Laws of a Hot Roll

In Iowa this week, I was fortunate enough to be part of one of those "legendary" hot rolls that happen maybe once a year, if lucky. (I think this was comparable, if not better, than the Red Rock 07 craps run a few of us had.) What makes a hot roll?

1. Hot Rolls are born, not made. Try as we might (I'm looking at you, Layup), you can't force a hot roll. Loudly saying "c'mon shooter, warm em up" is not going to make 3 points in a row instantly happen. There is no reason why the shooter on the other side of the table is going to get hot. It just will be or it won't be. It's a divine hand making it happen.

2. The pace of hot rolls are moderately fast. The roll in Iowa this week was almost a tad too fast; I almost felt rushed to get a bet down. However, all hot rolls I have been a part of have a brisk pace. The dice are collected, bets are paid, the dice go to the shooter, and the shooter picks them up and rolls. No fooling around - no pauses to be found.

THink about it. We have all seen craps shooters that get the dice, take 15 seconds to rotate the dice so they show "6-6" or some such nonsense, then they tap the dice twice or thrice on the table, and then yell some Yiddish as they throw the dice.
Those shooters are annoying - and have you EVER seen ONE of them be a part of a hot roll?

3. Everyone is winning at the table. Come bets are winning. Numbers are being made all over the place. The main point is hit 7, 8, 9 times. Hard ways are thrown. Every conceivable betting mechanism of betting with the roller is winning.

4. There are three or four 7's thrown in the middle on a come out roll. So someone is rolling for 15 minutes, and he hit 3 points in a row. Bam! 7! Winner! 7! Another winner! 7! Another winner! Then off we go again - an 8, many numbers, and then another 8. The shooter truly did get all of his 7's out at the right time.

5. You lose track of time; there are no doubts, and no questions being asked. It's very similar to being "in the zone" athetically. This is the time to put triple odds - he's hitting it. Let's go $52 across. $5 hardways. There is no doubt - none - and there are no questions being asked when the money comes back to you. You expect it, and you've got to take advatage of it.

5a. Personal note: I've got to press more. I'm starting to finally learn this. The roller rolled six 5's in about 10 rolls. I didn't press until the 4th time, and then again the 6th time. And he kept hitting 5's consistently. $21, $28 at a time being slide my way. I've got to press sooner (but not at the beginning) when things are going well.

6. No one is counting money. I do this a lot. At the end of a roll - I usually do a quick check to see how much I made that roll/that point. Butin a truly hot roll, there is no time. You put the pass line bet down, something for the dealers - and before you know it, a point is established and off you go again. There's no time to catch your breath - which is essential.

7. If you approach a hot table in the middle of the roll, don't start up conversations with the players. Let's take this from the player's perspective. I am in the middle of a process that repeats every 20 seconds and has 2 distinct steps:
a. Waiting for a number to be called that is not "seven", and
b. Bending down and picking up the profit that is being slid to me.

In the various activities I could be doing in life, this is pretty high up there on the "favorites" list. So if you - someone who has not been involved at this table to begin with - want to stirke up a conversation with me - it better involve:
a. Sexual favors, or
b. Higher sums of money than what I am picking up every 20 seconds.

Idle chat like "so, how long has this guy been rolling" will get you an evil stare every time.