We’ve designed this reference list to help you navigate the unique language used at the Craps table. Whether you’re an inexperienced player stepping into the game or a seasoned gambler looking to brush up on your knowledge, understanding the lingo is vital to enjoying the game.
From terms like “Snake Eyes” to “Boxcars,” the language of Craps is distinctive and unique. In this guide, you’ll find an extensive list of terms, slang, and phrases commonly heard at the Craps table. Not only will this knowledge enhance your experience, but also help you play craps with greater confidence.
As you read on, remember that each term is an integral part of the game. Keep this list handy and let’s dive into the dynamic vocabulary of Craps.
A
- Aces: Betting that the next roll will be the total sum of 2. Also refers to one-dollar gaming cheques.
- Aces-Ace/Deuce: A one-roll bet on 2 and 3.
- Action: Describes how busy the table is or refers to wagers that are in play.
- Any Craps: A bet that the next roll will be 2, 3, or 12, paying 7:1.
- Any Seven: A bet that the next roll will be 7.
- Apron: The outer perimeter of the table layout.
- At Risk: Indicates that a player’s wager is active or “in action”.
B
- Back Line: Same as Don’t Pass Line.
- Bank Craps: The proper name for the casino game of Craps.
- Barber Poll: When gaming cheques of different denominations are intermingled.
- Big 6: A bet that a 6 will be rolled before a 7. Pays even money.
- Big 8: A bet that an 8 will be rolled before a 7. Pays even money.
- Big Red: Placing a bet on Any Seven.
- Black: Slang for $100 gaming cheques, typically black.
- Bones: Another term for dice.
- Bowl: The container for the dice, usually wood, plastic, or metal.
- Boxcars: Betting on the 12.
- Boxman: Table supervisor responsible for the chips at each craps table.
- Boys: Slang for the dealers.
- Buffalo (Definition #1): placing a bet on each of the Hardways and Any Seven.
- Buffalo (Definition #2): placing a bet on each of the Hardways and on the eleven. (You better ask- NEVER ASSUME)
- Bump: When a dealer gets an extra 20 minute break. because the table or pit is overstaffed in comparison to the gaming activity.
- 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. Some casinos collect commission only on winning bets, while others collect it at the time the bet is made.
C
- C and E Bet: A proposition bet on the 11 (E) or any craps (C).
- Capped Dice: Crooked dice.
- Change Only: Indicates a player requires gaming cheques in exchange for cash.
- Cocked Dice: Dice leaning on an object; determined by the natural lean.
- Cold Table: When shooters are not making their Points.
- Color In: Exchanging smaller chips for larger ones when leaving the table.
- Color Out: Same as Color In, but from the player’s perspective.
- Come Bet: A “virtual pass line bet”; made after the come-out roll.
- Come Out Roll: The first roll of the dice in a betting round.
- Comp: Free services offered by the casino to players for their gaming activity.
- Covered: When the dealer and player cooperate to correctly place multiple bets.
- 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.
- Crapless Craps: A rare table where 2,3, 11 and 12 are POINTS. The Stratosphere is the only casino in Las Vegas with a Crapless Craps Table. Also found at the Gulf Coast casinos.
D
- Dead: When there are no players at the table.
- Dealer: Responsible for all bets made on their half of the table.
- Dice are in the Middle: A signal that it’s time to place bets, with the dice ready for the next roll.
- Dime Dealer: Slang for two $5 gaming cheques.
- Don’t Come Bet: Similar to a don’t pass bet but made after the come-out roll.
- Don’t pass bet: A bet that the dice will not pass. This bet can only be placed 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.
- Down Behind: Usually called by a dealer to inform a Don’t bettor that his wager has lost.
- Down the Middle (or Straight Out): Usually refers to Player Position number 6 in the center of either end of the table.
- Down with Odds: When the dealer pays a player’s Place Bet and shifts their Come Bet to a specific number, ensuring the player is betting on that number.
- Downtown Odds: Enhanced pay-offs for Proposition Bets, Place Bets on 6 & 8, and Field Bets, typically found in Downtown Las Vegas casinos.
- Drop: The amount of cash money made by a casino shift on a specific table. The boxman is responsible for keeping track as players cash into the game in exchange for gaming cheques (chips).
- Drop Box: The metal box situated underneath the table that houses the cash from player buy-ins.
- Drop Slot: The slot on the table, in front of the house bank where the boxman or dealers drop cash from player buy-ins into the Drop Box.
- Dump: A term dealers use to describe a player that lost or is losing.
E
- Eyeballs: Slang for a roll of 2.
- Eye in the Sky Surveillance: Video or live monitoring of the game.
F
- 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.
- Fifty Yard Line: The middle of the table. A fair roll of the dice SHOULD pass the 50 Yard Line.
- Fill: When The House replenishes the House Bank. This is usually done with security guards present. The boxman has to count the fill and a dealer needs to sign the receipt which goes to the casino cage.
- FGS (fucking game starter): When a player starts up a dead game then leaves after other players join in
G
- George: A player who tips the dealers well.
- Green: Slang for $25 gaming cheques, usually green in color.
- Green Light: When dealers have approval by floor management and/or boxman to hustle tokes (tips).
H
- Hand-In A Toke: Tip handed in to the dealer(s). Usually during a good roll of the dice or while cashing out prior to leaving the table.
- 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.
- Hardways Work Unless Called Off: Reminder from the stickman during the Come-Out roll that hardway bets are active unless the player decides to cancel them.
- Hawking the Dice: When a dealer looks at the dice when rolled to the opposite end of the table. Dealers are supposed to watch their end of the table at all times to maximize customer service and game protection.
- Hi-Lo: A one roll bet on 2 & 12
- Hi-Lo-Yo: A one roll bet on 2,12 & 11
- Hit a Brick: Sometimes stated by Stickman when a die hits a stack of gaming cheques and does not roll the length of the table.
- Hook Player: Positions 4 and 5 near the corner of either end of the table. Often referred to as Inside Hook or Outside Hook.
- 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.
- Hot Table: When players are winning, usually passline, come and/or place bettors.
- House Bank: All the gaming cheques stacked up between the dealers and in front of the boxman. Used to pay off winning wagers or color-ins.
I
- Inside Numbers: The numbers 5, 6, 8, and 9.
- Insurance bet: Two or more wagers made at a crap table in an attempt to insure one or the other.
J
- Juice: Same as Vigorish, a commission fee on certain wagers.
K
- Key: A mathematical formula used by dealers for figuring out pay-offs.
L
- Lammer: Plastic coin like markers that are placed on Buy and Lay Bets and that are also used to mark bets ON or OFF (bets in action). Also used by boxmen to keep track of the total money in the DROP.
- Late Bet: Called “Bet” or “NO Bet” by the dealer or boxman when a player makes a bet after dice have been sent out OR when the dice are already In The Air.
- Lay bet (Definition 1): 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 bet (Definition 2): 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.
- Lay-Out: The graphic format of the table. Includes all places where wagers can be placed.
- 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 bet is referred to “laying the odds” for your don’t bet.
- Lid: The wood or plastic top of the House Bank that covers house gaming cheques when the table is not in action.
- Lights Out: Often stated by Stickman to remind Dealers to move the Marker Puck to BLACK (OFF position).
- 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 two’s or Hard 4.
- Lock it up: Dealer jargon to put loose gaming cheques into their stacks or into the House Bank.
M
- Marker: A tool for high-stakes players using casino credit. The buy-in amount is agreed with the boxman and marked on the table to show the credit’s value.
- Marker Play: When a player starts their action on previously established house credit.
- 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.
- Midnight: Betting on the number 12 to appear on the next roll.
- Money Plays: Called aloud by the dealers when the player makes cash wager on the table. Usually called out…”Money Plays to the Table Limit”.
- Monster Roll: Any Hot Roll that lasts over 20 minutes or generates a lot of winnings for the player(s).
- Mop Dealer: Slang for the stick used by the stickman to move the dice.
- My First (2nd, 3rd etc.): Calls made by Stickman or Dealers to reference the position of players when paying off wagers or making change.
N
- Nickel: Dealer slang for $5 gaming cheques.
- No Bet: Called by Dealer or Boxman on late bets made by players after dice have been sent out or when In-The-Air.
- No Roll: Called when a roll is invalid, like when a die leaves the table.
O
- Odds off: An odd bet that is “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.
- Off: Usually refers to Marker Puck OR lammers placed on player wagers to indicate that they are not active on the next roll of the dice.
- Off and On: Refers to the way that Dealers pay off COME BETS when a player has a new come bet and wins on a number already positioned.
- On: Usually refers to Marker Puck OR lammers placed on player wagers to indicate that they are in action (working… or “At Risk”)
- One on the Rail: Usually called by Dealer to inform Boxman that a die, which rolled or bounced off the table, has been returned and set “On the Rail” near the Boxman for inspection.
- Outside Numbers: 4 10 5 9.
P
- Parlay: Leaving your winnings in action.
- Pass Bet: A bet that the dice will pass, typically made before the come-out roll.
- Past Posting: Illegal positioning of a wager after the dice have landed with a result. Also… positioning of a wager on the Don’t Line AFTER a point has already been established.
- Paying Behind: Usually called and executed by a dealer when paying off Don’t Bets.
- Penny Dealer: Slang for one dollar gaming cheques.
- Pit: 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.
- 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.
- Player Card: Card provided by casino to computer track player gaming action in exchange for comps.
- Player Position: There are 8 player positions on either side of a standard Craps Table. They are numbered 1-8 from the Stickman to either Dealer. This is the way that dealers sequence pay-offs to players on winning wagers AND the way that dealers position player wagers on the table lay-out.
- Power Press: A method used by many players to maximize parleys on Place Bets.
- Press your bet: When your Place Bet is rolled (hit) you double your bet.
- Pressure: Often called by Players to inform dealers to double their bet on a specific wager.
- Protection (or Game Protection) Dealer: Is responsible for watching and servicing their end of the table. Stickman handles Proposition Bets and watches the pay-offs of the dealer who is servicing the end of the table to which the dice were rolled. Boxman confirms the accuracy of the result of the dice and watches pay-offs on the end of the table from which the dice were thrown.
- Proposition Bet: A one roll bet generally on the horn numbers (2,3,7,11,12)
- 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.
- Purple: Refers to $500 gaming cheques, which are usually purple.
Q
- Quarter: Dealer slang for a $25 gaming cheque.
R
- Rack: The grooved railing around the table where players position their Bank.
- Rail: The top grooved area around the player side of the table.
- Red: Dealer slang for $5 gaming cheques which in most casinos are red.
- Red Light: When dealers are not advised to hustle tokes (tips), usually because boxman or floorpeople are present.
- Right bettor: A player who bets that the dice will pass.
S
- Save the Odds: Called by Stickman when 7 is rolled on come-out roll to remind dealers to return ODDS ON COME BETS back to players who may have odds positioned on their active COME BETS.
- Self-Service Field Bets and Big 6 and Big 8: Self-service bets that are not handed off by the dealers.
- Service: When Dealer (and sometimes Boxman) work in concert with player(s) to make certain that their specific pattern of wagers are properly positioned. Also refers to pushing out winning Place Bets and Come Bets close and within easy reach of the player’s position at the table.
- Seven out: When the shooter rolls seven after a point has been established. Control of the dice is transferred to the next shooter. Another term 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.
- Sleeper Bet: A bet that continues to parley up because the owner of the bet has left the table. Usually locked up by The House.
- Snake Eyes: Betting on the number 2
- Still Up: Phrase stated often by dealers to remind players that a specific wager is still in play OR… asked as a question to see if the player wants the same wager repeated.
- Strip Odds: Less pay-off on Proposition Bets, Place Bets on 6 & 8 and sometimes Field bets than normally found in most DOWNTOWN Las Vegas casinos.
- Square Pair: A hard eight
- Stacks: Dealer cheques in various denominations used to pay off winning wagers. OR… any other wagers or Color In (Out) stacked up on the table
- Stickman: The casino employee who calls out the dice rolls and returns the dice to the shooter. The stickman also is responsible for placing and paying the proposition bets.
- Stroker: A player who hustles bets at the table or makes it difficult for the dealers to service the table. ie. Picking up other players’ winning bets, barber polling bets, making late bets.
- Stiff: A player who never tokes (tips) the dealer(s), regardless of winnings.
- Sweat the Money: Phrase used most often by Dealers and Players in reference to casinos where floor people get real nervous when a table is losing to the players.
T
- Table Odds: The multiple a player may wager (usually on pass line and come bets) behind the original flat bet to get true odds of the dice. “The House” has no percentage advantage on “true odds”.
- Table Sign A sign on either or both sides of the table stating table minimums and maximums, terms for multiple odds and maximum wager on odds and/or pay-offs.
- Taking Odds: Adding an additional wager to an original Pass Line or Come Bet. Winning pay-offs are made to the true odds of the dice.
- Tapping In: When a new relief shift joins the table they tap the current dealer and take over the departing dealer (or stickman position).
- Three-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.
- Three-Way Seven: A better way to make a wager on Any Seven. (SEE HOP BET)
- Tidy the Bowl: Stickman responsible for keeping the extra dice that are in the bowl in a neat row.
- Toke: Casino slang for Tip. Primary means of income for casino dealers. TOKES represent 50%-80% of dealer compensation.
- Towel: A towel is used and may be requested by a player to cover their bank on the rack when they leave the table, usually to go to the bathroom. This marks and reserves their playing position.
- Tracking (or Player Tracking): Boxman keeps track of players who have casino player card by keeping track of average bet and amount of time spent at the table.
- True Odds: The real odds of dice rolling any total number (as opposed to “House Odds” which are the pay-offs written on the lay-out.
- Tub (Mini or “Half-Table”): A small one or two dealer craps table used usually in small casinos.
- Turn-About: Called by the stickman when the dice are about to be sent to the next shooter at the opposite end of the table (or next to stickman’s left).
- Turning the Dice: Stickman usually turns the dice when in the middle of the table, between rolls, to make sure dice are not sent out to Shooter with a 7,11,2,3 or 12 showing. (Sometimes without The Point showing when the shooter is betting The Don’t).
- Two-Way Eleven: Player betting one roll wager on 11 for himself AND the dealers.
- Two-Way Parlay: When a player calls a parlay bet for himself AND the dealers.
U
- Underlay: A bet with more house edge than usual.
V
- Vig: Short for Vigorish, the house commission on certain bets.
W
- Wall (or Back Wall): Either end of the table. Shooter is supposed to hit “The Back Wall” to complete a fair roll of the dice.
- Wash Your Hands: All dealers are required to clap or swipe their hands before leaving their table workstation.
- Whip: Slang for the stick used by the stickman.
- Working Bets: 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 (or World) 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.
Y
- Yellow: Refers to $1,000 gaming cheques which are usually yellow.
- Yellow Light: A caution for dealers to be discreet about seeking tips, especially when monitored by floor personnel.
- Yo or Yo-leven: The number 11 as called by the stickman and often by the players. Called this way to differentiate from the number “7”.
Z
- Zukes: Slang for dealer tips.