Craps seems like a complicated game because there are so many terms and slang for different bets. Learning the lingo can help you understand the game.

Pickup Craps – Pointers and Techniques: Do Not Throw in the Towel Nov 14. Be intelligent, gamble cunning, and learn how to play craps the correct way! The most common bet on the craps table is the Pass Line bet. It is on the outside of the table and creates a somewhat border around the layout. This bet is saying that the dice are going to “pass”, meaning win. So betting this means you are betting with the shooter and hope he/she can hit their points. The Sevens to Rolls Ratio. There are 36 combinations that can be made from of a pair of dice and six ways to attain a seven. This means that, with a random roll, the mathematical probability of a seven appearing will be once in every six rolls, which is a 'Sevens to Rolls Ratio (SRR)' of 6. Pickup Craps – Pointers and Schemes: Do Not Give Up December 7th, 2020 at 12:25 Be clever, bet cunning, and become versed in how to bet on craps the proper way!

• 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.
• 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.
• Big Red: Another word for seven. Players will not use the world seven at the table.
• Black: Dealer slang for $100 gaming chips which in most 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.
• 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 point 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.
• 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 of the original pass/come bet. Some casinos offer higher odds.
• Eye in the Sky: Surveillance department or the cameras in the ceiling to watch the players and dealers.
• Front Line: Another name for a pass line bet.
• Garden: Slang for the field bet.
• George: A player who is a good tipper.
• Green: Dealer slang for $25 gaming chips which in most casinos are green.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Midnight: Slang for the 12. Also called box cars.
• Natural: A seven or 11 thrown on the come out roll for a winning bet.
• One Roll Bet: A bet in craps that is one or lost in a single roll. ​
• Odds Bet: An additional wager made in addition to the pass line bet.
• 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.
• Outside Numbers: Place bets on the 4-10 –5-9.
• 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.
• 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.
• Right Better: A player with a bet on the pass line.
• Rack: The grooved rail where you keep your chips.
• 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.
• Toke: Another word for a tip.
• World Bet: A bet on the horn numbers along with any seven. (2-3-11-12)
• Wrong Bettor: A player betting against the shooter.
• Yo or Yo-leven: The word used for rolling an eleven so as to not confuse it with “seven.”

Can setting the dice and throwing them under control really affect the outcome of a craps game? Obviously, no one can control the outcome of the dice on every single roll. Even a Major League pitcher can't throw a perfect curve ball every time. However, they can throw that old curveball on a regular basis.

Blackjack Pointers

The question is, can the dice be manipulated and thrown in a certain manner to produce a regularly controlled throw? Some once-skeptical researchers are conceding that more testing is needed. For new dice players, just rolling the dice can be a bit daunting, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy. By throwing the dice in the same manner, each time, some shooters get into a rhythm that produces monstrous rolls.

Craps Pointers

The Sevens to Rolls Ratio

There are 36 combinations that can be made from of a pair of dice and six ways to attain a seven. This means that, with a random roll, the mathematical probability of a seven appearing will be once in every six rolls, which is a 'Sevens to Rolls Ratio (SRR)' of 6. The house edge is calculated with this ratio.

If you throw the dice 42 times and roll seven 7's, you have a Sevens to Rolls Ratio of 6 (42/7 = 6). If, however, you have one non-random roll and throw seven 7s in 43 rolls, you have an SRR of 6.14. This is enough to negate the house edge on the 6 and 8 place bets. Just one controlled throw out of every 43 rolls of the dice would eliminate the house edge and yield a break-even game.

How to Control the Dice

Controlled throwing consists of several components. How you set the dice can affect their outcome. One of the most popular sets is the 3-Vm where you have threes in a 'V' formation. This gives you the hard six (3 and 3) on top, the six, (5 and 1) on the front, the eight on one (6 and 2) on the back and the Hard eight (4 and 4) on the bottom. There are no sevens showing on the dice with this set.

After setting the dice you must use a smooth delivery that is strong enough to get the dice to the end of the table but without too much force that will cause them to bounce hard against the back of the table. You also want to make sure that you follow through with your throw. You want to practice so you are throwing the dice the same way each time. Your goal is to throw numbers while avoiding the seven. Throwing the same way can produce repeating numbers.

Practice Makes Perfect

For those interested in learning more about dice control, The Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution by Frank Scoblete and Dominator and Wong on Dice by Stanford Wong. These books can teach you the basics but the rest depends on how much effort you put into practicing.

The controlled throwing of dice is a physical skill which requires hours of practice to master. It is not easy and some players never master it. Perfecting a controlled throw is not enough to guarantee regular wins at the craps table. You will also need to learn how to bet properly to take advantage of your edge.

Note from the author: I am an instructor for Golden Touch Craps, a company that teaches dice control seminars and I contributed to the book Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution.