There are two types of dice control and each can be proven using different tools. Since most dice controllers are trying to avoid the 7, we should look at how to prove to yourself you really do have the skill to beat the game. You just can’t kid yourself.

In a random game of craps, the 7 shows up on average six times every 36 rolls. So a 7 to rolls ratio (SRR) would be one 7 per six rolls or an SRR of 1:6. Anything over that would indicate that you are controlling the dice. Certainly you would need maybe five thousand or more rolls to feel secure that your edge actually existed and wasn’t just variance in randomness. Most of the elite dice controllers I know have done between 10,000 and 20,000 rolls before they were confident they were actually changing the probabilities of the game.

Yes, you have to spend the time.

Now, what if you have a SRR of 1:6.2 or one 7 per 6.2 rolls? Is that a good SRR? The following chart will give you an idea of what Place bets you can beat given certain SRR’s. We will assume that all the numbers are equally filled in with the reduction of the 7, which is not necessarily what happens:

Here is a sample of SRR’s needed to overcome different Pass/Come bets with odds. The assumption is the Come-Out roll and first placement of Come bets are random and that all numbers are equally filled in while reducing the appearance of the 7 during the point cycle. The percentages in the boxes are your edges:

A second way to judge your dice control skills is to use the software program SmartCraps created by Dan Pronovost (inventor of Speed Count for blackjack). This software will tell you not only what your edge is but will determine whether you have poor, good, or excellent on-axis control. The individuals that pass the three tests in SmartCraps are often told to use other dice sets instead of the Hardway set (2:2. 3:3, 4:4, 5:5 on the faces, 6:1 on the sides) to increase their edges over the house on certain numbers.

As you can see, dice control is not a matter of belief. There are real methods to mathematically prove you have or don’t have the skill. Again, you can’t fool yourself in this.

Also, keep in mind that once those dice leave your hand, powerful forces are working to randomize them so your edge will not be huge. But an edge is an edge and it is better to play with an edge over the casino than play when the casino has an edge over you.

This isn’t hard. You must make a Pass Line bet, take Odds when the Point is established, and then use the Come with Odds or place the 6 and 8. Don’t be on more than three numbers at the start of your roll and don’t be afraid to be only on two or even one. You can increase your bets and the number of bets you have once you have made some good money. (What is good money? Make it three times your initial spread!)

Billions! Thousands of billions! You’ll be able to pay off the trillions in debt of the United States, Canada and Europe. You’ll…

…think I am nuts if I tried to sell that idea to you!

No advantage-technique can promise millions of dollars in wins because most players don’t have giant bankrolls to start their advantage-play careers and you win money in proportion to how much money you bet and can afford to bet without getting a heart attack from worrying about losses.

What kinds of downs can your emotions handle? Be honest with yourself. And you can safely count on plenty of downs, and losing streaks, some quite long, even if you become an elite dice controller. No professional baseball team has ever had a perfect season; the best teams all have plenty of losses. You will not win every time you get the dice or every time you play a session. I am friends with the best dice controllers in the world and believe me there are times when they want to crawl into their rooms and go into hibernation after losing streaks.

The edges at dice control, while far higher than at blackjack, are not so monumental that you are going to turn a few hundred dollars into a few billions in a few trips. The time spent by even the best elite dice controllers in the casinos is not all that great either. A normal dice controller might go to the casinos more or less about once a month. At my peak of play, I went to the casinos 130 times in a year. Now, I go a third as much. (Hey, my wife the beautiful AP and I would rather be with the grandkids than in a casino!)

I would recommend, strongly and even stronger than that, to make dice control and card counting and any other advantage-play technique an avocation, not a job.

And here is some advice from my own personal experiences. Don’t get too greedy. I have been banned from casinos and from one whole state because I was hitting the casinos in those areas like the Great White Shark was eating those swimmers in Jaws.

Have some fun; win some money, but don’t let it go to your head.

And for those of you who have an obsessive-compulsive gambling addiction, you will never become a good dice controller or card counter because you crave the action too much; your emotions are out of whack and you can never whack the casino if you can’t contain your desire to throw your money away. For you, seek self-control, not dice control, before you ever step foot into a casino again.

ACH (formerly the Hilton) = Three stars: * * *

Bally’s: Three and one-half stars: * * * ½ *

Caesars: Three and one-half stars: * * * ½*

Claridge: Closed when I last went there.

Borgata = No stars: 0

Golden Nugget = Four stars: * * * *

Harrah’s = Three stars: * * *

Resorts = Three and one-half stars: * * * ½*

Revel = Three stars: * * *

Showboat = No stars: 0

Tropicana = Three stars and one-half stars: * * * ½ *

Trump Plaza: Two stars: * *

Trump Taj Mahal: One star: *

Wild Wild West: Closed when I last went there.