The PARR Zone: Level 2 Training

Introduction by Jerry Patterson

With the development of the PARR Zone, Dr. Heller (now deceased) left an incredible legacy to craps dice controllers.

This article is the second of a series of threeJerry Patterson is an internationally known gaming author, player, and instructor and has written five gambling books. The two most popular are 'Casino Gambling: A Winner’s Guide to Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat and Casino Poker 'and 'Blackjack: A Winner’s Handbook.'  Jerry's website is www.sharpshootercraps.com  articles which will be incorporated, with acknowledgement, into the new book – Winning Dice Control Techniques: Shooting Craps from the Zone by Jerry Patterson and Sharpshooter.

What Role does the Zone play in Dice Control? The Zone’s role is just as important as the muscle memory skills of setting, gripping, picking up and throwing the dice with control. The objective of dice control is to avoid the losing 7 in the point cycle. With the Zone, you can maintain muscle memory consistency and keep on rolling the same way every time you pick up the dice. It’s this consistency that leads to the long hands with stacks of chips pushed your way on roll after roll.

            Now that you understand Calm Conditioning and the concept behind Power Visualization, it will be relatively easy for you to learn Power Conditioning (PC). With PC, you will be calling upon past experiences of success, confidence or times of being deservedly pleased with your performance. 

            Begin by listing a few of your achievements and successes. It doesn’t matter what these were. It’s the sense of personal power and confidence that you want to recreate. Often, your list will include activities or tasks you have become so adept at, you have learned to take them for granted.

            Use your imagination! If you won a bowling or golf trophy, write it down. If you received a promotion or raise at work, put it on your list. Include getting acknowledged for some achievement, being mentioned in a company bulletin or any other activity that brought you recognition. You can include a solid win in a casino, provided it came about because of your skill and efforts. 

            We all have moments of which we are proud. The problem is we are usually encouraged to look at what we do wrong instead of focusing on what we do well. Take your time and you will be able to create your own success list. 

            Here are some personal examples – in no particular order: Getting my first book published; obtaining my Ph.D.; being named Speaker of the Year – twice; publishing my second book; receiving standing ovations at speaking engagements; building my practice from scratch; developing Clump Card Blackjack©; mentoring young therapists; helping Jerry’s people become successful at gaming; hundreds of successes with therapy; being the featured speaker at a $5,000 per person seminar; being written about in books, etc. 

            Once you have made your list, select one or two experiences that fill you with the most pride and satisfaction. These will be your Power Images. You will use Power Visualization to Step Into Your Power Image. 

            Remember, when you put yourself into the experience as differentiated from being a spectator, the same parts of your brain fire that would fire if you were actually doing the activity. Your brain will think you are experiencing what you are imaging as if it were really happening – again. 

            It takes time and practice to become proficient at Power Visualization. It’s more than worth the effort. Professional athletes use PV to improve sports performance. I have helped athletes end slumps with PV. One group of law students had failed their bar examinations several times. After learning PV, they all passed. More important was that taking the Bar became easier for them all. 

I have helped people from all walks of life to reach peak performance by using Power Visualization. Recently, in only four sessions, I helped a man who was terrified of flying to break free of this limitation. Since then, he has flown to Hawaii and Europe without any difficulties at all. 

            While I used other methods to help him, Power Visualization was the primary tool. He was so overwhelmed by the rapidity of his success, he wrote me a three-page testimonial letter. By his own estimate, he has referred more than twenty people to me because of his success with Power Visualization. You owe it to yourself to learn Power Visualization. 

            Here’s the process. After you have become adept at Calm Conditioning, you simply add your Power Image to the process. In plain words, as you circle your thumb and index finger and say your code word, you flash your Power Image right in front of you. Then, Step Into Your Power Image and experience the feelings of confidence. Create a code word for this experience. Your code word could be Confident or Pride or any other word that describes your desired state. 

            The trick is to flash your Power Image while your eyes are open. By now, you should be able to do your Calm Conditioning with your eyes open, so this is just an extension of what you already know. 

            First, call up your Calm Conditioning image while doing your four count breathing process. Then, as you circle your thumb and index finger while saying your code word, stare straight ahead, perhaps at a wall. Now, flash your Power Image and repeat your Power Image code word. That’s it. Because you have created a calm state, you will find it easier and easier to access a state of quiet but strong confidence.

1.    List three or four experiences of being confident, proud or pleased with how well you performed some activity or task. 

       a.     List how the experience made you feel and how you looked. 

                i.      I felt confident and strong and filled with energy. I was standing straight with my head up and I had a smile on my face.

2.     Practice Calm Conditioning and then Add in your Power Image.

         b.     After achieving your calm state, Switch to your Power Image.

                 i.      Begin by putting your Power Image straight out in front of you – about five feet forward from your nose. 

          c.      Mentally step into your image and recall the experience of being in the actual situation. 

                 i.      Make it as real as possible – using the attributes from the experience itself; e.g., I feel myself standing straight and I’m looking straight ahead. I’m confident and I know I look strong and confident. 

           d.     Give this experience a code name. Often the feeling works best, i.e. Confident or Winner, etc.

3.        Practice Calm Conditioning and Power Image as one exercise for three to seven days. (Some will pick this up more quickly than others.)

4.        After getting comfortable with putting the two steps together, you are to make an important change in your practice routine. 

             b.     Then, open your eyes and look at a wall or blank surface of any kind, but at eye level.

             c.      Project your Power Image onto the wall or blank surface.

             d.     Step into the image – that is, imagine that you are in the situation.

Practice this each time you practice Calm Conditioning.