Most casinos require craps players to rattle the dice in their hands before throwing them against a backboard. This rattling of the dice, combined with the use of the backboard, is supposed to eliminate the chance of a player controlling the way in which the dice land. This is a very effective cheat proofing method but there are ways that some players claim to have had success using that allow the player to gain a certain amount of control over the throw’s outcome.

Rhythm Rolling and Dice Setting

Some players claim that they can set the dice a certain way prior to the throw and use the exact same rhythm for each throw in an attempt to produce predictable results. Cheats will often hold the dice in between the two middle fingers of the hand and use the thumb to keep the dice from turning. The cheat will the rattle the dice in order to convince others that the dice are being properly mixed but in reality the dice are maintaining the preset position that the cheat has decided upon. The noise that the dice makes when a cheat is falsely rattling them has become known as the cackle and the grip itself is called the lock grip.

The blanket roll is the term used to describe a specific rolling motion used to cheat the odds of the dice. The blanket rolls requires that the dice land on a soft surface. The cheating player can use the lock grip to set the dice and then use a throwing motion that causes the dice to cartwheel over. This eliminates one axis of rotation and can effectively eliminate the chances of the dice landing on particular sides. This end over end roll is difficult to master and relies on the skill of the thrower in combination with the soft landing surface for its effectiveness. Throwing cups are used in some games in order to eliminate the opportunity for players to cheat by using the lock grip and special roll. However, throwing cups do not eliminate the use of crooked dice and some specialty cups are made for the purpose of helping cheaters produce controlled throws.