answer: Hello Michael, Although you do not exactly ask a question, you give one hell of a good answer explaining why P4K is as good as I advertise it to be. Thanks for the explanation, and no, you did not bore me.
Question: I have been playing mostly blackjack, but last year started playing craps. What is the expected win rate per hour for your blackjack and craps systems? I am trying to see how much I could expect to win.
Answer: I do not measure my win rate by the hour played. I determine everything by sessions played. No system or method of play produces every time out. To boast those kinds of results would be ludicrous. For any system to boast an hourly win rate is even more ludicrous.
The cards and dice are going to do what they do. You may not be able to last an hour in a game of chance. A huge part of what I teach is how to recognize when to enter a game and which game to play. Then and more important, how to recognize when to “walk away and when to run”. It is definitely not about how long to play.
Let me address losses first. Playing either blackjack or craps, the most you could lose is one session bankroll or 30 units. This of course, if you are capable of self-discipline and follow my prescribe method of play.
A session is anytime you buy-in and wager money in a game of chance. A session can last ten minutes or three hours and ten minutes. In one session of dice, I played for twelve minutes and won 42 units. Another session of dice I played for six hours and lost 17 units. Once playing blackjack I lost or pushed the first 13 hands in a matter of minutes. In another blackjack game, after playing basically even for an hour and forty minutes, I finally caught a plus count run and left the game with twenty-two units profit.
A win is a win is a win. It may come like a shot out of the box, or you may have to dig in and ride out a storm. If you are looking for a “jack-pot” system, I don’t know of one. If you are looking for a consistent and conservative approach, I think that I have something for you.
Question: How important is card counting to your blackjack system?
Answer: Counting cards is very important. How important are the wings on an airplane?
I teach my students a point count that helps them determine the ratio of the cards left in the deck yet to be played. From the count, a player is able to know the odds that they are facing before the next hand. Knowing the odds is an advantage. It allows the savvy player to play defense when the odds are not favorable and more aggressive when the player is favored to win. You may be interested in my newly revised “Blackjack for Winners” playbook. Card counting and betting strategies are explained in detail.
Question: What is your opinion of dice setting?
Answer: Dice setting has made a difference in my craps game. I have put in the necessary practice time at home and in the casino. When it works, it is marvelous fun. Dice setting is not however, the end all be all for winning. It is a small piece compared to having a solid betting strategy… like, Playing 4 Keeps®.
I am personally acquainted with some of the best dice setters in the world. When we play together, sometime we are dialed in and win. Sometimes our game is not different to random. Sometimes, when we win, it is not because of any great hand by dice setters. Sometimes, it is a factor of right time, right place, and right action. Catching the game out of probability and playing correctly for the conditions… like, Playing 4 Keeps®!
Although I would never stop using dice setting in my game, I do not advocate dice setting to my Do’s and Don’ts of Dice students. Yes, if they ask, I will show them my toss and provide pointers if they are interested in adding the skill to their game. However, Playing 4 Keeps® does not depend on my talent or any other’s talent with the skill of setting dice and tossing them fancy.
So, dice setting is fun and can be exciting. I enjoy it and it is not necessary for you to master or even add dice setting to your P4K game. The longest hand that I have witnessed, thirteen points made, was from a random roller just chucking the cubes down the layout. It is far more important to have a playing strategy that leverages your bankroll, minimizes risk, and gets the best bang for your buck. For my buck, that’s Playing 4 Keeps® with the Do’s and Don’ts of Dice™.
Question: I read in one of your newsletters that a person should not attack gambling as they would a business. This is contrary to what I read from others who write about gambling. Please explain your view.
Answer: Well, not to make others wrong, it is just that craps and blackjack are games. They are adult entertainment. You invest in the game and it is my opinion that you do so for the fun of playing. The thrill is figuring out the challenge. Putting the puzzle pieces together. Certainly the goal is winning money, but to play just for the money is to chase after the money. You are better off when your focused attention is centered on drawing your goal to you from the power of an intention to win. Learn to draw things to you rather than chase after after them. Chasing is out of control as it tends to be emotionally driven.
The odds of any casino game are such that they guarantee most players will be separated from their money. Taking the game so serious, as a business, is in my opinion, is to play too tight or too up-tight. I play for the enjoyment and relaxation of the experience, win or lose. There is already enough stress in life. Let your gaming experience be a pleasurable one .
True I’d much rather win than lose, but I am detached from the loss. It is after all part of the risk and that is what makes winning so thrilling. By putting the fun first, I am not stressing to play just for the money. As I like to say, “Play for the fun of the game and the money is sure to follow.” To play just for the money, is like playing with clinched fists. The hands can hold nothing as it all slips past the closed fingers. Hold the hands gently together and you are ready to receive a whole lot more.
Question: I am not sure about all this energy stuff you write about. It seems to me that your “metaphysics” is just another approach to sell a gaming system. What can you tell me that will convince me that it works?
Answer: Well, my friend, I am not here to convince anyone of anything. Everyone is entitled to their own ways of doing things. I did not invent what I teach in my gaming programs. I learned about applied metaphysics from one of the best metaphysicians in the world, Stuart Wilde.
I believe in energy not luck. I believe that what I teach and who I am as a person, has an energy. I do not believe in coincidence or accidents. I believe that energy attracts energy, and so, it is the heart of my gaming lessons. Those individuals who align with what I have to teach are drawn by the energy of my teaching. It does not really matter what the subject is. If one is not open or interested in the lessons, no lesson can be learned. When the student is ready, the teacher appears.
Read what others have to say about the energy:
Mr. Vernon, I never thought of gambling and craps in this way until I bought your Playing 4 Keeps® book but you are right creative visualization helps. I have also read some of the books from your friend Stuart Wilde that is some truly amazing stuff. I just want to say thanks for opening my eyes to this concept. I’m fairly new to all of this but plan on practicing this technique more and more. I’m looking forward to more profits from the universal abundance. Bill P.
Michael, what has been working for me is charting and paying attention to the table energy. I must admit it took me awhile but I’m a believer! When in Vegas I got up early before my meetings to hit a table and the first one I got to had horrible energy. I shook my head and said to myself, this is Vegas, there is another game just around the corner. So I walked across the street and the table still only had two players but the energy was electric. Within 10 minutes the shooter was aggressively pressing is bets and won $20k before coloring up. I was up $350 and was very happy to end the session. It was awesome. Thank you, Michael S.
