12 In Craps

If the number rolled on the come out roll is a 2, 3, or 12 (called Craps), you lose. If, after a point is established, a 7 is rolled before the point number is rolled again, you also lose. 'Don't Pass' Bets. Placing a Pass Line bet is betting with the dice, and placing a Don't Pass bet is betting against the dice.

1. 12 In Craps
2. 12 In Craps
3. 12' Craps Table For Sale
4. Odds Of Rolling A 12 In Craps
5. Horn High 12 In Craps
6. Slang For 12 In Craps

1. When you’re making a 2, 3, 11, and 12 bets, it is important to know the slang terminology of each the numbers. In craps games, when someone says “Boxcars” it means 12. This outcome was named as such since two dice showing six resembles a boxcar on a freight train. The probability of rolling a “boxcar” is 1 in 36 or just under 3%.
2. Pretty much all of the downtown casinos pay 3x on the 12. The house edge is 5.56% when 2 and 12 pay 2x; that drops to 2.78% when the 12 pays 3x. Most craps players either love or hate the field. I use it when playing an Iron Cross.
3. To roll a 2, 3, or 12 on the come out roll. A player betting on the Pass line or Come loses on crap out, but the roll does not lose when a point is established. Don't Pass and Don't Come wins if a 2 or 3 craps is rolled on come out, but ties (pushes) if a 12 is rolled on come out. The shooter may continue rolling after crapping out.
4. Note that some casinos will not let you win on a 12. Instead, if the dice roll on 12, the wager results in a draw or a push and your money is refunded. If you roll one of the other craps numbers such as 2 or 3, then you win an even payout or 1:1 odds. Also, the actual odds of the winning this bet are 976:949, so this is very close to the 1:1.

The following is a glossary of terms used in the dice game craps. Besides the terms listed here, there are many common and uncommon craps slang terms.^[1][2][3]

A[edit]

ace deuce

A roll of 3

12 In Craps

B[edit]

Big Red

The number 7 or a bet for any 7 to appear

bones

A slang term for the dice

box numbers

The place numbers (4,5,6,8,9,10)

boxcars

A roll of or bet on 12

C[edit]

center field

Nine, often called Center Field Nine

change only

when a player buys into a game specifically with cash, the 'only' means no bets are being placed at the time of the buy in. Can also be used when a player colours in. (Dealers will say this out loud so that a player can't take a shot and say he wanted a bet on X.)

Cheque change

Breaking down a chip into smaller denomination chips.

colour up

The process of changing denominations of chips to larger denominations

cold dice

also known as a cold table; an expression used when players are not hitting the established point and sevening out

come out

1. The initial roll of the shooter

2. To roll the dice when no point has been established^[4]

crap out

To roll a 2, 3, or 12 on the come out roll. A player betting on the Pass line or Come loses on crap out, but the roll does not lose when a point is established. Don't Pass and Don't Come wins if a 2 or 3 craps is rolled on come out, but ties (pushes) if a 12 is rolled on come out. The shooter may continue rolling after crapping out.

craps

the numbers 2, 3, and/or 12

D[edit]

double pitch

In dice control, when the dice stay on axis which rarely occurs (less than 5% of the rolls), but one turns two faces more than the other. If players set the dice with the same face, such as a hard ways or 3V set, the roll may likely result in a seven.

down

To remove or reduce a bet, players often say 'take it down'

E[edit]

easy way

Rolling an even number with any combination other than doubles. Applies to 4, 6, 8, and 10 only.

even money

Any bet that pays out at 1:1.

F[edit]

fever five

A roll of 5, also called five fever

free odds

Simply known as odds, is the odds which can be taken or laid behind the Pass/Come or Don't Pass/Don't Come. These are paid at true odds.

flea

A player who bets at or near table minimum, normally for extended periods of time.

G[edit]

garden

Slang for the field bet

George

A good tipper

H[edit]

hard way

Rolling a 4, 6, 8, 10 with a pair of the same number

hi-lo

a single roll bet for 2 or 12

hi-lo-yo

a single roll bet for 2, 11, or 12

high

A bet on or roll of 12, also see boxcars

hop

A single roll bet for a specific combination of dice to come out. Pays 15:1 for easy ways and 30:1 for hard ways

horn

A divided bet on the 2, 3, 11, 12

horn high

A horn bet with addition units going to a specific number. For example 'horn high ace deuce' would generally mean a 5 unit bet with 2 units going on the 3.

hot dice

also known as a hot table; an expression used when players are hitting the established points or rolling for long durations without seven outs

I[edit]

inside numbers

betting on the 5, 6, 8, 9

L[edit]

lay

To bet on a seven to come before a specific point number. Lays are paid at true odds with commission taken.

lay odds

To give odds behind a Don't Pass or Don't Come. Betting against the shooter

Little Joe

Point 4

low

a single roll bet for a 2

M[edit]

mechanic

A shooter who allegedly implements dice control

12 In Craps

N[edit]

natural

Rolling a 7 or 11 on the come out roll

Nina

Rolling or betting on a 9

O[edit]

Off

1. The come out roll; when no point has been established

2. To have a bet on the table but not in play. The bet can not be won from or lost when it is Off.

On

1. When a point has been established

2. A bet that is in play (working).

outside numbers

betting on the 4, 5, 9, 10

P[edit]

parley

To parley a bet is to take all the winnings from the previous bet (or up to maximum allowed for bet if winnings exceed maximum) and add it to the next bet.

press

To double a bet, players generally say 'press it' when doubling a bet, players can also press an additional one or more units and can increase the bet less than the original bet by saying 'press X units'

push

a tie

S[edit]

same bet

To keep the previous winning bet as is. If a player says same bet it does not mean to double the bet, that is referred to as 'pressing it'

seven out

A roll of 7 when the point is On. All bets on Pass, Pass Odds, Come, Come Odds, Place bets, Buy bets, hard ways and any single roll bets not for a seven loses. All bets on Don't Pass, Don't Pass Odds, Don't Come, Don't Come Odds, Lay bets and any single roll bets for a seven wins.

snake eyes

A roll of 2

stroker

A player who makes bets overly complicated and/or gives dealers unnecessary additional work

T[edit]

take odds

To bet odds behind a Pass or Come. Betting with the shooter^[5]

take down

See down

true odds

The real odds for payout where house edge is 0%

W[edit]

working

A bet which is in play and can be won or lost.

whirl

A five-unit bet that is a combination of a horn and any-seven bet, with the idea that if a seven is rolled the bet is a push, because the money won on the seven is lost on the horn portions of the bet. The combine odds are 26:5 on the 2, 12, 11:5 on the 3, 11, and a push on the 7.

world

See whirl

wrong way bettor

When a person is betting against the shooter on the Don't Pass Line.

Y[edit]

yo

A roll or bet on 11 (6-5, 5-6), short for Yo-leven

References[edit]

1. ^'Craps Lingo'. readybetgo.com. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
2. ^'Craps Etiquette and Lingo Casino Gambling Game Rules and Strategy Guide'. VegasTripping.com. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
3. ^Jack Botermans (2008). The Book of Games: Strategy, Tactics & History. Sterling. pp. 545–. ISBN978-1-4027-4221-7.
4. ^Craps A Smart Shooters Guide. Cardoza Publishing. pp. 24–. ISBN978-1-58042-576-6.
5. ^R. D. Ellison (2001). Gamble to Win: Craps. Lyle Stuart, Kensington Publishing Corporation. pp. 42–. ISBN978-0-8184-0621-8.

The Odds: Numbers

Since craps is a game of chance, you need to understand why you have a greater or lesser chance of rolling different numbers. Because you're rolling two dice, your chances of rolling a specific number in craps are determined by the number of die combinations that can add up to that number. For example, 2 can only be rolled with two 1s, but 4 can be rolled with either a 1 and a 3 or two 2s. That means you have twice the chance of rolling a 3 as you do a 2. Because the 7 has the greatest number of combinations (six), it is the number that has the potential to come up most often, which is why 7 is the magic number in craps.

There are 36 possible number combinations in craps. Here is a chart showing the possible combinations for each number using two die.

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From the chart, you can see that the most likely number you'll roll is a 7, followed by the 6 and the 8, then 5 and 9, then 4 and 10, then 3 and 11, and finally (and least likely) the 2 and the 12. This means you'll roll a 7 once out of every six rolls, a 6 or an 8 once out of every 7 to 8 rolls, and so on.

Odds for Each Number

12' Craps Table For Sale

By looking at the possible combinations, the 'true odds' for each number can be established. Knowing the odds in craps is good so you have a feel for the likelihood of one number being rolled before another one (e.g., is the 4 going to be rolled before the 7?).

House Edge

Now, true odds are not what the casino pays you unless you're also betting 'free odds' on top of your main bet. Free odds, which is an additional wager you place with your original line bet, pay true odds so the casino's edge is reduced. (We'll talk more about free odds in Strategies the Winners Use.)

To better explain how the casino edge works, let's take the example of flipping a coin. You have a 50/50 chance of the coin landing on heads, and a 50/50 chance of it landing on tails. If that were a bet on which you were being paid true odds, you would be paid even money. The casino, however, has to have an edge in order to make a profit on the game. So, the payoff for any given bet is less than what true mathematical odds would dictate. For example, on a bet that had true odds of 1:1, you would think that if you bet $1 and win, you would be paid $1 in winnings. But in a casino, depending on the bet, you might only be paid $.96. The difference between the true odds and what they pay you is how they make money -- it's called casino odds.

Odds Of Rolling A 12 In Craps

Another way to better understand casino odds versus true odds is to look at the definition of the casino (or house) edge. WizardOfOdds.com defines it as, 'The ratio of the average loss to the initial bet,' going on to explain that it's based on the original wager rather than the average wager so that players can have an idea of how much they are going to lose when they place a bet. For example, by knowing that the casino has a 1.41 percent edge in craps, you can know that you'll be losing 14.1 cents for every $10 bet.

Horn High 12 In Craps

For charts of odds for all types of bets, visit the Wizard of Odds.com.

Slang For 12 In Craps

On the next page, we'll talk about types of craps bets, their odds and what the casino pays for each.