Craps Lingo and Terminology

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.

• 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.”