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Craps glossary

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  • 3-4-5x odds A common odds limit: 3 times the flat bet on 4 or 10, 4 times on 5 or 9, 5 times on 6 or 8.

    Each limit makes a winning odds bet pay 6 times the flat bet. Pass line with full 3-4-5x odds has a combined house edge of about 0.37%.

    Also called 3-4-5x, 3, 4, 5 times odds.

    See also: Odds, Pass line

A

  • Any 7 A one-roll bet that the next roll is a 7, paying 4 to 1; house edge 16.67%.

    Also called any seven, big red.

    See also: Proposition bet, Any craps

  • Any craps A one-roll bet that the next roll is 2, 3 or 12, paying 7 to 1; house edge 11.11%.

    Also called craps check.

    See also: Craps (roll), Proposition bet, C and E

B

  • Bankroll The money set aside for play, separate from everyday money.

    Also called roll.

    See also: Risk of ruin, Variance, Unit

  • Bar 12 The rule that a 12 on the come-out is a push for don't pass and don't come instead of a win.

    Without the bar, the don't side would have an edge over the house. Some tables bar the 2 instead.

    Also called barred 12.

    See also: Don't pass, Push

  • Big 6 / Big 8 A bet that a 6 or an 8 rolls before a 7, paying even money; house edge 9.09%.

    It wins as often as placing the 6 or 8, which pays 7 to 6 instead.

    Also called big 6, big 8.

    See also: Place bet, True odds

  • Buy bet A place bet paid at true odds in exchange for a 5% commission.

    Whether buying beats placing depends on how the commission is charged. Where it is taken up front, buying is usually only better on the 4 and 10. FlopMAX charges it only on a win, which makes buying cheaper than placing on the 4, 5, 9 and 10 (the 5 and 9: 2.00% against 4.00%), but not on the 6 and 8 (2.27% against 1.52%).

    Also called buy.

    See also: Place bet, Vig, True odds

C

  • C and E A one-roll bet split evenly between any craps and 11.

    Also called craps-eleven, C&E.

    See also: Any craps, Yo

  • Come bet A pass-line style bet made after a point is set, with the next roll as its own come-out.

    Same 1.41% house edge as the pass line.

    Also called come.

    See also: Don't come, Pass line, Odds

  • Come-out roll The first roll of a new round, before any point is set.

    On the come-out, 7 or 11 wins for the pass line, 2, 3 or 12 loses, and any other number becomes the point.

    Also called come out, come-out.

    See also: Point, Natural (craps), Craps (roll), Pass line

  • Craps (roll) A 2, 3 or 12 on the come-out roll, which loses for the pass line.

    Also called crap out, craps.

    See also: Natural (craps), Bar 12, Any craps

D

  • Dice combinations The 36 equally likely ways two dice can land, which set every craps probability.

    7 can roll 6 ways, 6 and 8 five ways each, 5 and 9 four, 4 and 10 three, 3 and 11 two, 2 and 12 one each.

    Also called 36 combinations, ways.

    See also: True odds, Any 7, Hop bet

  • Don't come A don't pass style bet made after a point is set; house edge 1.36% (1.40% per bet resolved).

    See also: Come bet, Don't pass

  • Don't pass The bet that a 7 comes before the point; house edge 1.36% (1.40% per bet resolved).

    On the come-out, 2 and 3 win, 7 and 11 lose, and 12 is a push because of the bar. The 1.36% counts every bet made, pushes on the 12 included; FlopMAX's tables show 1.40%, the cost per bet that is settled.

    Also called don't, dark side, wrong side.

    See also: Pass line, Bar 12, Lay odds

E

  • Easy way A 4, 6, 8 or 10 rolled as anything other than a pair, which loses a hardway bet.

    Also called easy.

    See also: Hardway

  • Edge The average advantage one side holds, as a percentage of the money at risk.

    In casino games the house usually holds the edge. In poker, edge is your expected win rate against the other players after rake.

    Also called advantage, player edge.

    See also: House edge, Expected value

  • Expected value The average result of a decision if it were repeated many times.

    EV weighs each outcome by its probability. In poker it compares choices: the higher-EV play is better even if it loses this time. In casino games every bet has negative EV equal to its house edge, and the right play is the one that loses least.

    Also called EV.

    See also: House edge, Variance, Long run

F

  • Field A one-roll bet on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12; on FlopMAX the 2 and the 12 pay 2 to 1 by default.

    Other field numbers pay even money, and 5, 6, 7 and 8 lose. With 2 and 12 both paying 2 to 1 the house edge is about 5.56%; tables that pay 3 to 1 on one of them, as FlopMAX's settings can, cost less (about 2.78%).

    Also called field bet.

    See also: One-roll bet, Proposition bet

  • Flat bet Betting the same amount every round.

    In craps, the flat bet is also the pass or come bet that the odds bet goes behind.

    Also called flat betting.

    See also: Unit, Odds

G

  • Gambler's fallacy The mistaken belief that past independent results change the chance of the next one.

    Five reds in a row do not make black more likely on the next spin.

    Also called Monte Carlo fallacy.

    See also: Scoreboard, Long run

H

  • Hardway A bet that 4, 6, 8 or 10 rolls as a pair before it rolls any other way or a 7 shows.

    Hard 6 or 8 pays 9 to 1 (9.09%); hard 4 or 10 pays 7 to 1 (11.11%).

    Also called hard way, hard 4, hard 6, hard 8, hard 10.

    See also: Easy way, Proposition bet

  • Hop bet A one-roll bet on one exact dice combination, such as 2 and 4.

    A combination two ways (2-4) typically pays 15 to 1, and a pair (3-3) typically pays 30 to 1.

    Also called hop, on the hop.

    See also: Proposition bet, Dice combinations

  • Horn A one-roll bet split four ways across 2, 3, 11 and 12; house edge 12.5%.

    The 2 and 12 parts pay 30 to 1 and the 3 and 11 parts pay 15 to 1; the other three parts lose.

    Also called horn bet.

    See also: Proposition bet, Yo, Hop bet

  • House edge The average share of each bet the house keeps over the long run, as a percentage.

    A 1.41% house edge means an average cost of 1.41 per 100 bet. It says nothing about any one session, only about the average.

    Also called HE, casino advantage.

    See also: Expected value, Return to player, True odds

L

  • Lay bet A bet that a 7 rolls before a chosen point number, paid at true odds less a 5% commission on the win.

    Also called lay.

    See also: Buy bet, Lay odds, Vig

  • Lay odds An extra bet behind a don't pass or don't come bet, paid at true odds with no house edge.

    The don't bettor risks more to win less: lay 2 to win 1 on 4 or 10, 3 to win 2 on 5 or 9, 6 to win 5 on 6 or 8.

    Also called laying odds.

    See also: Odds, Don't pass, True odds

  • Long run The very large number of trials over which average results approach expected value.

    The long run is far longer than most people expect, often tens or hundreds of thousands of hands or rounds.

    See also: Expected value, Sample size, Variance

N

O

  • Odds An extra bet behind a pass or come bet, paid at true odds with no house edge.

    Pays 2 to 1 on 4 or 10, 3 to 2 on 5 or 9, and 6 to 5 on 6 or 8. It lowers the combined house edge because part of the money carries none.

    Also called free odds, take odds, taking odds.

    See also: Lay odds, 3-4-5x odds, True odds

  • Off Describes a bet left on the table but not in action for the coming roll.

    Also called not working.

    See also: Working, Come-out roll

  • One-roll bet A bet decided entirely by the next roll of the dice.

    Also called single-roll bet.

    See also: Field, Proposition bet, Any 7

P

  • Pass line The basic bet that the shooter makes a point, or rolls a natural on the come-out; house edge 1.41%.

    Pays even money. Once a point is set it is a contract bet and cannot be taken down.

    Also called pass, do side.

    See also: Don't pass, Odds, Come-out roll

  • Payout odds What a winning bet pays relative to the stake.

    "To 1" means you keep the stake plus the payout: 5 to 1 on 10 returns 60. "For 1" includes the stake: 5 for 1 on 10 returns 50.

    Also called payout, to 1, for 1.

    See also: True odds, House edge

  • Place bet A bet that a chosen point number rolls before a 7, paid at less than true odds.

    Place 6 or 8 pays 7 to 6 (1.52%), place 5 or 9 pays 7 to 5 (4.00%), place 4 or 10 pays 9 to 5 (6.67%).

    Also called place.

    See also: Buy bet, Lay bet, Big 6 / Big 8

  • Point The number, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, set on the come-out that the shooter tries to roll again before a 7.

    Also called point number, box numbers.

    See also: Come-out roll, Seven out, Puck

  • Probability How likely an outcome is, from 0 (never) to 1 (certain), often written as a percentage.

    Probability and odds describe the same thing differently: a 25% chance is 3 to 1 against.

    Also called chance.

    See also: True odds, Expected value

  • Proposition bet A bet in the center of the layout, most of them decided in one roll, with a high house edge.

    Examples include any 7, any craps, the horn, hop bets and hardways.

    Also called prop bet, props, center bets.

    See also: Any 7, Any craps, Horn, Hop bet

  • Puck The marker showing whether a point is set and which number it is.

    Off side up means the next roll is a come-out; on side up on a number marks the point.

    Also called on/off button, marker.

    See also: Point, Come-out roll

  • Push A tie in which the bet is returned without a win or loss.

    Also called tie, standoff.

    See also: Natural (blackjack), Bar 12

R

  • Return to player The average share of money bet that comes back, equal to 100% minus the house edge.

    Also called RTP, payback.

    See also: House edge, Expected value

  • Right and wrong bettors Right bettors bet with the shooter (pass, come); wrong bettors bet against (don't pass, don't come).

    The terms carry no judgment: the don't side has a slightly lower house edge.

    Also called do bettor, don't bettor, right bettor, wrong bettor.

    See also: Pass line, Don't pass

  • Risk of ruin The chance of losing an entire bankroll before reaching a goal or the long run.

    It rises with variance and bet size relative to bankroll, and is certain over time for any negative-EV game played without end.

    Also called RoR.

    See also: Bankroll, Variance

S

  • Sample size The number of hands, rolls or spins in a set of results.

    Small samples are dominated by variance; they say little about whether a strategy is good.

    See also: Long run, Standard deviation

  • Seven out A 7 rolled after a point is set, ending the shooter's turn.

    Pass and come bets lose and don't bets win.

    Also called 7 out.

    See also: Point, Shooter, Don't pass

  • Shooter The player rolling the dice.

    The dice pass to the left after a seven out.

    See also: Seven out, Come-out roll

  • Standard deviation The square root of variance, in the same units as the results.

    Over many trials, results land within about two standard deviations of the expectation roughly 95% of the time.

    Also called SD, std dev.

    See also: Variance, Sample size

T

  • True odds The real chance of an outcome stated as odds against it.

    A 7 in craps rolls 6 ways of 36, true odds 5 to 1. Any 7 pays 4 to 1; the gap is the house edge.

    Also called actual odds.

    See also: Payout odds, House edge, Odds

U

V

  • Variance How widely actual results spread around the expected value.

    High variance means big swings in both directions. Correct decisions can still produce losing sessions.

    Also called swings.

    See also: Standard deviation, Expected value, Risk of ruin

  • Vig A commission charged on certain bets, usually 5%, such as craps buy and lay bets or the baccarat banker bet.

    Also called vigorish.

    See also: Buy bet, Lay bet, Commission

W

  • Working Describes a bet that is active and can win or lose on the next roll.

    By default, place bets, buy bets, hardways and come-bet odds are off on the come-out roll; a player can call them working.

    Also called on.

    See also: Off, Place bet, Puck

Y

  • Yo A one-roll bet on 11, typically paying 15 to 1; house edge 11.11% at that payout.

    Called yo so it is not misheard as seven.

    Also called eleven, yo-leven, 11.

    See also: Horn, Natural (craps)