Contributing expert Stanford Wong writes:
There’s not as much difference from casino to casino as your question implies. All casinos require that the dice be thrown and not slid, that they bounce off the wall at the far end of the table, and that they don’t fly too high up in the air. The reason for the last requirement is the stick person is supposed to keep his eyes on the dice at all times, and is also supposed to monitor the bets in the prop box at all times; if the dice fly too high, he can’t simultaneously watch both the dice and the prop bets.
There are, of course, differences from casino to casino in how politely a "short roller" will be asked to get the dice all the way to the end of the table on the next roll, but differences in politeness do not mean differences in requirements for dice throws.
If by "influence the outcome" you mean affect the details of how the dice bounce and roll before stopping, then yes, the outcome is influenced by where the dice hit the table. How you angle them toward the back wall affects the angle at which they bounce off it and whether they then bounce off a side wall. The middle few feet of the back wall are flat, while the corners are curved, so if you throw the dice at a corner they bounce off a curved part of the wall.
On the other hand, if by "influence the outcome" you mean the shooter can influence which numbers will roll, then no, throwing the dice to a particular spot on the table is not sufficient to get a result that’s different from random. Derandomizing the dice requires more in the way of control than merely hitting your spot.
If (only) one die falls short of the back wall, the result will be random. That’s true in part because contact with the table surface does more to randomize the dice than contact with the back wall. It’s also true because two dice moving differently from each other results in a random outcome; one die hitting the wall and one die stopping short of the wall is a good indication that one die moved differently from the other. People who throw the dice well enough to enjoy an edge want both dice to travel identical flight paths; they frown when one die hits the wall while the other stops short.
Stanford Wong is renowned for his pioneering work in game analysis, including blackjack, video poker, pai gow poker, horse racing, sports betting, tournament play, and now craps. His latest work in dice control is detailed in his book Wong on Dice, which includes never-before-published information about the game of craps: how skillful shooters get an edge, how to practice efficiently, and how to test yourself to know when you're ready to take on a casino.
