In the last few years the hot topic at the crap tables has been the subject of dice control or setting the dice. A number of books have been written along with a number of articles published on the Internet. One of the earliest books on the subject is a book entitled Dice Control for Casino Craps/ Gambling Disciples of God, written by Yuri of Progress Publishing Co. published in 1998. Two of the newer books on dice control are Get the edge at Craps (How to Control the Dice) by Sharpshooter aka Chris Pawlicki (forward by Frank Scoblete) and Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution by Frank Scoblete and the Dominator (aka Dom Loriggio)  
 
Setting the dice is nothing new. It has been called the blanket roll, the pad roll, and articles have been written about these types of rolls going back to the 1920's. The shooter is rolling the dice down the table like two wheels having the dice roll down top over bottom and not twist. This is known as being "on axis."  
 
All three books give the reader good information about how to grip the dice, how and where to stand at the table and information on how to bet while playing. The information that is not very clear is how to set the dice and what sets to use before you roll the dice. Before you roll the dice down the table the player must "set" the dice or put them on axis so a shooter has a better chance of rolling the number he/she wants.  
 
There are six major sets for the player to remember, four for the "Do shooter" and two for the "Don't shooter". After you remember those six sets you can build from there and work off those sets. (See enclosed chart & article on the sets) In the books written by the Sharpshooter and by Frank Scoblete and the Dominator they give the sets different names such as the Come out set, all seven set, 3V, 2V set and other names to try to help the player. In both books some of the statements are all most word for word. In Yuri's book he works more with number combinations than calling the sets by a certain name.  
 
The key to any set is to give the shooter a higher percentage at rolling a certain number or numbers. Example if your point is a six or eight than the shooter should set the dice with the 6/1-5/2 on axis (Set Die A with the five facing the one from die B which equals six) this gives the shooter three ways to roll a six or eight and only two ways to roll a seven. The odds are now 3/2 in favor of making the point, six, or eight if the dice stay on axis. Each number or point has a set that is suggested to make that certain number. Unfortunately some of the sets suggested in both the Sharpshooters book and in Frank Scoblete books are incorrect.  
 
When a player looks at any set you must look at ALL of the combinations for that set and know how many ways you can make each number in that set. When the dice stay on axis you are using only four sides instead of all six sides of the dice so you now have 16 combinations (4X4) for each set. Each number (2 through12) will have certain frequently that any number can be rolled.  
 
In Yuri's book he shows each number in each set and the frequently that each number can be rolled. This information is very helpful to the reader and is not included in the other two books. They use names like the hard way or 3V sets. In that craps is a game of numbers it is much easier to remember the sets by a "set number" such as the 6/1-6/1 sets than to try to remember a lot of strange names. In the Sharpshooters book on page 69 under the hard way set (6/1-6/1 set) the book says "This set gives you the maxim in protection against the dreaded 7." In The Golden Touch book on page 47 under the hard way set they say, "This is the best set to begin your dice control career as it offers the best protection AGAINST the 7.  
 
Both books make almost the identical statement but the statement is just not true. In fact the hard way set (6/1-6/1 set) gives the shooter four ways to make a seven ( 5/1-1/5 4/3 & 3/4) and should be used in the come out of the game because you can not roll a craps number of 2,3, or 12. There are other sets that only give the shooter two ways to roll a seven but it is not the hard way set or as we like to call it the 6/1-6/1 set. (All of this information understands that the dice stay on axis and you are only using the 16 combinations for each set.)  
 
Both books then go on and say that if you now want to roll a seven you can use the "come-out set" which is still the 6/1-6/1 sets and turn the dice to get sevens on each side. Sharpshooter book pages 84-85 and Golden Touch book 43-46. Both books say when using the 6/1-6/1 set that first you can make the seven the MOST ways and that you can use the same set to AVOID the seven. The fact is that the seven can be rolled four out of 16 combinations and is NOT the best set to use if you want to avoid the seven. There are three other sets that give you only two ways to roll the seven. (See chart for best combinations for each set)  
 
Both books talk about what set to use when you are playing from the Don't side and want the best set to seven out after your point is made. In Sharpshooters book on page 229 he says use the 6/1-4/3 set or he calls it the 6 half of 8 set when the point is 6 or 8. That set gives the shooter two ways for the six or eight and only TWO ways to seven out. If you use the 5/2-5/2 set you have only ONE way for the six or eight and FOUR ways to roll the seven. The odds are four to one that you will roll a seven instead of 50/50. He goes on to say that when the point is 5 or 9 use the 5/2-6/1 set. This gives the shooter two ways for the five or nine and only two ways for the seven.  
 
The bet is again 50/50. But is the shooter uses the 4/3-4/3 set he now has four ways to seven out and ZERO ways to make the five or nine. The odds are now 4/0 in your favor instead of 50/50. We use this set when the point is four or ten in that the odds are 4/1 in your favor. His book says use the 4/3-5/2 set which only gives the shooter two ways to make the seven and one way for the four or ten. The odds are only 2/1 in your favor instead of 4/1 in your favor. (See chart for frequently of each number) The two best sets to use from the Don’t side are the 5/2-5/2 set when the point is 6 or 8 and the 4/3-4/3 set when the point is 4, 5, 9, & 10.  
 
In both books get the Edge at Craps and Golden Touch Dice Control there is other information that is confusing to the reader with dice sets getting strange names such as "The 6 half 8 set" and "The 5 Upside Down 9 set"? If one did not know better you would of thought that both books were written by the same author. When we teach classes (we teach other subjects than dice setting) we always tell our teachers to "Keep it Simple" and make the topic as clear as possible. This is not the case when new shooters are reading these two books. Then each book says to get your set ready in two to three seconds when you are playing at the tables. This is almost impossible to remember the 5 upside down 9 set when you are at a table and the energy is high and you have chips all over the table, players are yelling for you to roll a certain number, the dealers are management are watching you and the eye in the sky is looking at everything.  
 
We feel that if an author is going to write a book or charge money to teach a class than that information should be easy to understand and more than that be correct. Just because something is written or published does not make it a fact or in this case correct. If you follow the information in these two books you are not offering yourself the best odds at the table for the true dice setter. We took the time out to write a dice setting chart that explains the six major dice sets and the frequently of how each number can be rolled in each set. As they say in business and in school K.I.S.S.  
 
This chart and additional information as been published on some craps web sites and in craps newsletters. Please note the chart and article is copy written by Lifestyles International Inc and if you wish to publish it or reproduce it in any way you may contact our main office to work out the details. We want to thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to read this information and know that it will help both the new and the old dice setters. Good luck at the tables.  
 
 
Sincerely,  
Gary L. President  
Lifestyles International Inc.  
Email: lifeintl@wwnet.net  
 

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