Rules Craps Glossary
Huh? What? What did he say? What does that mean? As a novice craps player standing by the table watching, too nervous to jump in, you give up trying to understand the game. Your college Mandarin Chinese language class was easier
to understand than all this craps jargon. So, instead of having loads of fun at the craps table, you take your $50 and pee it away in a slot machine. Half-an-hour later, you stare at the machine wondering, "Why am I so damn afraid to play craps?"
It shouldn't be like that. To learn craps is very easy and so much fun. You don't have to be a brain surgeon or math professor to understand and play it. Don't let your fear keep you away.
You don't have to speak craps fluently to understand it and play it. You simply need to know a few basic words and phrases. As you play, your command of the language will develop quickly. Don't waste time trying to memorize every term you see below before deciding to play. Remember, if you don't understand something, just ask the dealer for help.
Aces = Two one's. Also known as snake eyes or eyeballs.
Action = Craps bets that are in play or considered live. Also, describes how busy a craps table is.
Any Craps = Craps bet that the next roll will be a 2, 3, or 12.
Any Seven = Craps bet that the next roll will be a 7.
Apron = The plain, unmarked outer edge of the craps table layout.
At Risk = Cheques (money) that are in play or live.
Australian Yo = The number 3. When a 3 appears, the opposite number (i.e., the number on the bottom of the dice) is 11, which is "down under." On dice, 1 is opposite the 6, 2 is opposite the 5, and 3 is opposite the 4. So, when a 1-2 shows,
the opposite side (i.e., the bottom of the dice, "down under") is 6-5.
Back Line = Another name for the Don't Pass line.
Back Wall = The inside end of the table against which the shooter must roll the dice for the roll to be considered valid.
Bank = All the casino's chip stacks on the table directly in front of the sitting boxman.
Barber Pole = A stack of cheques with a variety of denominations mixed together. Cheques should be stacked with higher-denominations on the bottom and lower-denominations on top.
Big Eight = Even-money craps bet that an 8 will appear before a 7.
Big Red = Craps bet that the next roll will be a 7 (same as Any Seven).
Big Six = Even-money craps bet that a 6 will appear before a 7.
Black = $100 cheques.
Bones = Dice.
Bowl = Plastic, wood, or metal bowl that the stickman uses to hold the dice that are not in play.
Box Number = The numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 that can become a point on the come-out roll. All other numbers (i.e., 2, 3, 7, 11, and 12) are called naturals because they result in a decision on the come-out roll. Also, called point number.
Boxcars = The number 12. A bet that the next roll will be a 12. Also called midnight.
Boxman = Person supervising the craps game who sits between the two dealers and across from the stickman.
Boys, the = Dealers.
Broke Money = Money the casino gives a broke person for transportation home.
Brooklyn Forest = Two three's. A Hard 6.
Buffalo = Craps bet on all of the Hardways and the Any Seven.
Buffalo Yo = Craps bet on all of the Hardways and the number 11.
Bump = Extra break for a dealer because the shift is overstaffed relative to the number of tables/games in play.
Buy = Craps bet. Also when you pay a 5% vigorish (or tax) to get true odds that a number will show before a 7.
C and E (C&E) = Craps and Eleven. Craps bet that the next roll will be a 2, 3, 12, or 11.
Cage = Cashier. Also, where you exchange cheques for cash after you leave a game.
Capped Dice = Crooked dice.
Casino Odds = The payoff odds that the casino pays when a player wins. Less than true odds; thereby, creating a house advantage.
Change Only = What the dealer or player says when cash is dropped on the table as a buy-in.
Charting = Player who keeps track of roll results.
Cheques = Chips with a denomination printed on them.
Chips = Chips without a denomination printed on them.
Choppy = When the craps table goes back and forth from making a point to a 7-out.
Cold Table = When shooters aren't making points or hitting very many numbers.
Color In, Color Coming In = From the casino's perspective, when you exchange low-denomination cheques for high-denomination cheques. It usually occurs just before you leave the game so the casino knows how much was won or lost, or so you don't have to carry a lot of low-denomination chips to the cage.
Color Out, Color Going Out = From the player's perspective, when you exchange low-denomination cheques for high-denomination cheques. It usually occurs just before you leave the game so the casino knows how much was won or lost, or so you don't have to carry a lot of low-denomination chips to the cage.
Come = Craps bet that's the same as a Pass Line bet except made after a point is established.
Come-out Roll = The first roll of a new game.
Comp = Short expression for complimentary. Free stuff the casino gives the players for their gambling action (e.g., drinks, show tickets, food vouchers, room discounts).
Crap Out = Rolling a 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll.
Crapless Craps = A rare craps table layout where all numbers, except 7, can be rolled as the point. If a 2, 3, 12, or 11 is rolled on the come-out, it becomes the point.
Craps = The numbers 2, 3, 12.
Craps Is A Game Of Skill Not Strength = What the stickman might say if the shooter throws the dice too hard.
Dead = No players at a craps table.
Dealer = Person responsible for all bets on his side of the table.
Decision = Roll that ends the game. If a natural is rolled on the come-out, an immediate decision is made. After a point is established, a decision is made by rolling either the point number again or a 7.
Dice Are In The Middle = When the stickman moves the dice to the center of the craps table after each roll. This is when you should make your craps bets.
Die In The Wood, Roll No Good = What the stickman says when a die bounces and lands in the wooden chip rack on the rail.
Dime = Two $5 cheques.
Don't Come = Craps bet the same as a Don't Pass bet except made after a point is established.
Don't Pass = Craps bet that the shooter will not make the point.
Double Odds = Free odds or true odds bet that is twice as large as the Flat Pass Line or Flat Don't Pass bet.
Down Behind = What the dealer says when a Don't bet loses.
E.T. = Craps bet that the next roll will be an 11 or 12.
Easyway = The number 4, 6, 8, or 10 rolled where the dice have different numbers. For example, an Easy 8 is 6-2, 2-6, 5-3, and 3-5.
Eighter From Decatur = The number 8.
Eye In The Sky = Video cameras on the ceiling. Surveillance of the game.
Eyeballs = Two one's. Snake eyes or aces.
Field = Craps bet that the next roll will be a 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12. Sometimes the 5 is included and the 9 excluded.
Fifty-yard Line = The middle of the craps table.
Fill = When the casino's bank (chip stack) on the craps table is replenished.
Flat Bet = Even-money craps Pass Line or craps Don't Pass bet.
Garden = The field.
George = Player who tips the dealers.
Green = $25 cheques.
Green Light = When the dealers have permission to hustle tips, or the pit crew isn't watching so dealers can hustle tips.
Hand-in = A tip given directly to the dealers instead of being bet for them.
Hardway = A bet on the 4, 6, 8, or 10 that wins if the dice show identical numbers before a 7 or an Easyway. For example, a Hard 4 wins if the dice show 2-2.
Hedge = When you make a craps bet to protect another craps bet.
Hi-Lo = Craps bet that the next roll will be a 2 or 12.
Hi-Lo-Yo = Craps bet that the next roll will be a 2, 12, or 11.
Hit A Brick = When a die hits a stack of chips and doesn't bounce off the back wall.
Hook = Player positions at the table near the corner of each end.
Hop = Craps bet that the next roll will be a specific combination of numbers.
Horn = Craps bet that the next roll will be a 2, 3, 11, or 12.
Horn High = A craps Horn bet with equal amounts on three numbers and a greater amount on the fourth number. For example, a $5 Horn High Yo has $1 on the 2, 3, and 12; and $2 on the 11. A $10 Horn High Boxcars has $2 on the 2, 3, and 11; and $4 on the 12.
Hot Table = When shooters are making lots of points and rolling lots of numbers.
I Can't Read Her She's In The Cedar = What the stickman says when a die bounces and lands in the wooden chip rack on the rail.
Inside Numbers = The numbers 6 and 8. Sometimes the numbers 5, 6, 8, and 9.
Insurance = Hedging your craps bet.
Jam Up = Game is slowed or interrupted because of sloppy dealing.
Jammer = Weak dealer who spills his chip stacks or sloppily places player's cheques.
Jesse James = The number 9. Jesse James was shot by a .45. (The 4-5 dice combination is a 9.)
Juice = A vigorish.
Lady's Delight = Hard 10.
Lammer = Small plastic marker or button placed on top of your craps bets to indicate whether they're "on" or "off."
Lay = Craps bet. Also, paying a 5% vigorish (or tax) to get true odds that a 7 will appear before a number.
Laying Odds = Adding a true Odds bet against the point on the Don't Pass bet.
Layout = Craps table design and markings for all craps bets.
Lid = Plastic top that covers and protects the casino's chip stack on the table when the table is not being used.
Lights Out = What the stickman says to remind dealers to move the puck to the "off" (black) position.
Line = The Pass Line.
Little Joe = Two two's. A Hard 4.
Live = Cash or craps bets that are in action or in play. Also, a George.
Long And Strong = What the stickman says to tell the shooter to make sure to get the dice to the back wall.
Marker = The puck that marks the point.
Midnight = The number 12. Also called boxcars.
Money Plays = What the dealer says when a player makes a bet by dropping money on the table and calling out the bet.
Monster Roll = Hot roll that lasts a long time where everyone makes tons of money.
Mop = The stick that the stickman uses to move the dice around the craps table. Also called the whip.
Natural = The numbers 2, 3, 7, 11, and 12 that result in an immediate decision on the come-out roll.
Nickel = $5 cheques.
Nina From Pasadena = The number 9.
No Bet = What the dealer says if a player makes an invalid bet after the dice are pushed to the shooter or after the dice are in the air. The bet is invalid because it's too late.
No Roll = What the stickman says for an invalid roll (e.g., the dice don't hit the back wall or a die flies off the table).
Number In The Lumber = What the stickman might say when a die bounces and lands in the wooden chip rack on the rail.
Off = A player's craps bet is not live, not working, or not in action.
OJ = The dice combination 3-2. (OJ's jersey number was 32.)
On = A player's craps bet is live, working, or in action.
One On The Rail = What the dealer says to the boxman when a die that left the table is returned and put in the rail next to the boxman ready for his inspection.
One-eyed Chicken In The Weeds = The dice combination 1-4.
Outside Numbers = The numbers 4, 5, 9, and 10; sometimes only the numbers 4 and 10.
Ozzie And Harriet = Two four's. A Hard 8.
Parlay = Keep all your winnings in action by adding all the winnings of a craps bet to that same bet.
Pass Line = Craps bet that you will make the point.
Past Posting = Making a craps bet after the dice have stopped rolling.
Penny = $1 cheques.
Penny Any = $1 Any Craps bet.
Pips = Dots on a die.
Pit = Area around which all tables are situated. Where the floor people monitor the tables and employees.
Place = Craps bet that a specific number (i.e., 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) will appear before a 7.
Player's Card = A casino club card issued to a player that the player uses while gambling so the casino can track their play for comps and other business purposes.
Player Position = Each player's position at the craps table. Usually, a maximum of eight players are allowed to play per side. Player positions are sequenced 1 through 8 starting at the stickman and moving around the rail to the dealer.
Point = Number that shows on the come-out roll, either a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. For a Pass Line craps bet, the shooter wins by rolling that same number again before a 7.
Point Box = The boxes for the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 in or around which Place bets, Come bets, Don't Come bets, Buy bets, and Lay bets are positioned.
Point Number = A box number.
Press = Double the craps bet.
Pressure = Press a craps bet.
Proposition Bet = One-roll craps bet usually identified in the layout on the center of the table.
Puck = Plastic disk the dealers use to mark the point. The white side says "on," the black side says "off."
Purple = $500 cheques.
Quarter = A $25 cheque.
Rack = Grooved rail around the edge of the craps table where players hold their chips.
Red Light = When the dealers aren't allowed to hustle tips.
Rhythmic Roller = Dice setter (a.k.a. dice control).
Right Bettor = Player who bets with the dice. Player who bets that the shooter will make a point before a 7. A Pass Line craps bettor.
Self-service = Craps bets on the table layout that you make yourself without the dealer's help (e.g., Pass Line, Field, Come).
Seven-Out = When you roll a 7 after a point has been established to end the game.
Shooter = The player who rolls the dice.
Shooter On The Dark Side = A shooter betting the Don't Pass.
Single Odds = A free Odds or true Odds craps bet equal to the Flat Pass Line or Flat Don't Pass craps bet.
Skinny = Craps bet that's the same as Big Red or Any Seven.
Sleeper = Craps bet that continues to parlay up because the player has left the table.
Slow Bleed = Player losing his bankroll slowly but steadily.
Snake Eyes = Eyeballs or aces.
Square Pair = Two four's. A Hard 8.
Stacks = Chip stacks that the dealers use to pay off winning bets.
Stickperson = The dealer who uses the mop (stick) and calls the action, usually with lively banter.
Stiff = Player who doesn't tip the dealers.
Still Up = What the dealer says to remind a player that a bet is still live or "on."
Stroker = Player who hustles craps bets at the table or makes it difficult for the dealers to work the craps table.
Studio 54 = The number 9.
Sweat The Money = When floor people get nervous because everyone is winning lots of money.
Table Sign = A placard on each side of the table that defines the table minimum bet, maximum bet, and maximum odds that are allowed when you play craps.
Taking Odds = Adding a true Odds craps bet on the point behind the Pass Line.
Tapping In = When a dealer comes off break and returns to the table, she "taps" the dealer that she's replacing.
Tidy The Bowl = The stickman aligns the extra dice in the bowl into a neat row.
Too Tall To Call = What the dealer says when a die lands on top of the casino's chip stack or in the rack.
Toke = Tip for the dealer.
Towel = When you temporarily leave the table (e.g., you go to the bathroom), you may request that a towel or other cloth be placed over your chips in the rack to protect them from thieves until you return. This also holds your position at the craps
table and prevents a new player from taking your position.
True Odds = The mathematically correct odds of a number showing compared to another number.
Tub = A small one-dealer craps table usually in small casinos. It's also called a mini-craps table.
Turn The Dice = When the stickman flips the dice with the mop (stick) to avoid pushing them to the shooter with a particular number showing.
Two-way = A bet for the player and the dealers. For example, a $2 Two-way Hard 4 bet is a $1 Hard 4 for the player and a $1 Hard 4 for the dealers.
Vigorish = A 5% tax that you have to pay to get true odds on your craps bet. Also called a vig.
Wall = The back wall of the craps table.
We Need To Feed The Chickens Not Kill Them = What the stickman says if you throw the dice too hard.
Weaki Weaki = A roll that doesn't hit the back wall (Hawaiian).
Whip = The mop (stick).
Whirl = Craps bet in multiples of $5 that the next roll will be a 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12. For each $5 bet, $1 is put on each of the five numbers. Also called a World bet.
Working = Your craps bet is on, live, or in play.
World = A Whirl craps bet.
Wrong Bettor = Player who bets against the dice (i.e., that the shooter will roll a 7 before the point number). A Don't Pass bettor.
Yellow = A $1,000 cheque.
Yellow Light = When dealers should be careful about hustling tips because floor people are probably watching them.
Yo = The number 11.
Yo-leven = The number 11. Same as Yo. The stickman says "yo" to distinguish "eleven" from "seven" so the players don't misunderstand the stickman's call.