Craps Glossary
A craps table has its own language, and most of it is shouted over noise by people who learned it from other people shouting it over noise. Some of it is decades-old carnival slang for numbers on dice; some of it is just the dealer's job title. None of it is complicated once it's written down, and none of it is required knowledge to play, since the felt itself is printed with the actual bet names. This is every term you're likely to hear at a real table anyway, grouped by what it actually is: a bet or number on one side, dealer calls and table culture on the other.
For the mechanics behind any of these, see how to play craps or the free craps table itself.
Bets, numbers, and wagers
Any Craps — A one-roll bet that the next roll is 2, 3, or 12. Pays 7:1, even though only 4 of 36 dice combinations win it. Loses on every other total. Full breakdown in the bets, best to worst section.
Boxcars — Slang for a roll of 12, two 6s that look like a pair of boxcars end to end. Also shorthand for the one-roll bet on 12 itself, which is really just Any Craps restricted to a single number.
Buy Bet — A Place bet where you pay a commission up front in exchange for the true odds payout instead of the worse Place payout. The commission is a flat percentage of the bet, so it costs the same in dollar terms regardless of which number it's attached to, which is why it only makes the trade worth it on the numbers where Place pays the least: 4 and 10.
Come-Out Roll — The first roll of a new round, before a point is established. Wins outright on 7 or 11, loses on 2, 3, or 12, sets the point on anything else. Full mechanics in the loop.
Don't Come — The same bet as Don't Pass, made after a point is already established. Gets its own personal point and travels to that number.
Easy Way — A roll of a number made with dice that don't match, like a 6 rolled 4-2 or 5-1 instead of 3-3. The opposite of a hard way.
Five-Count — A ritual where a player waits until the shooter has survived five rolls before putting money down, on the idea that a shooter who's lasted five rolls is less likely to seven out immediately. Every roll of a fair die has no memory of the rolls before it, so the shooter's odds on roll six are identical whether it's their first bet or their fifth survived roll. It doesn't change the house edge on any bet. It just delays when the money goes on the table, and skips some rounds that would have won.
Front Line — Table slang for the Pass Line.
Hard Way — A bet that a number (4, 6, 8, or 10) rolls as a matching pair, like hard 8 being 4-4, before it rolls the easy way or a 7 shows. Pays 7:1 on hard 4 or 10, 9:1 on hard 6 or 8. It loses two different ways at once (the easy version of the number, or any 7), which is the whole reason it pays more than a straight Place bet on the same number.
Hop Bet — A one-roll bet on one specific dice combination for the very next roll only, called out by hand instead of placed on a printed box. It resolves in a single throw and then it's gone, whether it wins or not. High variance, high house edge.
Horn Bet — A single bet split four ways across 2, 3, 11, and 12 in one motion, paid out according to whichever of the four hits and losing the rest. Effectively four separate one-roll bets made and settled at once, which is why it needs to be made in a multiple of four.
Inside Numbers — The point numbers 5, 6, 8, and 9 as a group, the four in the middle of the number layout. Collectively the most frequently rolled point numbers, since 6 and 8 in particular come up more than any other point.
Lay Bet — Laying odds behind a Don't Pass or Don't Come bet: betting the shooter sevens out before the point repeats, at payout odds worse than even since a 7 is more likely than any single point. Exact payouts in Laying Odds.
Little Joe — Slang for a roll of 4.
Midnight — Slang for the one-roll proposition bet on 12.
Natural — A 7 or 11 on the come-out roll, an instant Pass Line winner.
Off / Working — The status of a bet. Working means it can win or lose on the current roll. Off means it's dormant and can't do either, most commonly Place and Buy bets during a come-out roll unless the player asks the dealer to leave them working.
Outside Numbers — The point numbers 4, 5, 9, and 10 as a group, the four on the outer edge of the number layout. The mirror image of the inside numbers, and rolled less often since 4 and 10 in particular are two of the least common totals on two dice.
Place Bet — Betting directly on a point number to repeat before a 7, made at any time without waiting for a come-out roll. The main alternative to Pass Line and Odds for getting action on one specific number, and unlike the Pass Line it can be made or taken down whenever a player wants.
Point — The number established on the come-out roll (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) that the shooter has to roll again before a 7 for the Pass Line to win. Once it's set, every other total that isn't the point or a 7 simply doesn't affect the Pass Line at all; the shooter just keeps rolling.
Press — Increasing the size of an existing bet, usually after a win, typically by doubling it. The opposite of taking a bet down or leaving it flat.
Same Dice — A request, usually from a superstitious player, that the stickman send the same two dice back to the shooter instead of swapping in a different pair from the bowl. Casino dice are precision-made and checked regularly, so which physical pair is in play has no bearing on the odds of any roll.
Snake Eyes — Slang for a roll of 2, two 1s that look like a pair of eyes.
Take It Down — Removing a bet from the table before it resolves. Place, Buy, and Come/Don't Come odds can usually be taken down at will, which is one of the few pieces of real flexibility a player has mid-round. A Pass Line bet can't be taken down once a point is on; it's committed until the round ends one way or the other.
World Bet — Also called a whirl bet: a horn bet plus a bet on Any Seven, five ways at once, paid according to whichever number hits and losing the rest. A louder, more expensive version of the horn.
Yo — Slang for a roll of 11, called "yo-leven" by the stickman so it isn't misheard as "seven" over table noise.
Dealer calls and table culture
Crapping Out — Rolling a 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll, an instant Pass Line loss. The dealer or stickman calls it out by name so the whole table hears the result.
Dice Setting — Arranging the dice to a specific starting face combination before a throw, on the belief that a controlled grip and toss can influence the outcome. A fair, properly bounced roll that hits the table wall overwhelms any pre-throw arrangement, which is exactly why the rules require the dice to hit the back wall in the first place. The dice don't remember how they were set once they leave a normal hand.
George — Table slang for a player who tips the dealers generously. The opposite is a "stiff," a player who never tokes regardless of how the table's been running.
Hot Table — A table where the shooter has been making points and side bets have been winning for a stretch. It feels like a change in the odds and it isn't one; every roll of a fair pair of dice is independent of the one before it, and a hot table is only visible after the fact, never predictable from inside it.
Puck — The physical marker, black on one side and white with "ON" on the other, that the dealer flips to show whether a point is established. Black side up with no number showing means the table is on a come-out roll; flipped to white and sitting on a number box means that number is the point.
Right Bettor — A player betting with the shooter: Pass Line, Come, and the numbers repeating. Most of the table, most of the time, which is part of why betting the other way can feel socially awkward even though the math slightly favors it.
Seven Out — Rolling a 7 after a point is established, which ends the round and takes the Pass Line and every working Place or Buy bet with it. The dealer calls it out to end the shooter's turn and clear the table for a new come-out roll.
Stickman — The dealer who controls the stick, retrieves the dice after each roll, calls out the result, and runs the proposition bets in the center of the table. Usually the most talkative person at the table, since narrating every roll is part of the job.
Toke — A tip for the dealers, either handed over directly or placed as a bet on their behalf that they keep if it wins. A toke bet that loses costs the player nothing extra beyond the toke itself, since it was already earmarked for the dealers either way.
Wrong Bettor — A player betting against the shooter: Don't Pass and Don't Come. The correct name for the "dark side," not a judgment on the bet itself. The math is actually slightly better than betting right, even though wrong bettors are usually a small minority at any given table.
Knowing the words doesn't teach you the game by itself, and nothing above is a reason to bet differently than you otherwise would. Read how to play craps for the actual mechanics, or your first time at a craps table for what to do with all of this once you're standing at one, tipping culture and etiquette included. Then practice everything above on the free craps table, where the chips aren't real and nobody's counting how many times you ask what "boxcars" means.