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Terminology

Craps Terms

Dice games have been traced back over 2500 years of human history. The modern game of craps has evolved its own language that is sometimes hard to understand. You don't have to know all the terms associated with the craps table, but it does help to understand some of them. Here are some common craps terms:

Any Craps - A single roll bet that the next roll will be craps (2, 3, 12).

Any Seven - A single roll bet that the next roll will be a seven.

Back Line - A casino term for the Don't Pass line.

Bar the 12 (or 2) - Casinos bars the 12 or 2 (making either outcome a push) when the player bets the Don't Come/Don't Pass.

Big 6 and Big 8 - A bet that the 6 or the 8 (whichever is bet) will be rolled before a seven.

Bones - Dice

Boxman - This is a casino employee who sits between the two dealers on the inside of the craps table. He oversees the game.

Buy the 4 or the 10 - The player pays a 5% commission so that the payoff on these place numbers becomes 2 to 1.

Change Color - Usually means exchanging smaller denomination chips for larger just before the player leaves the table and cashes out.

Charting the Table - In craps this means observing the play and catagorizing if the table is best for "right" players, "wrong" players or if it is simply "choppy.

Chips - The colored casino tokens used to bet.

Come Bet - A bet made on the "come" section in the middle of the layout that is made on any roll except the come out roll. The rules are the same as a pass line bet on the come out roll.

Come Out Roll - This is the first roll a shooter makes to establish the "point".

Craps - A roll of 2,3, or 12.

Dealer - There are two dealers at a craps table. The stand on either side of the boxman and handle all the bets and payoffs.

Dice - The six sided cubes used in craps. Each side is numbered 1 to 6.

Disk - A round object, the size and shape of a hockey puck, black on one side and white on the other, that is used to inform players when the come out roll is occurring and, what the point is when it is established.

Don't Come Bet - A bet made on any roll but the come out roll with the same rules as the Don't Pass bet.

Don't Pass Bet - A bet on the come out roll "against the dice" This bet loses on a 7 or 11. It pays even money on a craps roll (barring 2 or 12) and will pay off on a subsequent roll if a seven is rolled before the "point".

Easy - A 4, 6, 8, or 10 is rolled but not as a pair.

Field Bet - A one roll bet on the next roll that the number thrown will be a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12.

Floorman - A casino employee who supervises several craps tables.

Free Odds Bet - An additional bet backing a pass/come or a don't pass/don't come wager.

Front Line - Also known as the pass line.

Hardway Bet - A wager that a 4, 6, 8, or 10 will be thrown by way of a pair before either number appears the easy way.

Hedge - Using one bet as insurance for another bet.

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

Hot Shooter - A player who makes a lot of money for right bettors when he is shooting the dice.

Inside Numbers - The inside numbers are 5, 6, 8, 9.

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

Lay - A bet against a point number by paying a 5% commission.

Layout - The green felt surface of the craps table. All the bets are laid out on it.

Money Plays - Called aloud by the dealers when player makes cash wager on the table.

Not Working - Bets that are not in play on the next roll.

Off - The term used to denote that certain bets will not be valid on the next roll.

One Roll Bets - Bets that are good for one roll only, for example field bets or any craps bets.

Pass - A winning outcome for pass line bettors. Either a 7 or 11 on the come out roll or the shooter makes the point. Could also mean "to turn down an opportunity to shoot" or "pass the dice" to the next shooter.

Pass-Line Bet - A bet placed on the pass line before the come out roll. It wins if a 7 or 11 is rolled on the come out roll or if the shooter makes the point.

Place Bets - A bet that the number bet (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) will be rolled before a 7.

Pit Boss - A casino employee who is in charge of a gambling pit or group of tables.

Point - This refers to the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10. On the come out roll, if any of these numbers are rolled they become the "point",

Proposition (Prop) Bet - Also known as center bets, this is the group of wagers represented in the center of the craps layout.

Puck - See Disk

Rail - Curved area in front of the player that holds chips.

Right Bettor - A bettor who favors the "right" or "pass-line" side. Bets with the dice.

Seven Out - A seven after the come out roll, pass line bets lose.

Shooter - The bettor who is rolling the dice.

Stickman - The casino employee with the stick. He handles the center bets, passes and calls the dice and generally runs the game.

Take Down - To "take down" one's bets is to take them off the table.

Tip - A gratuity given to casino employees. Also known as a toke.

Unit - A betting unit. Your unit could be $1, $2, $5, $10, $100 etc.

Working - Bets that are in play on the next dice roll.

Wrong Bettor - A bettor who favors the "wrong" or "don't pass" side. Bets against the dice.

Yo - A roll of 11.