Dice Sliding...Let's get to the bottom of it...or top of it.

Did one of those aces slide?

I have often posted about ongoing and repetitive cheating scams that have no business being either. By that I mean they should neither be ongoing nor repetitive--but they are both. Lately, my articles on the subject have mostly been about cheating scams initiated by dealers and floor personnel, especially on baccarat tables.

But actually, the ongoing and repetitive scam that boggles my mind the most is on craps tables and it's called "dice-sliding."

We've all heard about it over and over again.
We've all read about it over and over again.
And many of us have seen it, perhaps not over and over again, but seen it.

So why then does this scam continue to be successful against so many casinos in so many jurisdictions?

To be honest, I don't know. And then again, you cannot apply logic to casino cheating, as I do know quite well since the majority of my casino cheating moves during a 25-year career absolutely defied logic and were successful mostly for that reason.

So, that said, because you have read and heard it over and over again, I am going to write one more time what dice-sliding is and how it can effectively be stopped.

Dice-sliding is when the shooter rolls the dice and one or both of them do not tumble end-over-end through the entire length of the roll. Therefore, it is an illegitimate roll.

What is a legitimate roll? Three things: 1) Both dice have to leave the shooter's hand at precisely the same time; 2) Both dice must tumble the entire length from the shooter's release until the end of the roll; 3) Both dice must hit the back wall and tumble back toward the shooter until they land.

It is THAT simple. If craps crews strictly enforce those three requirements on their games, dice-sliding can be almost but not 100% totally eliminated, in spite of the sliders' strategic positioning and diversionary bets at the table. Those dice-sliders who can overcome these enforced requirements...well, I guess we'll just have to let them.

Three important things to note. The first is that speed bumps and wires running across the craps table to prevent dice-sliding are as ridiculous as they are ugly, at least in my opinion. Good sliders can get by those obstacles simply by avoiding the dice contacting them. And too boot, if the dice hit the back wall and tumble back, the bumps and wires wouldn't matter even if they were effective.

The second thing, extremely important, is that once a "No Roll" is called by either the stickman or boxman (if boxmen exist in your casino), the stickman should immediately go out and knock his stick into one of the dice before it stops on a number. This action prevents the players at the table from seeing what number would have come out, and therefore prevents all kinds of problems and arguments between customers and casino personnel.

Just imagine one of your trusted high-rolling craps players with thousands of dollars on the layout when he has a big winner on a dice-slide that looked really good and legitimate. You might soon find yourself minus one big craps player!

And finally, note the difference between a legitimate tumble and a very good but illegitimate spin. Good sliders can tumble one of the dice while spinning the other in a fashion that makes it look like a legitimate tumble. In this action, the die spinning is rotating and gives the impression that is tumbling when it isn't.

Like Forest Gump says in the movie, "That's all I have to say about that."

And I will not write this article over and over again!