Usually, the gaming reality that a student brings to class determines their ability to win. I teach my students that their thoughts are very powerful and can influence their game. That there is "no room for negativity in their game" is at the top of my teaching priority list.

I can't say it any more clearly than Henry Ford, who stated; "Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right."

This statement became especially evident one evening when two of my female students and I visited the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. As we immersed ourselves in the beautiful ambience and elegant environment of the resort, we kept in mind that our learning never stops, even when we are mesmerized by the awesome displays of beauty that the hotel provides for us.

In my usual fashion, I asked the girls to walk around the craps pit before making a table selection. I asked them what they felt about each table, and why they chose a particular table. As I guided them, asking them to focus on every aspect of what they liked, or did not like, about each table, they began making choices based on the kind of energy they felt. They then deferred to me for the final decision.

One particular table "felt" right, even though the seven was coming up with a greater frequency than we would have liked. The dealers kept mentioning to us how "cold" the table had been all day. While this might have scared away many players, especially the players that play the "do" side of the game, to me it was a challenge, a lesson in how to sustain ourselves in the face of adversity.

The immediate lesson for one student was that this table did not support her style of play. I have to commend her for recognizing this fact early on, and backing away to go eat dinner. This break in action allowed her to re-focus and re-energize in the hopes of returning when the table turned more favorable. The energy of that game had made her, along with a number of other players at the table, very uncomfortable.

I turned to the remaining student and asked her if she was up for a lesson in how to win on the “don’t” side of the table, while we waited for the energy of the table to turn. After all, the dealers were very friendly and pit bosses gave us the feeling that they really did not want us to leave. They felt as I did, that the table was about to turn.

With the patience required of the "don’t style" of play, we continued winning as we waited for the table current to change. As the dice came our way, we switched back to the pass line/place bet style of play we were accustomed to, and began delivering the dice to the other end of the table with positive results.

Then. It was my student’s turn to roll.

I turned to my playing partner and asked her "Can you give me a reason why you can’t keep throwing the dice and keep getting paid?"  "NOPE," she replied, and kept replying through a total of three stick man changes. I believed, as she believed, that nothing was going to stop her from having a "humongous" roll.

In her mind, there was no self-doubting. She did not struggle with the game, the bankroll, the dice or the table. She believed she had the power to hold the dice as long as she wanted to. She did not intellectualize. Everything came together for her because she trusted her own abilities.

As all good, and disciplined winners do, we colored up and asked for a dinner comp when the roll came to an end. The pit boss congratulated us and invited us back to the table after dinner. Curiously enough, when we returned to the same table after dinner, there was no way to squeeze ourselves in to play. The table had clearly shifted to the other extreme; really, really ‘hot.’

So, cold tables do have their merits when you feel that they are about to change. In the end, it will always come down to how we interpret the energy the table provides us.

As for my students, the one who left for dinner, returned to our table to play ‘her’ way and win as her fellow student was shooting. As for the shooter, she ‘got’ her experience, and truly felt the essence of winning. She sensed the ‘energy.’ They each recognized what was necessary for them to win, and in the process, discovered their own greatness.

As for me, the essence of winning means to continue to “feel” with all of my senses what the “big picture” has in store for me. And to do what is necessary to succeed, always keeping in mind what my closest and most accomplished gaming buddies preach about winning in this game we call Craps:

“Perceive it, see it, feel it, know it. Then, act on it.”

Soft Touch