Course contents
Craps Glossary
Twelve terms that unlock every craps conversation, from "the point" to "seven out," defined plainly and without table slang left unexplained.
Craps has its own vocabulary, and most confusion at the table comes from not knowing a handful of words. This lesson defines the ones you'll actually need, building on the layout you learned in reading the table.
Shooter. The player rolling the dice. Rotates around the table clockwise after a seven-out.
Come-out roll. The first roll of a new round, before a point is established.
The point. The number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) set on the come-out roll that the shooter needs to repeat before rolling a 7.
Seven out. Rolling a 7 after the point is set, ending the round and losing pass line bets.
Pass line / don't pass. The two main opening bets. Pass line wins with the shooter, don't pass wins against.
Odds bet. An additional wager behind your pass or don't pass bet, paid at true odds with zero house edge.
Come bet / don't come bet. Same mechanics as pass/don't pass, but placed after the point is already set.
Place bet. A bet that a specific number rolls before a 7, placed and removable at any time.
Field bet. A single-roll bet covering 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Hardway. Betting a number rolls as a double (like 3-3 for a hard 6) before it rolls "easy" or a 7 shows.
House edge. The built-in percentage advantage the casino holds on a bet over the long run, covered in full in the next lesson.
Puck. The marker (ON/OFF) that shows whether a point is currently active.
If a term still sounds unfamiliar mid-round, the phrase to remember is: everything traces back to "will the point beat the 7."
Term | One-line meaning |
|---|---|
Point | Number to repeat before a 7 |
Seven out | 7 rolled after point is set; round ends |
Odds bet | Zero-edge add-on behind pass/don't pass |
Puck | Marker showing if a point is active |
Hardway | Double-number bet vs. easy or seven |
Some of these terms get reused with slightly different meanings depending on context — "come bet" and "come-out roll" sound alike but aren't the same thing, and that mix-up trips up a lot of new players. Read them twice if needed.
You don't need to memorize table slang like "yo" (for 11) or "boxcars" (for 12) to play correctly, but recognizing them helps you follow what's happening when a dealer or stickman calls a roll. The core twelve terms above cover everything the rest of this course builds on, especially the next two lessons on house edge and the odds table.
Sources
- Wizard of Odds: Craps — proposition and hard-way bet house edges (retrieved July 2026)
- UW-Madison Statistics: Re-learning the Pass Line Bet in Craps — pass line (1.41%), don't pass (1.36%), and free odds (0%) analysis (retrieved July 2026)
- Casino.org: The Craps Field Bet — field bet and free odds house edges (retrieved July 2026)
Frequently asked questions
What's the single most important craps term to learn first?
"Seven out." It signals a 7 rolled during the point phase, ending the shooter's turn and losing every pass line and come bet still on the table. Knowing this phrase tells you exactly when a table's mood is about to flip.
What's the difference between a hard way and an easy way?
A hard way means the number came up as a matching pair, like two 4s making a hard 8. An easy way means the same total came from two different dice values, like a 5 and 3 making an easy 8. Hard way bets pay more because matching pairs are less likely to come up than mixed combinations.
What's the difference between a come bet and the come-out roll?
The come-out roll is the very first roll of a new round for the pass line. A come bet is a separate wager you can place at any time during the point phase, and it behaves like a fresh mini pass-line bet that gets its own "come-out roll" on the next throw.
Are "box numbers" different from "point numbers"?
No, they're two names for the same thing — 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10, the numbers printed in boxes on the layout that can become the point. Dealers and regulars use both terms interchangeably.
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