Dice Setting, Setting the Dice

Dice Setting, Setting dice - craps dice control

HOw To Launch The Dice At The Optimum 45 Degree Angle

Taken From The PARR Online Information Library

By Jerry Patterson

The Dice Control Revolution is in full swing. It is now an accepted fact that craps players possessing the skill of dice setting, gripping and throwing the dice so that they travel side-by-side in orbit, at the same velocity, and land softly with minimal "splatter," can overcome the house edge at casino craps.

Dice Control can be defined simply as the skill of throwing the dice more than the random 6 times including the seven out in the point cycle. The statistics speak very loudly in this low, house-edge game: If you can roll 6.14 times in the point cycle, you break even; roll eight times including the seven-out and you have a double digit edge approaching 17%.

Before I get to the key to learning how to control the dice, let me review the simple 4-step process of dice control:

Dice Control Step 1: You set the dice to move the losing sevens out of the way, to the hubs or ends, with hardways showing on all four faces. The Hardway Set is just one of the many sets you can use, but it has proven itself over the years as the very best set for newcomers to dice control

Dice Control Step 2: You grip the dice lightly to minimize skin contact (drag) with the surface of the cubes. If you are just starting, I recommend the one-finger front grip - middle finger placed near top of crack with thumb behind. You can find other grips defined in Sharpshooter's excellent book, How to Control the Dice.

Dice Control Step 3: You pick up the dice while observing your projected landing area about 6 inches in front of the back wall.

Dice Control Step 4: You launch the dice into orbit, perpendicular to the sides of the table and parallel to the back wall.

It is this fourth step that we are concerned about in this article. To secure an edge over the house, your objective is to launch the dice at the optimum angle to accomplish a "soft landing" and minimize the random motion of the dice after they collide with the back wall pyramids and come to rest.

Sharpshooter has stated in the Sharpshooter/PARR Dice Control Course that this optimum launch angle is 45 degrees. The dice should leave your hand at the required 45-degree angle, rotating side by side at the same rate of speed.

As the dice swing about the throwing elbow, the dice actually travel in a circular arc. At the moment the dice are released, the circular arc is tangent to the parabolic trajectory. You will want to release the dice at a 45 degree angle in order to maximize the range of the throw for a given initial velocity.

Try to land the dice in such that at the apex of the second trajectory, the dice gently touch the back wall. The dice run out of gas at the apex (slope is 0) and for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. If the dice just float in and "kiss" the back wall, they will be instantly repelled with minimal reaction force. The dice will have less opportunity to pivot about the pyramid's pinnacle and conform to a skew angle. The dice should enter the wall perpendicularly and repel perpendicularly or the initial set relationship will be destroyed.

This 45-degree angle is key to your control, your soft landing with minimal random "splatter," and, thus, to your edge over the house.

The Question is: How can you be sure that you have launched at 45 degrees or as close as possible thereto?

The answer is in the Charts below showing how high to throw the dice above the table bed to achieve the optimum 45 degrees. Heights for various table lengths and throwing positions are shown.

How High Do You Throw To Achieve A Perfect Throw?

These values were calculated using the 45° launch angle and the parabola equations mentioned in a recent post to the Dice List Server. The height values are based on throwing from stick left or stick right or table end.

Stick Left or Right

Table End Throw

It is suggested that you practice at home to get a feel for the heights above the table bed needed to attain the 45-degree angle. This should be part of your normal practice of setting, gripping and throwing with control.

About The PARR Online Information Library

The PARR Online Information Library has many articles and tips written by Jerry Patterson, Sharpshooter, Walt aka "The Sage" and other controlled shooters. To see a list of some of the topics available (Click Here)