The dice should be vigorously shaken and cleanly rolled/thrown
Should a die not land flat on one side, but tipped at an angle, then it is declared "cocked" and all the dice must be re-thrown
Similarly, if a die is resting on top of another it is declared "stacked" and all the dice must be re-thrown
If a cheat is going to roll crooked dice in a game then the problem of switching them for the straight dice originally being used presents itself. An expert dice “mechanic” can achieve a switch of the dice almost unnoticeably and with such smooth action that even someone who knows a switch is being made will have trouble spotting it. Of course, the crooked dice will have to be very similar in appearance to the straight ones, but this is always possible for a determined scammer.
A dice mechanic will substitute crooked or gaffed dice for the real ones and can quickly switch them back once they have gained their advantage. If you suspect a switch has taken place then you could examine the dice yourself. Remember, the dice you are playing with may not be the dice that started the game and cheats will switch the dice back and forth as it suits them. A cheat may even leave his crooked dice behind, just writing his loss off as part of his scam.
Techniques for Switching Dice:
• a very discreet method for switching a pair of dice is The Thumb Palm Switch
• a very crafty method of switching a single die into a game is The Mouth Switch
• an easy way to switch dice in a private game is The Money Switch
• an extremely difficult move to learn and perfect is The Palm Switch
• a move used in street games is The Two-Hand Palm Switch
A very fast cheat’s move to switch a pair of dice for a crooked set is the Thumb Palm Switch, which can be very hard to spot when used by an experienced switcher.
This one handed move is incredibly deceptive and, when practiced, is so smoothly done other players will barely be able to notice it.
This move is done by clenching the two crooked dice in the palm by holding the thumb slightly across and towards the fingers on the inside of the hand. As the cheat reaches out for the straight dice the crooked ones are taken into the bend of the second, third and little fingers (Fig. 1) while the forefinger and thumb are lined up above the straight dice. The straight dice are then pushed back along the inside of the thumb where they are held in the thumb’s crotch as in Fig 2. The crooked dice are then simply thrown out with no one the wiser.
You may be able to spot this move by watching the switcher and seeing if they pull back their hand too close to their body or out of sight too often whenever they are picking up the dice. This may mean they are hiding the switched dice in their pocket or somewhere else out of view.
A legendary cheat’s move to switch a single die for a crooked one is the Mouth Switch, which has been used to scam considerable sums of money from even experienced gambling operators.
This move was first dreamt up in New York in the 1930s, where it was used to make a handsome profit at Craps by a cheat who became known as The Spitter. It only switches one die, but this is easily enough to change the odds into the shooter’s favour as long as the right crooked die is swapped into a game. The Spitter allegedly used a mis-spotted Top and Bottom marked twice with a 1, 2, and 3 which prevents the rolling of high numbers. He couldn’t roll anything higher than a 9, so simply just bet against the 10 in his Craps games.
Before the cheat is about to shoot the dice, he pretends to cough and holds his hand up to cover his mouth. It is at this point he places his crooked die in his mouth. When the stickman gives him the straight dice to throw, he blows on them for luck, as is the custom for many crapshooters and, under the cover of his closed hand, he spits out the crooked die into his hand and pushes one of the straight ones into his mouth in its place. He now shoots the dice without anyone ever thinking a switch has taken place.
An easy cheat’s move used by less professional hustlers in street games and backrooms.
In this move the cheat holds a wad of money in one hand, with the dice he wants to switch into the game palmed in the other. He will then reach out with his palming hand and pick up the game’s dice. All he has to do now is quickly bring his two hands together and drop the picked-up dice into his money-holding hand and then throw the palmed dice.
The bringing together of hands is done in a flash and it will be very difficult to spot. If a player is switching his money from hand to hand and into his pockets frequently, this may mean they are using this technique. Remember to examine the dice to see if they have been switched for crooked dice.
An extremely difficult move to learn and perform, this method of switching the dice is only used by expert dice mechanics.
A cheat will have to spend years practicing The Palm Switch if he is going to use it in a game without being noticed. The technique involves holding two pairs of dice in the hand and swapping them over at will when the crooked dice are needed, all with the fingers of one hand.
One set of dice are palmed in the hand as you can see in Fig. 2. The cheat then reaches out for the other set of dice and takes them up with the ends of their fingers as can be seen in Fig. 1.. Fig 2. shows both the palmed dice and the dice held in the cheat’s fingers.
The dice are manoeuvred in the hand so the two pairs exchange places from the palm to the fingers and from the fingers to the palm. It is an incredibly hard thing to do with one hand. The dice held by the cheat’s fingers are then thrown out while the other set is palmed away out of sight.
This move is hard to spot, but you may get a clue it’s being used if you study the cheat picking up the dice and notice that his hand seems to look a bit awkward.
A cheats move to switch the dice in a street game is the Two-Hand Palm Switch.
This move is a variation on the Palm Switch, which is a lot easier to perform and will take a lot less practise to perfect.
The cheat starts this move by palming the crooked dice in one hand and picking up the straight dice with the other. The crooked dice are then dropped into the bend of the fingers while the straight dice are placed in the palm. The cheat then rubs his hands together in the characteristic way craps shooters do for luck. This is when the crooked dice are taken by the other hand and then thrown out.
To switch the dice back, just repeat the move with straight dice and crooked dice held in reverse.
Without doubt it is possible to control throws in a private game and there are a number of techniques around. The best way to prevent a controlled throw is to insist that the dice are rattled and thrown against a backboard, although even this is no guarantee. The Greek shot is a technique of throwing a pair of dice so that they hit a backboard but so the bottom die does not turn. Only a real expert can pull this one off.
Techniques for Controlled Throws by Hand:
• the first move cheats learn is rattling the dice without rotation The Lock Grip
• the first, most common, and easiest controlled throw cheats learn is The Blanket Roll
• the next most common controlled throw is The Whip Shot
• a controlled throw with a backboard is a variation on the Whip Shot The Greek Shot
• a crooked throw for private games is The Spin Shot
• a variation on the Greek Shot that doesn’t utilise a backboard is the Reverse Greek Shot
Cackle is the term used for a false shake or rattle of the dice in the hand, when in fact they are being held in a special finger grip.
The Lock Grip is about the first move a cheat learns. The idea is to hold and shake two dice convincingly without them turning in the cheat’s hand. Study the diagram and see how they are held. The two dice rest in the bend of the two middle fingers. The forefinger and the smallest finger stop them rolling back and forth, while the thumb stops them turning along the other axis. The sound of the rattle produced is known as cackle. The knuckles of the two middle fingers may look a bit awkward because they are protruding, but this can be hard to spot when the hand is in motion. Try and detect this move by watching how the cheat picks up the dice.
For information on which way the dice should be held in the hand, see Dice Setting. Controlled throwing techniques (like The Blanket Roll and Rhythm Rolling) use the Lock Grip and setting techniques in combination to affect the roll.
A cheat’s move to change the odds and control the outcome of two dice is known as the Blanket Roll.
Also known as the Soft Roll or Pad Roll because this move requires a soft playing surface to roll the dice on, such as a blanket, bed, rug, soft dirt or something similar. This move is one of the easiest to do and was used to scam millions of dollars from American GI Craps players during both World Wars.
The idea is to roll two dice so they turn end over end around one axis. This cartwheel motion will eliminate two sides of each die from landing face up and so totally changes the odds. If the dice are picked up and held in a Lock Grip then the sides of each dice facing each other and the two opposite sides can be prevented from coming up. Study the diagram and see how the cheat pushes the dice together then smoothly lets the dice roll from his hand and turn like a wheel.
For details of which numbers to hold together, see Dice Setting.
One of the cheat’s moves to determine and control the outcome of a throw of two dice is known as the Whip Shot. Learn how cheats can guarantee what numbers are thrown.
Also known as the Peek Shot, the Pique Shot, the Drop Shot and the Hudson Shot. This shot takes more skill than the simple Blanket Roll, but a cheat will make great effort to learn this shot because he can control with certainty the numbers thrown. It doesn’t merely change the odds like the Blanket Roll, it sets the result as almost certain with the right conditions.
The cheat will pick the dice up and hold them in a Lock Grip with the desired numbers on the dice facing upward. They are given a false rattle, then the cheat rolls the dice forward with his thumb towards his fingertips (as shown in the diagram).
The cheat then snaps out his wrist with the motion of snapping a whip and throws the dice, but so that the dice spin rapidly like spinning tops without turning along the horizontal axis. The dice then land with the desired faces facing up. To prevent the dice bouncing on a hard surface, the cheat may sprinkle salt or sand on the throwing area, so they slide, or generally soften the surface where the dice are thrown.
A variation and extension to the Whip Shot when throwing against a backboard is the Greek Shot.
A cheat’s move named after its most prominent user, a Greek man, who successfully used it to make a small fortune at playing Craps.
A cheat needs a lot of expertise to use this shot, which will require a lot of skill and practice to perfect. It is a form of the Whip Shot that can be used when shooting the dice against a backboard.
The cheat throws the two dice in the same way as the Whip Shot, but with such skill and accuracy that the dice hit the backboard at the precise point where the backboard meets the table or floor, with one dice positioned above the other. The top die of the two, boxes in the bottom one on three sides (with the base surface, backboard, and top die), preventing it from turning.
Of course, you are only influencing one die, but this is enough to tilt the game’s edge into the shooter’s favour. To prevent this move insist the dice must hit the backboard above the baseline.
A very simple dice cheat’s move that can determine the result of two dice with certainty.
The Spin Shot can be used by cheats in any private two dice game that doesn’t use a throwing cup. The idea is to shake two dice fairly and convincingly, but to sneak a look at the bottom numbers of the dice before you throw them. Remember, if you know the values on the bottom of the dice, then you can work out the values on the opposite upper faces (6 - 1, 5 - 2, 4 - 3). If the numbers on the dice are what the cheat is after, he will make his false throw. If the numbers aren’t already there, then he will manipulate them with his thumb so that his desired values are on the upper faces and then make his false throw.
The false throw is performed by slamming the dice down with the palm of the hand face down to the flat playing surface and sliding the dice out to one side with a spin on their vertical axis, but not turning end-over-end. The spin of the dice can be achieved with the cheat’s thumb and fingers and a lot of practice.
A cheat must be very careful to only use this move occasionally, at key important points in a dice game, or otherwise the slide and spin of the dice becomes obvious and will certainly raise suspicions with the other players. But with the fair and convincing shake of the dice openly shown to the other players, the cheat may get away with the Spin Shot on occasion.
A cheat’s move that’s fairly easy to pull off in private games is the Reverse Greek Shot.
A variation on the Greek Shot which is easier to perform and so more commonly used
The dice are held in the hand using the Lock Grip with the bottom die’s desired face facing upward, and then given a false rattle. The cheat then drops the two dice with the top one directly above the bottom die, preventing it from turning, and then with the top die rolling off at random.
Of course, you are only influencing one die, but this is enough to tilt the game’s edge into the shooter’s favour.
A cup to hold and roll the dice can help to overcome the problem of controlled throws and can help to ensure that the dice are shaken properly and fall at random. However, the use of throwing cups for dice does not always guarantee the dice fall at random. In fact, some cheats prefer them. Crooked dice can just as easily be thrown and even straight dice can be controlled with practice. Cheats develop techniques where the dice are placed in the cup and are then slid out of the horizontally held cup rather than rolled.
Both the Greeks and Romans used specially made throwing cups and some incorporated crossbars inside to prevent controlled rolls.
Today purpose made ribbed dice cups can be purchased with a rubber ribbed interior to specifically prevent controlled throws. Tripped cups have a lip around the rim to trip the dice as they come out. A slick cup is polished and smooth on the inside to facilitate controlled throws. Cheap dice cups are available in plastic while more expensive deluxe dice cups can be bought made from real leather. Dice cups are sometimes referred to as a “box” by dice players.
The best safety check against controlled throws with a cup is to insist that the dice are vigorously rattled and that the dice cup is completely tipped upside down.
Dice cups are suited to games where more than three dice are being rolled because shaking and rolling more than three dice in a player’s hand becomes awkward and difficult. They are also useful for games where the dice must be concealed from other players.
Techniques for Controlled Throws with a Dice Cup:
• a relatively simple crook’s move with a dice cup is a Dice Cup False Shake
• a crooks move to control a single die of several with a dice cup is The Dice Hold Up
• a variation on the Hold Up is The Dice Hold Up & Slide
A dice crook’s technique for a false shake of the dice in a dice cup is one of the easiest to learn.
The first thing the cheat does in this move is to place the dice in the cup so they are squarely stacked on top of each other and so that they are resting tight against the inside wall of the dice cup. The cheat then rotates the vertically held cup in a circular motion (see diagram). This motion keeps the dice’s orientation and position fixed by creating a centrifugal force that keeps the stacked dice tight against the inner wall of the dice cup but spinning around the circular interior.
A simple false dice roll with any dice cup, known as the Hold Up, can be used by cheats in multi-dice games to give themselves the advantage..
This move can be used in any three to five dice game like Buck Dice, Poker Dice, Cubilette, etc., using any dice cup, including ribbed and tripped dice cups. The cheat only controls the outcome of one of the dice, but this still gives him a significant advantage over the other honest players and he will win more games than the straight-playing dice players.
The cheat will move the mouth of the dice cup towards the dice set on the flat playing surface, and push each one into the cup using his two forefingers, as illustrated in Fig 1. However, the last die isn’t pushed into the cup, but is instead held by the forefingers, with the desired value face-up, against the lip/rim of the cup, concealed from the other players by the cheat’s fingers, as illustrated in Fig 2. Finally, the dice are thrown from the dice cup, but the held die is simply slid or set down as the rest are thrown, as shown in Fig 3.
A very simple and effective method of cheating with a dice cup, that can be very hard to spot if you don’t know the methods of the technique.
A false dice roll with a dice cup that doesn’t have a lip around its rim can be used by cheats in multi-dice games to give themselves the advantage..
This move can be used in any three to five dice game like Buck Dice, Poker Dice, Cubilette, etc., using a dice cup that doesn’t incorporate a tripping lip around the rim. The cheat only controls the outcome of one of the dice, but this still gives him a significant advantage over the other honest players and he will win more games than the straight-playing dice players.
The cheat will push the dice into the cup, but saving the last die, with the spotted value he wants facing up, taken last. This die is picked up in the bend of the cheat’s little finger which curls around it. The hand is then placed over the top of the cup’s mouth when the dice are shaken with the little finger and die held just inside the cup’s mouth. The cheat will then swap the cup to his other hand but leaving the retained die resting just inside the cup’s mouth. The final move is then simply rolling the dice but making sure the fixed die is slid out of the cup without rolling end over end.
The best way to prevent this move is to use a tripped dice cup. You may be able to spot this move by watching the player pick up the last dice and seeing whether it actually goes inside the dice cup.
Beware of crooked dice and controlled throws. Don’t play with strangers but rather stick to a friendly game with people you know well and trust. Should you ever find that you are in a crooked dice game the best advice is to cut your losses and take no further part. Even if you are positive the game is rigged the situation could rapidly turn ugly if you were to accuse someone.