Dice Setting, Setting the Dice

Dice Setting, Setting dice - craps dice control

Gripping The Dice

Important Conditions When Selecting And Working On Your Grip

Keep in mind that two different people attempting the same grip may have slightly different results because of different hand sizes, finger widths and lengths, etc. You may have to experiment a little.

The dice must remain in equilibrium while you are holding them. That is, they are not shifting or moving while they are in your hand. Any shift, however small, will be greatly amplified by the time the dice travel down the table. This may destroy the initial dice set relationship that you established.

You should apply just enough holding force to keep the dice in equilibrium and no more. Excessive clamping force will induce shifting and may even cause the dice to "squirt" out of your hand in a less than controlled fashion.

You will want a grip that has little or no release drag. In other words, the dice are easy "to get out of." Both dice should exit the hand at the same time, with the same rotation and with as little force as possible.

The grip that you finally settle upon should be comfortable. A comfortable grip will feel natural, and a natural grip will be much easier to duplicate trial after trial. Consistency is very important.

Remember that we want just enough force to loft the dice from the starting point to the initial landing point. Also, remember that it is not necessary to put a lot of spin on the dice as they pitch. My experience indicates that a moderate amount of spin is fine, but too much will cause the dice to react more violently once they touch down.

The Grips

The Three-Fingered Front

The index, middle and ring fingers are placed across the far upper edge of the dice as they sit side-by-side on the table. The pinky finger is kicked out to the side and out of the way. The thumb should be situated about halfway down across the two near faces, pressing about 50/50 on each die and directly opposed to the middle finger.

This grip should be light, but not loose. You should have minimal contact area between the fingers and the dice. Minimal contact area equates into minimal release drag. The three fingers are evenly situated across the front of the dice.

If you were to draw a line connecting the tips of the fingers, this tangent line would be parallel to the table surface. The fingertips should be parallel because the dice will wrap around them when they are released. The fingertips will act as a fulcrum, which imparts a slight backspin to the dice. If the fingertips are not aligned, then the dice will not come out of the hand together and in parallel trajectories. You may have to rock your hand slightly to the right or left to create this situation.

This particular grip is more difficult to master because there is an issue of timing and balance, just at the moment that you grip the dice. If your timing is off slightly, the dice will tend to splay apart in front, as they press against the thumb. If you encounter this situation, practice placing your thumb and fingers down at exactly the same time when you grip the dice. If you still have trouble with this, use the One Fingered Front for the next 10 or 12 hours of play or practice. It is much easier to balance one finger and the thumb. Once you have become accustomed to this grip, you can try gently.

One-Fingered Front Grip

One finger, usually the middle finger, is centered in front and directly opposes the thumb that is placed on the back. This grip requires little clamping force and is easy to release out of. It may be a little tough to keep the dice from shifting, but overall it offers good control. Gently grab the dice one-third to one-half the way down and toss. If you get too much lateral rollout, consider another grip. One idea would be to grab the dice initially as shown, but then gently bring down the index and ring fingers on either side of the middle finger.

This can actually be used as a prelude to mastering Sharpshooter's grip. . . the Three-Fingered Front. In fact, I use this technique to help students getting comfortable with the tougher-to-master Three-Fingered Front grip. You may find that this grip, on its own merit, works; however, Sharpshooter/Parr students have found in Dealer School coaching sessions that the One-Fingered Front Grip can easily be transformed into the Three-Fingered Front Grip with the aid of our instructors.

Two-Fingered Front Grip

The middle and ring fingers both oppose the thumb front-to-back, which is centered about both dice. The index and pinky fingers oppose each other laterally or side-to-side. Usually the person using this grip will bear down with his fingers all the way down to the table felt, totally enclosing the dice.

The gripping force is minimal; however, this situation creates a great amount of release drag. Quite often, the shooter will compensate for this by snapping the wrist or arm harder than normal to get out of the dice. The dice may not come out together and will have excess spin or rotational energy to burn off.

A variation of this grip would be to lift both the index and pinky fingers out and off the sides of the dice. The drag is then reduced, but the dice may splay out from the thumb. If your fingers are larger or thicker than average, this grip variation may work for you. I would recommend not bearing all the way down on the dice.

The biggest problem with the Two-Fingered Front Grip is that there is an individual finger on each side with the thumb opposing on the back straddling both dice. This causes the dice to splay apart in the front (separate from each other), which cause an unwanted effect. As the dice are thrown with this side a tendency to separate and go in two different directions. This highly undesirable effect ruins the possibility of keeping the dice together and on axis.

The Ice Tong Grip

Another grip that can be used when the dice are side-by-side is the Ice Tong. The thumb is placed on the right side (right-handed) and one finger, the index, middle, or ring finger is placed on the opposing side, laterally. No other fingers are used. Very little clamping force is needed and it is moderately easy to release the dice together.

You may encounter the dice shifting relative to each other, because there is no fore / aft support. Uneven perspiration from the finger to the thumb will present different coefficients of friction on either side. This will also cause the dice to shift somewhat during the release.

This grip is easy to master, but yields a moderate amount of control at best. For this reason, this grip is discouraged.

Source: Get the Edge at Craps – How to Control the Dice (c) 2002 by Sharpshooter (Used with Permission)