Dice

Apex Dice-Strike

Your objective is to have the dice strike the back wall at the apex of the second or third (for very long tables) trajectory. As the dice ascend towards the apex of their trajectory, something very interesting occurs; the horizontal component of motion stays constant, however the vertical component diminishes (because of gravity) until the dice reach the peak and stop climbing altogether. At this moment, the vertical forces are zeroed out and only the horizontal component of force is present. The net force and kinetic energy on the dice is at a minimum at this crucial point because most of the energy is being “stored” as potential energy. From Newton’s third law of mechanics; for every action (force) on a body, there is an opposed, equal reaction.

By gently striking the back wall at the apex of the second or third trajectory, when the forces and kinetic energy are at their minimum, the reaction force that the back wall will impart upon the dice is also at the minimum. Picture the dice just floating in and "kissing" the back wall, they will instantly be repelled with minimal reaction force.

The dice will then have less opportunity to :
1. Compress the rubber to create a spring-board effect.
2. To pivot about the pyramid's pinnacle and conform to a skew angle.

So striking the back wall at the top of the parabola will greatly reduce the pyramidal baffling effect.

Remember that the dice should enter the back wall perpendicularly and repel perpendicularly or the initial set relationship will be destroyed.

An Alternative to the 45-Degree Launch/Apex Dice-Strike

Another approach that has some merit is an open-handed forward rolling on-axis throw. If you were around during WW-II, you might remember that this is what soldiers gambling behind the army barracks refer to as the “blanket roll”. This is fine if there are no betting chips sprinkled about the throwing surface (person running the blanket game hung on to all the cash that was wagered). But, for live in-casino play, there are usually chips stacked everywhere. As soon as one die strikes a chip, it will either stop or get knocked off axis, which kills your control. If this is your delivery of choice, you will have to operate at empty or near empty tables. Throw the dice just hard enough to “toddle up” to the continuous rubber bumper, just under the pyramids, and stop.

An effective hybrid approach is to launch the dice in such a way as to create a series of 45 degree parabolas, starting with a smaller first trajectory and have the dice dampen out on successive arcs so that by the time the dice reach the back wall, they just encounter the rubber bumper at the bottom, then come to rest. You would probably use a gentle back-hand release.

There are two considerations :
1. The dice will bounce and react with the table multiple times. If the dice are slightly off axis, this alignment error will be magnified more and more after each bounce.
2. The chances of creating an alignment error are greater because of the possible interaction with betting chips on the layout.

Conclusion
The 45-degree launch angle coupled with the shortest throwing distance is the key to increasing your control and reducing excess energy. The apex dice-strike is critical for maintaining your soft landing with minimal random "splatter"; thusly creating your edge over the house. Both of these systems are easy to learn and very manageable during live in-casino play.