Does Dice Control Work in Craps?
There are some craps specialists out there who swear by a technique known as “dice control”?. The basic idea is that by holding the dice in a precise manner and throwing them a specific way will produce a desired outcome, rather than a random exposure of numbers.
A lot more critics exist than supporters of the dice control theory. Those who advocate the notion say that not everyone is adept enough to master this skill. On the other hand, those who have spent hours upon hours, some with the assistance of a professional coach, outright dispute the notion, saying it simply does not work.
You can go on YouTube and find videos of people who swear to the validity of dice control. Some of the videos are fairly convincing, showing how to set the dice in your hand, which numbers should face which direction and how to maneuver your wrist while tossing them. However, it’s impossible to prove whether or not the presenter of each video is being sincere or using weighted dice. I’m not calling these people liars by any means, just saying there is no way to prove it.
According to Dominic “The Dominator”? LoRiggio, who has allegedly earned millions form the craps tables, the dice control technique is 100% tangible. He says there are multiple elements to getting accurate results from this method, starting with your stance at the craps table. He even recommends playing at the shortest tables possible because the closer you are to the back wall, the more effective dice control will be.
LoRiggio says that when picking up the dice, you should be able to quickly align them into what is called the “hardway set”?, meaning that any way you flip them, a pair is shown on top. The 6 should face left and the 1 right, then flip one die over until it matches its mate. If you then flip both dice at the same time, they will always match; 2+2, 3+3, 4+4 or 5+5. This is one of the hardest things to practice because it takes an expert skill to do it quickly, without tipping off the boxman. This dice set is meant to avoid rolling a 7. If, however, you want to roll a 7, you can set the dice by simply turning one of the “hardway set”? dice two times, thus lining up all three possible 7 rolls.
How a player picks up, grips and tosses the dice is crucial. They should be perfectly aligned and touching, rolled as evenly as possibly with a very light fingertip grip. LoRiggio advocates a slight back spin on the dice when releasing with what he terms a “pendulum swing”? of the arm.
I’ve never had any success with dice control, but then again I haven’t put a significant amount of time into attaining the skill either. I can’t say with any certainty whether dice control is real or not, but I can tell you that if you want to practice dice control, take your lessons from Dominic “The Dominator”? LoRiggio. His unparalleled success speaks for itself. He co-authored several books on the topic and partnered with Frank Scoblete to produce the only convincing dice control video series I’ve ever witnessed.
The game’s strategic elements fascinate, but I’m skeptical if dice control truly differs from random outcomes. 🤔