You’ll even find trick-shot artists who have mastered the whip shot – a difficult throw that sends both dice spinning on a vertical axis all the way down the table without tumbling over.  The whip shot, by the way, is rarely used in today’s casinos.  Craps supervisors are trained to recognize the throw, and modern, razor-edged dice rarely maintain a vertical axis on craps tables equipped with speed bumps and rubber bumpers.  Still, the occasional cheat will attempt the shot - usually accompanied by the box man’s call of “no roll.” 

Even so, casino-legal precision shooting is a reality.  It is not a perfect art.  It is a percentage throw.  It is not so much controlling the dice control as it is influencing the dice.   Like the expert card counter at blackjack, the skilled precision shooter often finds he is playing a positive expectation game.  How much skill does it take?   He only needs to control one roll in forty-three.  Can you do it?  Absolutely!

Let’s take a look at the dice.  Each die has six sides, numbered one through six.  That yields a total of thirty-six possible combinations of numbers.  Just about every beginning craps book contains a numbers distribution table similar to chart 1.1.  Take a moment to review it.  Understanding the random distribution of numbers is key to understanding the controlled roll. 

The seven is the most powerful number on the craps layout.  Careful study of the above chart reveals that the seven is the most frequently rolled number. Out of thirty-six possible combinations of the dice, there are six which add up to seven.  It can roll 1-6, 2-5, 3-4, 4-3, 5-2, or 6-1.   All of the true-odds calculations in craps are based on the number of ways the seven can roll when compared to any other number.  For example, there are six ways to make the seven versus five ways to roll the six.  The true odds are 6-5 against the six rolling before the seven.

The precision shooter’s task is to alter those odds.  How is this accomplished? One way is by rolling more naturals - sevens and elevens - on the come out roll and fewer sevens after the point has been established.

Look at the table again.  Let’s say you could roll one less seven in thirty-six rolls, and one more six.  What effect would that have on the game’s odds?  You would have rolled six sixes and five sevens.  This would give you a clear advantage over the casino on the six.  Further scrutiny reveals that the axis-adjusted true odds on the eight yield a 1-1 even-money bet.  But since the casino is paying you 7-6 for your place bet on the eight, you have an advantage over the house on that number as well. Shifting the odds in favor of the player. That, my friend, is what precision shooting is all about.