I first started to think about controlling the ball when I was in conversation with an inspector shortly after going into gaming. He told me about spinning blocks and not being able to control my game and I asked him for advice. He said that most of it came with experience and at that time, the concept of being able to control a moving roulette ball and a roulette wheel going in the opposite direction to the spin seemed impossible.
This is probably why many dealers have gone into gaming and then left and still didn’t have the skill. Or even the ones who had the experience, didn’t actually care enough to practice this art, or some may feel that why should they care if a multi-million pound company won even more money. I knew loads of very good roulette dealers who had no idea about controlling a ball.
It is something that you have to be aware of and then take the time to practice. I wanted to do it because I found it interesting, but I have always found gambling concepts interesting. After a while you start to work on a system just by simple trial and error. But when you are doing something literally thousands upon thousands of times then you will start to notice things.
Like how certain wheel speeds are conducive to certain types of results for instance, how to create ball drop off points based on ball speed and the point of release (where you spun the ball from). All of the dealers who practiced this skill (and I could name names) knew that having a constant wheel speed was critical. Each one had their own set of criteria for getting the desired result. They each knew how the ball behaved for them at the wheel speeds that they were used to and the type of spin that they had.
The skilled practioners of this art achieved some amazing things and not just on a few lucky spins, but night after night, week after week, month after month and year after year.
Carl “The Dean” Sampson – author of Killer Roulette
