Beginner's Guide about Craps: Terminology and Lingo

If you are a beginner, a craps glossary is the first thing which you must learn in order to understand the game. While craps has evolved from games such as Hazard and Crapaud over the centuries, the modern player will be happy to know that its current form has remained unaltered for a long time. This means that the craps terms listed in this article should serve you well wherever you play, from the real gambling casinos to the more sedate surroundings of an online casino.

2-Way: Player betting one roll wager for himself AND the dealers.

3-Way Craps: A bet made in units of 3 with one unit on 2, one unit on 3, and one unit on 12.

A

Aces: Betting that the next roll will be the total sum of 2. Also called Snake Eyes.

Any Craps: A bet that the next roll will be 2, 3, or 12.

Any Seven: A bet that the next roll will be 7.

B

Base Dealers: The real casino employees who collect and pay bets during a game of craps.

Big Eight: A wager that the shooter will throw an eight before a seven.

Big Red: Another word for seven. Players will not use the world seven at the table.

Big Six: A wager that the shooter will throw a six before a seven.

Black: Dealer slang for $100 gaming chips which in most real casinos are black.

Bones: Another name for dice.

Boxcars: Slang for the 12. Also called midnight.

Boxman: Table supervisor who sits between the dealers and opposite the stickman.

Box Numbers: These are the place bet numbers; 4-5-6-8-9-10.

Boys or The Boys: Slang for the Dealers in live casino.

C

C&E: This combined proposition bet wagers that the shooter will roll craps and get a yo (eleven). One of the wagers will always result in a loss.

Cold Dice: Expression used to describe the table when no one is making their point.

Color In: What you say when cashing out smaller valued chips for larger valued chips when leaving the craps table.

Come bet: A bet made after the oint is established. It is exactly like a pass line bet.

Come out roll: The first roll of the dice to establish a point. Comp: Complimentary or freebies provided to players based on their action.

Crap Numbers: The numbers 2,3 and 12.

Craps Check: Betting on any craps during the come out roll to hedge your pass line bet.

D

Dice Control: A technique for controlling the dice so they will yield winning totals. Some experts dismiss the idea, while others swear by it.

Don't Come bet: A don't pass bet made after the point is established.

Don't Pass bet: A bet that the shooter will not make his point.

Double odds: An odds bet that is twice the size as the original pass/come bet. Some casinos offer higher odds.

E

Easy Way: A wager that the shooter will roll a four, six, eight or ten before a seven comes up. Getting a number “the easy way” means rolling a number without identical values on both dice.

Eye in the Sky: Surveillance department or the cameras in the ceiling to watch the players and dealers in a real money casino.

F

Field: Unlike other proposition wagers that are placed by the stickman, the field is placed directly by the players. The bet wins if one of the following numbers comes up on the next roll of the dice: two, three, four, nine, ten, eleven, or twelve. If a two or twelve is rolled, the wager will usually pay two or three times the amount of the other winning numbers. A winning player can choose to leave the bet on the table, which is known as “letting it ride.”

Fire Bet: A wager that the player will be able to achieve numerous points before crapping out. The first three points achieved by a shooter will not pay, but the fourth, fifth and sixth will deliver winnings with increasing odds.

Front Line: Another name for a pass line bet.

G

Garden: Slang for the field bet.

George: A player who is a good tipper.

Green: Dealer slang for $25 gambling casino chips which in most casinos are green.

H

Hard Way: A bet on 4, 6, 8, or 10 that wins only if the dice roll as pairs; 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5.

Hi-Lo: A one roll bet on 2 & 12

Hi-Lo-Yo: A one roll bet on 2,12 & 11.

Hop bet: A bet that the next roll will result in one particular combination of the dice, such as; 3-5. 2-2, 3-3, 4-4 etc. Horn bet: A bet that the next roll will be 2, 3, 11, or 12, made in multiples of 4, with one unit on each of the numbers.

Horn High bet: A bet made in multiples of 5 with one unit on 3 of the horn numbers, and two units on the "high" number (number 12).

Hot Dice or Hot Table: When players are winning or a player is rolling a lot of numbers.

I

Inside Numbers: Place bets on the numbers 5-6 -8-9 Lay bet : A bet that a 7 will be rolled before the number you are placing (4,5,6,8,9, or 10) comes up.

L

Lay-Out: The printed area on the felt where wagers can be placed.

Lay Odds: After a point has been established an additional odds bet can be made that will win if the original don't pass bet wins.

Little Joe: Slang for a pair of twos or Hard 4.

M

Marker: The plastic disk used to mark the point. One side is printed “on” and the other “off”.

Mark the Point: The dealer puts the Puck on the layout to indicate the point number.

Mellenberg Rolls: Dice throws that do not hit the opposite wall of the craps table. Most casinos will still allow these rolls, as long as they crossed the middle of the table.

Midnight: Slang for the 12. Also called box cars.

Multi-Roll Bets: Wagers that may require multiple rolls of the dice to determine a winner or loser.

N

Natural: A seven or 11 thrown on the come out roll for a winning bet.

O

Odds Bet: An additional wager made in addition to the pass line bet.

One Roll Bet: A bet in craps that is one or lost in a single roll. Off: What you say to indicate that they are not active on the next roll of the dice.

Off and On: Refers to the way that Dealers pays off COME BETS when a new come bet is the same number as one already established.

On: This means that your bets are working or in action.

On the Hop: A proposition wager that attempts to predict the two numbers that will show up on the next roll of the dice. If the player successfully wagers on two different numbers, the payout is 15:1. However, a winning wager on a pair of identical numbers (two fives or two threes, for example) will pay out at 30:1.

Outside Numbers: Place bets on the 4-10 –5-9.

P

Parlay: Adding your winnings to an original bet and wagering it all. Pass Line Bet: A wager made on the come out roll in which you are betting that the shooter will make the point.

Pass: The most common wager in craps, this bet wins if the shooter throws a seven or eleven on their come-out roll. The bet loses if a two, three or twelve is rolled. Any other number will establish a point, with this bet winning if the point is rolled again before a seven.

Place bet: A bet that a particular number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) will be rolled before a 7 is rolled.

Point: The number established by the come out roll.

Proposition Bet: A wager on one of the bets in the center of the layout.

R

Right Better: A player with a bet on the pass line.

Rack: The grooved rail where you keep your chips.

S

Seven Out: Expression when a shooter rolls a seven before making their point thus losing the pass line bet.

Shooter: The player rolling the dice.

Snake Eyes: Slang for the number 2. Also called aces.

Stickman: The dealer with the stick that pushed the dice to the shooter and calls the rolls.

T

Three-Way: A proposition bet that pays out if the shooter rolls a two, three, or twelve on the next throw of the dice.

World: A five-unit proposition wager that combines a horn with a seven bet. If a seven is rolled, the wager will be considered a push due to the other four numbers losing.

Y

Yo: A proposition bet that pays out if the shooter rolls an eleven.

The terms described above occur when playing craps in real casinos and online casinos.