Craps Terminology

Aces: betting that the next roll will be the total sum of 2

Any craps: a bet that the next roll will be 2, 3, or 12. This bet pays 7:1 and has a house edge of 11.1%.

3-way craps: a bet made in units of 3 with one unit on 2, one unit on 3, and one unit on 12. This is a horn bet without the bet on 11.

Any seven: a bet that the next roll will be 7. This bet pays 4:1 and has a house edge of 16.7%.

Backline: same as Don't Pass Line

Big 6: a bet that a 6 will be rolled before a 7 comes up. This bet pays even money, and has a house edge of 9.1%. A place bet on 6 pays 7:6 but is identical otherwise. The place bet is preferred, having a house edge of 1.5%

Big 8: a bet that an 8 will be rolled before a 7 comes up. This bet pays even money, and has a house edge of 9.1%. A place bet on 8 pays 7:6 but is identical otherwise. The place bet is preferred, having a house edge of 1.5%

Big Red: placing a bet on Any Seven

Bones: another name for dice.

Boxcars: betting on the 12.

Broke Money: transportation money given to the broke player by the casino.

Buffalo: placing a bet on each of the Hardway and Any Seven.

Buy bet: giving the house a 5% commission in order to be paid correct odds for a place bet. The buy bets on 4 and 10 allow the player to reduce the house edge from 6.67% to 4% on these bets. Some casinos collect the commission only on winning bets, while others collect it at the time the bet is made.

Capped Dice: crooked dice

Cold Table: when shooters are not making their Points

Come bet: a "virtual pass line bet"; a bet made after the come out roll but in other respects exactly like a pass line bet.

Come out roll: the first roll of the dice in a betting round is called the "come out" roll. Pass bets win when the come out roll is 7 or 11, while pass bets lose when the come out roll is 2, 3, or 12. Don't bets lose when the come out roll is 7 or 11, and don't bets win when the come out roll is 2 or 3. Don't bets tie when the come out roll is 12 (2 in some casinos; the "bar" roll on the layout indicates which roll is treated as a tie).

Crap: the numbers 2,3 and 12

Craps: the game or the dice.

Crap Out: the numbers 2,3 or 12 on the first roll.

Don't come bet: A "virtual don't pass bet"; a bet made after the come out roll.

Don't pass bet: a bet that the dice will not pass. This bet can be placed only immediately before a "come out" roll. One result (either the 2 or the 12, depending on the casino) will result in a push. House edge on these bets is 1.40%. A Don't Pass bet can be taken down, but not increased, after the come-out roll.

Double odds: an odd bet that is about twice as large as the original pass/come bet. Some casinos offer higher odds, such as 5X or even 10X odds.

Field bet: a bet that the next roll would be 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. This bet pays even money for 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11, and usually pays 2:1 for 2 or 12. Some casinos pay 3:1 for either the 2 or 12 (but not both), and some casinos may make the 5 instead of the 9 a field roll.

Hard way: a bet on 4, 6, 8, or 10 that wins only if the dice show the same face; e.g., "hard 8" occurs when each die shows a four.

Hop bet: a bet that the next roll will result in one particular combination of the dice, such as 2-2 (called a "hopping hardway") or 3-5. 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5 are paid the same as a one-roll 2; other hop bets are paid the same as a one-roll 11.

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). "$5 horn high eleven": $1 each on 2, 3, 12, and $2 on the 11.

Insurance bet: Two or more wagers made at a crap table in an attempt to insure one or the other.

Lay bet: a bet that a particular number (4,5,6,8,9, or 10) will NOT be rolled before a 7 comes up. The casino takes 5% of the winnings on these bets. The 5% commission is usually taken up front, but some casinos take the commission after the bet wins.

Lay odds: after a point has been established, the don't pass bettor can place an additional odds bet that will win if the original don't pass bet wins. The odds bet is paid at the correct odds for the point, and is a fair bet with no house edge. This also applies to a don't come bet. Making this bets is referred to "laying the odds" for your don't bet.

Line bet: a bet on the "pass line" or the "don't pass line" is called a "line" bet. These bets are placed at the beginning of the game, before the "come out" roll. The shooter is required to make a line bet in order to shoot the dice.

Little Joe: a pair of twos or Hard 4.

Midnight: betting on the number 12 to appear on the next roll.

Odds: off an odd bets that are "not working". Odds bets can be called "off" by the player at any time, but are left on the felt until the bet is resolved. Also, come odds bets are usually "off" during the come out roll, unless the bettor asks to have the odds bets "working". Come odd bets that are "off" will be returned to the player if the line bet loses on the come out roll. Don't come odds generally work on the come-out roll.

Pass bet: a bet that the dice will pass, also known as a "pass line" bet. This bet is generally placed immediately before a "come out" roll, although you can make or increase this bet at any time. House edge on this bets is 1.41%.

Parley: leaving your winnings in action.

Place bet: a bet that a particular number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) will be rolled before a 7 comes up. These bets are paid at slightly less than correct odds, giving the house an edge of 1.52% on 6/8, 4% on 5/9, and 6.67% on 4/10.

Play bet: a bet that a 7 will be rolled before the number you are placing (4,5,6,8,9, or 10) comes up. The casino requires you to lay slightly more than the correct odds, giving the house an edge of 3.03% on 4/10, 2.5% on 5/9, and 1.82% on 6/8.

Point: if a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 is rolled on the come out roll, then this number becomes the "point". The shooter must roll the point again, before rolling a seven, in order for the dice to "pass". A "come point" is just the number that is serving as a point for a come bet.

Right bettor: a player who bets that the dice will pass.

Seven out: when the shooter rolls seven after a point has been established. Control of the dice is transferred to the next shooter. Another terms for this is "miss out." You will sometimes hear players call this something else, but we can't print those things here. This is often incorrectly called "craps out."

Shooter: the player who is rolling the dice. The shooter must place a "line" bet ("pass" or "don't pass") in order to be eligible to roll the dice. Of course, the shooter can place other bets in addition to the required "line" bet. Most shooters (and players) tend to play the "pass" line. Note that shooters who make "don't pass" bets are not betting against themselves, they are simply betting that the dice will not "pass".

Single odds: an odd bet that is about as large as the original pass/come bet. Some casinos allow "double odds", or even larger odds bets.

Snake Eyes: betting on the number 2

Vigs (vigorish): house commissions taken on a particular bet (like the IRS)

Working: bets that are "live" (i.e., can be resolved with the next roll) are said to be working. Generally, place bets, buy/lay bets, and come odds bets do not work on the come-out unless you tell the dealers to "make them work." All other bets (e.g., Hardway) work unless you call them "off" (i.e., tell the dealers you do not want them to "work").

Whirl bet: a bet that the next roll will be 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12, made in multiples of 5, with one unit on each of the numbers.

Wrong bettor: a player who bets that the dice will not pass.

Box man: table supervisor who sits between the stickman and directly behind the thousands of dollars worth of chips that the casino keeps on hand at each craps table.

Dealer: is responsible for all the bets made on his half of the table. Whenever you want to make free odds, place, or lay bet in a casino, you should give the money to the dealer at your end of the table and he will make the bet for you.

Floor men: are the people who are responsible for the games in the casino. Floor men spend their time behind the tables watching over the games.

Marker Puck: plastic disks that the dealers use to mark the point on the Craps table. When the buck is turned so that the side inscribed with 'off' is face up, then all free odds bets have no action on the following roll of the dice.

Pit: is the area enclosed by all of the craps tables in a casino. Floor men walk around in the pit and keep an eye on the craps games in progress and the casino employees.

Stickman: the casino employee who calls out the dice rolls and returns the dice to the shooter. The stickman also is responsible for the placing and paying the proposition bets.