Hi Ray:

It wasn't Bill who used five counts, it was an intermediate player bending Bill's ear one night at Pat's Pub (paleolithic site of the Bar Point Club). Luckily, were I waiting for a player like that to finish counting, I wouldn't have to rely on water; Pat's served beer.

I watched a player once (not sure what count he was using) pondering a borderline double/no double (based upon the score). After ten minutes, he rolled. He and his opponent both rolled the same number of pips. Uh oh! Ten minutes later, he rolled. He and his opponent each rolled the same number of pips. I walked away. I watched David Wells play three games in a match at the next table. I returned to find the player still thinking about D vs No D, Round 3.

That was the great thing about the beer at Pat's: not only did drinking it relieve stress, but it came in heavy duty bottles from Holland, so that if you needed to chastise someone for excessive pip counting, they didn't shatter.

Best,

Jake