Question 1

What is craps?

Accepted Answer

Craps is a dice game where players bet on the outcome of two six-sided dice. The shooter rolls the dice across a felt table. The first roll is the come-out, and the most common bet, the Pass Line, wins on a 7 or 11 and loses on 2, 3, or 12. Any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) becomes the "point." After a point is set, the shooter keeps rolling until they hit the point again (Pass Line wins) or roll a 7 (Pass Line loses). 36 possible combinations, predictable probabilities, and the same math every time. The chaos at the table is social. The math is constant.

Question 2

Why is it called craps?

Accepted Answer

The name traces to "crabs," 18th-century English slang for the worst roll in an older dice game called Hazard. When the game arrived in New Orleans in the early 1800s and spread through the Mississippi gambling boats, the pronunciation drifted to "craps." The 2, 3, and 12 are still called "craps" today on the come-out roll. The etymology has nothing to do with luck or hot streaks. It's just a name.

Question 3

How do I start playing craps?

Accepted Answer

Walk up to a table at the minimum bet you can afford. Wait for the dealer to push the puck to "Off" (between rolls). Place a chip on the Pass Line. That's it, you're now in the game. When a point is set, ask the dealer for "max odds behind my Pass Line" and put a chip behind your original bet. That's the only zero-edge bet in the casino. Don't touch prop bets in the middle of the table. Don't bet the Field. Watch one full point cycle before you do anything else.

Question 4

What's the minimum I need to know about craps in 60 seconds?

Accepted Answer

Pass Line wins on 7 or 11, loses on 2/3/12, sets a point on anything else. Once a point is set, you want the point before a 7. Add free odds behind your Pass Line for zero house edge. Don't Pass is the mathematical opposite and is slightly better. Everything in the middle of the table is a high-edge prop bet. The 7 is the most common roll. 36 combinations total. House edge ranges from 0% (free odds) to 16.67% (Any 7). That's the whole game.

Question 5

What's the come-out roll?

Accepted Answer

The come-out is the shooter's first roll of a new sequence, indicated by the puck showing "Off." On the come-out, Pass Line wins on 7 or 11 (8 of 36 outcomes) and loses on 2, 3, or 12 (4 of 36). The other 24 of 36 rolls set a point: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. Once a point is set, the puck flips to "On" and lands on that number. The come-out is the only time a 7 is a winner for Pass Line bettors. After the point is set, the 7 becomes the loser.

Question 6

What's a point in craps?

Accepted Answer

The point is the number established on the come-out roll when the shooter rolls a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. Once set, the shooter keeps rolling until they either repeat the point (Pass Line wins) or roll a 7 (Pass Line loses, called a "seven-out"). Any other number rolled in between is irrelevant to the Pass Line itself, though it may affect Place bets, Come bets, and odds. The point is the contract: the shooter is now committed to hitting that number before a 7.

Question 7

Why is everyone yelling at the craps table?

Accepted Answer

Craps is the loudest game on the casino floor because most players are betting the same way (Pass Line and Place bets), so when the shooter hits a number, everyone wins together. That shared outcome creates a collective reaction that other table games don't have. The yelling has zero predictive power. A loud table doesn't mean anyone is "due" or that the dice know what's happening. It just means a lot of money is moving in the same direction at the same time.

Question 8

Am I betting against the casino or the shooter?

Accepted Answer

You're betting against the casino. The shooter is just the person rolling the dice on behalf of everyone at the table. Whether the shooter wins or loses for the table makes no difference to the casino's expected return: the math is fixed by the bet type. If you bet Pass Line, you're "with" the shooter. If you bet Don't Pass, you're "against" the shooter. The casino doesn't care which side you take. The house edge does the work either way.

Question 9

Crapless craps vs regular craps: which is better for a beginner on a bubble craps machine?

Accepted Answer

Regular craps wins on math, and it's not close. Pass Line house edge is 1.41% in regular craps and 5.38% in crapless. Nearly 4x worse for the same bet. Crapless removes the come-out loss on 2, 3, and 12 by turning them into points, but it also removes the come-out win on 11 (8 of 36 outcomes go from automatic wins to points you have to convert). The new "points" of 2, 3, 11, and 12 are brutal: 2 or 12 hits roughly 1 in 7 times before a seven, 3 or 11 hits 1 in 4. Compare that to a 6 or 8 point hitting about 5 in 11 times (~45%). You're trading rare come-out losses for frequent point conversion failures. The math doesn't reward the trade.

Question 10

Are bubble craps machines random or rigged?

Accepted Answer

Random. Bubble craps machines use a Random Number Generator certified by the gaming commission of whatever jurisdiction the machine operates in. The math is the same as a live table for any given bet. The casino's edge comes from the bet itself, not from manipulation. The machine doesn't know what you bet. That said, always check the paytable on the screen before you play. Some bubble machines pay Field 12 at 2x where a live table might pay 3x. The bet name is the same, the house edge isn't. Verify before you sit.

Question 11

Do bubble craps machines offer better odds multipliers?

Accepted Answer

Often, yes. Bubble craps and stadium craps machines frequently offer 10x, 20x, or even 100x odds, where most live tables max out at 3-4-5x. Free odds carry a 0.00% house edge. The more odds you can lay behind a Pass or Don't Pass bet, the lower your blended house edge. At 100x odds, the combined edge on Pass Line + max odds drops to roughly 0.02%. That's effectively a break-even bet over millions of rolls. If a bubble machine offers higher odds than the live table next to it, the bubble machine is mathematically the better game, assuming you actually take the odds.

Question 12

What is Card Craps in California?

Accepted Answer

California prohibits dice as the determining factor in casino games, so Indian and card-room casinos use cards to simulate dice rolls. The cards are pre-shuffled into a deck representing the 36 possible two-dice combinations. A player or dealer selects two cards from the deck. The math is identical to traditional craps in the long run, but the shuffle structure can produce streaky short-term results. Some players think this makes card craps "beatable" through count tracking. It isn't. Casinos shuffle frequently enough to neutralize any edge. The house edge on each bet remains the same.

Question 13

What is bastard craps actually called?

Accepted Answer

Bastard craps and crapless craps are the same game. The official name varies by casino: "Crapless Craps," "Never Ever Craps," and "Ruse Dice" all describe the variant where 2, 3, and 12 don't lose on the come-out. The house edge on Pass Line jumps from 1.41% to 5.38%. The marketing pitch is that you "can't crap out." The math reality is you're paying nearly 4x the edge for the privilege.

Question 14

Are stadium craps machines worth playing?

Accepted Answer

Stadium craps (live dealer rolling, multiple individual betting terminals) gives you the live-roll feel with electronic betting. The dice are real and rolled by a dealer or by an automated tower. The terminal handles your bets and payouts. Pros: lower minimums than live tables (often $5 or less), no dealer pressure, full bet menu including odds. Cons: you can't tip easily, the social element is muted, and some stadiums have lower max odds than the live tables in the same casino. If the odds multiplier is decent, stadium craps is a fine introduction to the game.

Question 15

Is bubble craps the same math as a live table?

Accepted Answer

For any specific bet, yes. Pass Line is 1.41% on a bubble machine and 1.41% at a live table. Place 6 is 1.52% on both. Free Odds is 0.00% on both. The certified RNG produces the same probability distribution as physical dice. The differences are environmental, not mathematical: pace of play (faster on bubble, more rolls per hour, more total exposure to the edge), available odds multipliers, and side bet menus. The bet's house edge is the bet's house edge, regardless of how the dice are generated.

Question 16

What's the best bet at the craps table?

Accepted Answer

Don't Pass with maximum free odds. Don't Pass carries a 1.36% house edge versus Pass Line's 1.41%, and free odds at 0.00% house edge dilute either base bet toward zero. With 10x odds, the combined edge on Don't Pass + max odds drops to about 0.12%. With 100x odds, it's effectively zero. Pass Line + max odds is functionally identical with a fractionally higher edge. The "best bet" debate ends here: take the lowest-edge base bet you can tolerate socially, and stack max free odds behind it. Everything else on the table is mathematically worse.

Question 17

What's the worst bet at the craps table?

Accepted Answer

Any 7. The house edge is 16.67%, the highest on any standard bet at the table. It pays 4-to-1 when true odds would pay 5-to-1. That one-unit gap is where the casino takes about $1 of every $6 wagered over time. The Hi-Lo, Yo (11), Hard 4, Hard 10, and Any Craps also clock in at 11.11% house edge each. The proposition box in the middle of the table is the worst real estate in the casino. Dealers are incentivized to push these bets because they generate the most revenue per roll. The math is unambiguous.

Question 18

Pass vs Don't Pass: which is mathematically better?

Accepted Answer

Don't Pass is mathematically better by a small margin. House edge: 1.36% versus 1.41%. The difference comes from the 12 on the come-out roll: Pass Line loses on 2, 3, and 12, while Don't Pass pushes on 12 (you don't lose, but you don't win either). That single push reduces the Don't Pass edge by 0.05 percentage points. Over 1,000 bets at $25 each, the expected loss difference is about $13. Small in absolute terms, real in expected value terms. The social cost of betting Don't Pass at a packed live table is the actual reason most players don't take the better edge.

Question 19

Place 6/8 vs Buy 6/8 vs Big 6/8: which should I bet?

Accepted Answer

Place 6/8 wins. House edges: Place 6/8 at 1.52%, Buy 6/8 at 4.76% after commission, Big 6/8 at 9.09%. The Big 6 and Big 8 are in the corner of the table and pay even money on a number that should pay 7-to-6. They exist as a trap for players who don't know better. Place 6/8 pays 7-to-6 correctly. Buy 6/8 charges a 5% commission to convert the bet to true odds, which is mathematically pointless on the 6/8 because the place bet is already close to true odds. Always Place. Never Big. Skip Buy on 6/8 entirely.

Question 20

What is the Field bet actually paying?

Accepted Answer

The Field is a one-roll wager that wins on 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 and loses on 5, 6, 7, or 8. Seven of 11 numbers win, four lose. Sounds great, until you count combinations: the winning numbers cover 16 of 36 dice combinations, the losing numbers cover 20. The 2 and 12 typically pay double (some casinos pay 3x on the 12). With double on both, house edge is 5.56%. With 3x on the 12, it's 2.78%. The illusion is that "more numbers win." The reality is the losing numbers hit more often.

Question 21

Are hardways ever worth betting?

Accepted Answer

No. Hard 6 and Hard 8 carry a 9.09% house edge. Hard 4 and Hard 10 carry 11.11%. Hardways pay 9-to-1 (Hard 6/8) or 7-to-1 (Hard 4/10) when true odds would pay 10-to-1 and 8-to-1 respectively. A "hard" roll means matching dice (3-3, 4-4, etc.). Out of 36 dice combinations, only one produces each hardway. The bet is sometimes called a "service bet" because dealers expect tips on hits. The math is bad. Hardways are tipping bets, not strategy bets.

Question 22

Should I ever bet the Yo or Hi-Lo?

Accepted Answer

No, unless you're tipping the dealers and want a fun way to do it. The Yo (11) carries an 11.11% house edge. The Hi-Lo (2 or 12) carries 11.11%. Yo pays 15-to-1 when true odds would pay 17-to-1. Both are one-roll prop bets. The probability of hitting on any given roll is so low (1 in 18 for Yo, 1 in 18 for Hi-Lo) that even sized small, the negative EV stacks fast. If you want a low-variance entertainment bet, take more odds instead.

Question 23

Is the Fire Bet worth playing?

Accepted Answer

The Fire Bet is a side bet that pays if the same shooter establishes and hits 4, 5, or 6 different unique points before sevening out. House edge ranges from 20.76% to 24.86% depending on the paytable. That's worse than Any 7. The bet's appeal is the lottery-style payoff: 999-to-1 on six unique points. The probability of that is roughly 1 in 6,156. Some players treat it as a $1 chance at a big score. Fine, as long as you understand you're paying a 20%+ edge for that lottery ticket.

Question 24

What are free odds and why do they matter?

Accepted Answer

Free odds is a supplemental bet you can add behind your Pass Line, Don't Pass, Come, or Don't Come bet after a point is established. The casino pays free odds at true odds: no built-in edge, no commission, no vig. House edge is 0.00%. It's the only zero-edge bet in any casino. The reason it exists is to keep Pass Line bettors at the table longer with bigger total wagers. The casino still wins on the base bet. Taking max free odds is the single most effective way to lower your blended house edge.

Question 25

How much odds should I take?

Accepted Answer

The maximum the casino allows. If the table offers 3-4-5x odds (3x on 4/10, 4x on 5/9, 5x on 6/8), take the full multiple every time. At 10x odds, take 10x. The reason: free odds are 0% edge. Every dollar you put on free odds dilutes your blended house edge further. At 3-4-5x, Pass Line + max odds blends to about 0.37%. At 10x, it drops to 0.18%. At 100x, it's effectively 0.02%. The cap is your bankroll, not the math. If max odds would put more on the table than you can afford to lose, size your Pass Line down so you can take full odds.

Question 26

3-4-5x vs 10x vs 100x odds: does it actually matter?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but with diminishing returns. Pass Line + max odds blends to roughly 0.85% at 1x odds, 0.61% at 2x, 0.37% at 3-4-5x, 0.33% at 5x, 0.18% at 10x, and 0.02% at 100x. The biggest improvement is between 1x and 5x. Past 10x, the edge reduction is mathematically real but practically marginal. The tradeoff is bankroll exposure: 100x odds means more money on the table per roll, more variance, more bankroll swings. For most players, 5x to 10x odds is the sweet spot between low edge and manageable variance.

Question 27

Can I take odds without a Pass Line bet?

Accepted Answer

Not on Pass Line. Free odds are tied to a base bet. No Pass Line, no Pass Line odds. You can, however, "lay" odds against a Place bet at most casinos, and you can put odds on a Come or Don't Come bet once it's posted on a number. The structural reason is that the casino wants to keep the base bet (with its built-in edge) on the table. Free odds without a base bet would mean the casino is offering a 0% edge bet for free, which they don't.

Question 28

Why do casinos hide the odds bet?

Accepted Answer

Because it's the only 0% edge bet they offer. There's no chip rack labeled "Free Odds" on the felt. There's no light on the table pointing to it. Dealers don't volunteer it unless you ask. The casino's economic interest is to keep the average house edge per dollar wagered as high as possible. Free odds dilute that. They allow the bet because it keeps Pass Line bettors playing longer, but they don't promote it. The fact that this bet is the closest thing to a fair game in any casino, and most players don't know it exists, is the single most informative fact about how casinos work.

Question 29

What does house edge actually mean for my bankroll?

Accepted Answer

House edge is the percentage of every wagered dollar the casino expects to keep over time. A 1.41% edge on Pass Line means for every $100 you bet, the casino expects to keep $1.41 on average. Critical detail: the edge applies to the amount wagered, not the amount risked. If you bet $25 on Pass Line 100 times, you've wagered $2,500 total, and the expected loss is $35.25. Short sessions have huge variance, so any single session can win or lose far more than expected value. The edge is a long-run gravitational pull. It always wins if you play long enough.

Question 30

How is house edge calculated?

Accepted Answer

House edge is the difference between the true odds of a bet and what the casino actually pays, expressed as a percentage of the wager. For Any 7: true odds are 5-to-1 (5 ways to lose for every 1 way to win), but the bet pays 4-to-1. The 1-unit shortfall, divided by the 6 total possible outcomes, equals 16.67%. For Pass Line, the math is more involved because of the come-out and point sequence, but the same principle applies: compare true probability to actual payout, find the gap, express as a percentage. The Lab page on craps-ai.com walks through this for every bet.

Question 31

What is EV in craps terms?

Accepted Answer

EV stands for expected value: the average outcome of a bet over many repetitions. EV is calculated by multiplying each possible outcome by its probability and summing the results. For a $10 Pass Line bet, EV is roughly negative 14 cents per bet (the 1.41% house edge applied to $10). Negative EV means a long-run loss. Every standard craps bet has negative EV except free odds, which has zero EV (break-even over time). Positive EV bets don't exist in casinos by design. Understanding EV lets you compare bets directly: lower negative EV is always better.

Question 32

Why is Any 7 the worst bet on the table?

Accepted Answer

Any 7 pays 4-to-1 on a number that should pay 5-to-1. The 7 has 6 ways to roll out of 36 total combinations: 1-6, 6-1, 2-5, 5-2, 3-4, 4-3. Probability is 6/36 or 1 in 6. True odds of 5-to-1 means you should win 5 units for every 1 unit risked. The casino pays 4. The shortfall (1 unit per 6 attempts) divided by total attempts equals a 16.67% house edge. It's the largest gap between true odds and payout on any standard bet. The Fire Bet is worse, but it's a side bet. Among everyday bets, Any 7 is the floor.

Question 33

What's the probability of rolling a 7 vs other numbers?

Accepted Answer

The 7 has 6 ways to roll out of 36 combinations (1 in 6, or 16.67%). The full distribution: 2 has 1 way (2.78%), 3 has 2 ways (5.56%), 4 has 3 ways (8.33%), 5 has 4 ways (11.11%), 6 has 5 ways (13.89%), 7 has 6 ways (16.67%), 8 has 5 ways (13.89%), 9 has 4 ways (11.11%), 10 has 3 ways (8.33%), 11 has 2 ways (5.56%), 12 has 1 way (2.78%). The 7 is the most common roll, which is why it's the loser on Pass Line after a point is set. Every craps bet you make is, in some way, a bet about whether the 7 shows up before another number does.

Question 34

How long can I expect a craps session to last?

Accepted Answer

Variance, not the math, decides session length. With Pass Line at 1.41% and an average of about 100 rolls per hour at a live table, the expected hourly loss on a $10 Pass Line bet is around $14. Bankroll-to-bet ratio determines session length more than anything else. A $200 bankroll at $10 Pass Line will last 1-3 hours on average, with wide variance: you might bust in 30 minutes or play 6 hours. The Simulator page on craps-ai.com runs your strategy thousands of times so you can see the actual distribution of session lengths instead of guessing.

Question 35

Does dice control work?

Accepted Answer

Effectively, no. Dice control (also called "precision shooting" or "rhythm rolling") is the claim that a shooter can influence dice outcomes by gripping and releasing the dice in a controlled motion. Multiple academic studies and casino-floor analyses have found no statistically significant edge attributable to dice control. The dice bounce off a textured pyramid wall at the back of the table specifically to randomize the outcome. Even if a shooter could shave a fraction of a percent off the 7's frequency, the cost of the practice time, the table conditions, and the variance of any short session swamp the theoretical edge. The casinos are not worried.

Question 36

Does the 5-Count work?

Accepted Answer

The 5-Count is a system that recommends not betting on a shooter until they've held the dice for at least five rolls. The claim is that this filters out "bad" shooters. The math: it doesn't reduce the house edge on any individual bet. It does reduce variance by reducing the number of rolls you bet on. That's not the same as winning more. Some 5-Count advocates frame this as "edge reduction." It isn't. It's exposure reduction. Useful if you want to play less and still feel like you're at the table. Not useful for changing expected loss per dollar wagered.

Question 37

Are the dice "due" after a hot or cold streak?

Accepted Answer

No. Each roll is independent. The dice have no memory. If 7 hasn't shown in 30 rolls, the probability of a 7 on roll 31 is still 1 in 6 (16.67%). The "gambler's fallacy" is the belief that past outcomes affect future independent events. They don't. Variance creates streaks that look meaningful but are statistically expected. If you flip a coin 100 times, you'll see runs of 5 or 6 heads in a row. Those runs aren't a coin "being due" for tails. They're variance. Same for craps. The 7 is never due. The 7 is always 1 in 6.

Question 38

Does the Iron Cross work?

Accepted Answer

No. The Iron Cross places bets on Field plus Place 5, 6, and 8, covering every number except 7. It feels brilliant: every roll except a 7 wins something. The blended house edge is roughly 3.87%. The 7 still rolls 6 times in 36 (16.67%), and when it does, every Iron Cross position loses simultaneously. The combined cost of running the strategy outweighs the small wins on non-7 rolls. The system is a textbook example of trading a low frequency of large losses for a high frequency of small wins, which is mathematically equivalent (slightly worse) than a single 1.41% Pass Line bet.

Question 39

Does pressing your bets reduce the house edge?

Accepted Answer

No. Pressing means increasing the size of a bet after a win. The house edge on a $12 Place 6 is 1.52%. The house edge on a $24 Place 6 is 1.52%. The house edge on a $60 Place 6 is 1.52%. Bet size does not change the percentage the casino expects to keep. Pressing increases your variance (bigger swings up and down) and your absolute expected loss (the 1.52% applies to a larger wager). If pressing a winning streak feels good, that's fine, but it isn't lowering your edge. It's just bigger bets at the same edge.

Question 40

Do progression systems like Martingale work in craps?

Accepted Answer

No. Progression systems prescribe bet sizing based on previous outcomes. Martingale doubles after losses. Fibonacci follows the sequence after losses. Anti-Martingale doubles after wins. None of these change the house edge of the underlying bet. What progression systems do is restructure your bankroll exposure: typically smaller, more frequent wins paid for by rare, catastrophic losses. The math always returns to the base bet's house edge. Betting systems are a way to feel in control. They aren't a way to extract value from a negative-EV game.

Question 41

Do hot tables exist?

Accepted Answer

Hot tables exist as an observation, not as a predictive signal. A "hot table" is one where shooters have been hitting points and Pass Line bettors have been winning. After the fact, you can identify hot stretches in any random sequence. What a hot table does not do is predict the next roll. The dice don't know the table is hot. The probability distribution is the same on roll 1 and roll 100. Players who chase hot tables are pattern-matching on variance. The math is unmoved by which table looks lucky.

Question 42

Can the casino manipulate dice rolls?

Accepted Answer

Live craps: no. The dice are inspected by the boxman, the stickman handles them with a stick, and they bounce off a textured pyramid wall. Tampering would be visible and would invalidate the table. Bubble craps and stadium craps: also no, in any licensed jurisdiction. The RNG is certified by the gaming commission. The casino doesn't need to manipulate outcomes. The house edge does the work for them. Conspiracy theories about rigged dice ignore that the casino's expected return is built into the math. They're winning whether or not they cheat.

Question 43

How much should I bring to the craps table?

Accepted Answer

A common heuristic is 20-50x your minimum bet for a multi-hour session. At a $10 minimum, that's $200 to $500. At $25, it's $500 to $1,250. The actual answer depends on bet selection and odds multiplier. If you're playing Pass Line + max odds at 5x, a $10 base bet means $60 on the table per come-out cycle. A $200 bankroll holds about 3 cycles before significant pressure. Bigger bankrolls let you ride out variance. Smaller bankrolls force you to take fewer rolls. The Simulator page lets you input bankroll and bet size to see expected session length and bust probability.

Question 44

What's a reasonable session loss limit?

Accepted Answer

Decide before you sit down. A common approach: cap your session loss at 30-50% of your buy-in. If you sit with $500, leave at -$250. The math doesn't care about your loss limit, but bankroll discipline determines whether you walk away or chase. The expected loss per hour at Pass Line + odds is small (a few percent of total wagered), but variance can produce session losses that exceed expected value by 10x or more. A loss limit is the only mechanism that prevents a bad session from becoming a worse one.

Question 45

How does table minimum affect my edge?

Accepted Answer

It doesn't change house edge per dollar, but it changes the size of your minimum exposure. A $5 minimum table lets you put $5 on Pass Line and add 5x odds for $30 total. A $25 minimum table forces $25 + 5x odds = $150 minimum per cycle. Higher minimums mean larger absolute losses on any given roll, which means a smaller bankroll runs out faster. The percentage edge is constant. The dollar edge scales with bet size. Always play the lowest minimum you can find that offers your preferred odds multiplier.

Question 46

Is it better to play one big session or multiple small ones?

Accepted Answer

Mathematically, neither: the house edge per dollar wagered is identical. Practically, multiple smaller sessions are usually safer. Long sessions concentrate exposure, raising the probability that variance drives a bad outcome. Splitting a $1,000 bankroll into five $200 sessions caps the damage of any single losing run and forces breaks that disrupt loss-chasing impulses. The math says the casino will get its edge eventually. Session structure is a player-side discipline, not an edge-reduction tactic.

Question 47

What should I do when I'm winning at craps?

Accepted Answer

The math says the same thing whether you're up or down: every additional roll is exposed to the house edge. Variance can flip a winning session into a losing one in 10 minutes. Common discipline rules: lock up half of any double-up, leave the table when you've hit a target win amount, never increase bet size to "let it ride" without a pre-set rule. Casinos design the floor to keep winners playing. Their long-run math is patient. Walking away with a win requires a decision rule, not a feeling.

Question 48

Why shouldn't I say "seven" at the craps table?

Accepted Answer

Superstition. Many craps players believe saying the word "seven" jinxes the roll and brings the dreaded seven-out. The dice don't speak English. The 7 is no more or less likely whether the word is said or not. That said, table etiquette matters because it affects the experience of other players, and most regulars take the superstition seriously. Use "the big red" or "the unmentionable number" if you need to refer to it. The math is unaffected. The social norm is real.

Question 49

How do I tip the dealers without wrecking my EV?

Accepted Answer

Two main options. Option 1: tip a dollar or two directly when you cash out or after a big win. This costs you exactly what you tip, no edge involved. Option 2: place a hardway or Yo "for the dealers." This is a bet placed on behalf of the dealers, where they win if it hits. This costs you more in expected value because you're paying the house edge on a high-edge bet. If you want to tip and minimize EV cost, tip directly. If you want to tip and have fun doing it, the prop bet method is the casino floor tradition. Just understand you're paying for both.

Question 50

What is the puck and what does on/off mean?

Accepted Answer

The puck is the round disc the dealers move on the table to indicate game state. "Off" (white side up, often placed in the don't come box) means no point is established and the next roll is a come-out. "On" (black side up, placed on a numbered box) means a point is set and the shooter is trying to repeat that number before rolling a 7. The puck position tells you, at a glance, whether the next roll is a come-out (Pass Line wins on 7/11, loses on 2/3/12) or a point roll (Pass Line wins on point, loses on 7).

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