Glossary of Terms for Craps

On this page we have listed a number of words and phrases that can be commonly heard at the craps table. You don’t need to know all of these to enjoy the game, but it does help to familiarize yourself with them if you are going to be playing in a live casino. There’s a lot of slang and jargon used at the craps table, even by the stickmen and the dealers. It’s important to understand their language so that you know what’s going on.

After going through this glossary you’ll have a good grasp on all of the main terms and phrases that you’ll hear at the craps tables and you’ll be able to enjoy the experience even more. When you’re able to join in on the fun, it makes for a much more relaxed and exciting experience.

Please note that we haven’t included terms relating to the different types of bet in craps, other than a few slang terms. We do have a dedicated page where we have explained all main bet types in detail though.


A

Ace:  A die showing a value of one.

All The Spots We Got: A slang term for a roll of one.

Arm: A player who is skilled at throwing the dice and able to improve the chances of certain numbers being rolled.

B

Betting Right: Betting on the pass line. See Right Bettor for a further explanation.

Betting Wrong: Betting on the don’t pass line. See Wrong Bettor for a further explanation.

Big Red: A slang term for a roll of seven.

Bones: An alternative term for dice.

Boys: A slang term for the dealers.

Boxman: A casino employee at the craps table, responsible for the chips and supervising the dealers.

C

Capped Dice: Dice which have been fixed to favor certain numbers.

Center Field: A slang term for a roll of nine.

Cold Table: A table where at least most of the players are losing.

Color Up: To exchange small denomination chips for larger denomination chips.

Come Out Roll: The first roll of the dice in a new round, which sets the point.

Crap Out: To throw a 2, 3, or 12 on the come out roll.

Crap Numbers:  The numbers 2, 3, and 12.

E

Easy Way: Rolls of 4, 6, 8, or 10 made without a double.

Edge: See House Edge.

F

Fever: A slang term for a roll of five.

Front Line: An alternative name for the pass line bet.

G

George: A player who tips well.

H

Hard Number: Any number rolled as a pair. Two fours is a hard eight while two fives is a hard ten etc.

House Edge: The advantage the casino has over the player for any given bet, expressed as a percentage of the player’s bet.

Hot Table:  A table where at least most of the players are winning.

I

Insurance Bet: A wager that’s made to protect against another wager losing.

L

Little Joe: A slang term for a roll of four.

Little Phoebe: A slang term for a roll of five.

M

Marker: A plastic disc used by dealers to mark the point number on the table.

N

Natural: A roll of seven or eleven on the come out roll.

O

Outside Numbers: The numbers 4, 5, 9, and 10.

P

Parlay A Bet: Adding the winnings from a bet to the original stake and wagering it all.

Payoff: The amount received from a winning bet.

Payout: The odds associated with a bet (eg. 7:1), or the amount received from a winning bet.

Place Numbers:  The numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.

Point: The value established on the come out roll.

Press a Bet: Adding money to an existing bet (typically doubling it).

Puppy Paws: A slang term for a roll of ten.

R

Rail: The area around the top of the craps table where player keep their chips.

Right Bettor: A player betting on the pass line. The term is used as most players bet on the pass line, and doing so usually means betting with the rest of the table

S

Seven Out: Rolling a seven before rolling the point.

Skinny McKinney: A slang term for a roll of seven.

Snake Eyes: A slang term for a roll of two.

Square Pair: A slang term for a hard eight (a pair of fours).

Stickman: A casino employee at the craps table, responsible for passing the dice to the shooter and announcing the outcome of rolls.

T

Toke: A tip to the dealer

U

Up Pops the Devil: A slang term for a roll of seven.

W

Winner on the Dark Side: A slang term for a roll of three.

Working Bets: Bets that are in play for the next roll.

Wrong Bettor: A player who bets on the don’t pass line. The name stems from the fact that most players bet on the pass line, so betting the don’t pass line usually means wanting a different result than the rest of the table.

Y

Yo: A slang term for a roll of eleven.

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