Casino Craps

Playing craps in a casino its a bit more different than playing craps online, involves a lot more than just the game-play. You can be the best craps player in the virtual world, but you'll still look like an idiot at the craps table if you don't know the rest of the game.

Showing some class and etiquette as a player you will be amazed at how much help and sharing of information about the game you will get from the dealer's.

If you expect good service from your dealers and you don't want to offend the fellows players, especially the superstitious ones, here are some things that you should not do:

Do not blow on, spit on, or polish the dice. In fact, you should not fiddle around with the dice before you throw. You should set the dice quick and in a timely manner.

The dice must be handled with one hand.

Do not throw the dice hard. They must hit the wall at the end of the table, for it to be a valid roll. Sometimes they don't say anything if you are a little short, but they will if you continue to do so.

You should not conceal or take the dice behind the edge of the table. You will only slow the game down and the box man or dealers will request the dice for inspection and issue new dice. Also you will again offend your superstitious fellows from the table.

Do not throw your wagers to the dealer. Set them cleanly on the table, because the dealers do not like to spend their shifts cashing chips all over the table and also you will slow down the game.

Casino craps can be an intimidating experience. Much of the time other players are quite knowledgeable, throwing around too many phrases you wouldn't know unless you'd be told. Don't worry about them, you can usually tell from a distance how friendly or unfriendly they may be.

The first thing we'll look at is who the dealers are at the casino craps table. There are a lot of them, and they all do something a little different. Take a look at the positioning around the craps table:



The table has 4 employees at all times. In the middle of the table is the Box Man. He is very aware of everything going on and he controls the Casino's table bankroll. The box man is the referee of this game. If a dealer will make a mistake you can explain your situation to the box man. All decisions are made by him and are final. If you think he doesn't seem to be paying attention you are wrong because he sees everything.

However, if your are not pleased with his decision and you think you are right you can also explain your situation to the Pit manager. He is the person that controls all the table games in that area of the casino. He almost has the final word in any dispute in his area. Almost the final word, because in case he wont give you no satisfaction and you still believe you are right in your problem you can request a replay of the security videotapes for that table.

Anyway, this is an very rare thing to do because usually you will solve your problems from the box man or the pit manager, but we just wanted to let you know that you have that right.

The two people flanking the box man are the Dealers, they keep track of your bets, pay out your winnings and take in your losses. They are the proper people for any questions you may have.

The fourth person working at a craps table is the stick man. He has a long stick that is curved at one end so the moving of the dice from player to player to be made easily. He is standing in the notched area along the front edge of the table with players standing on each side.

His job is to distribute the dice to the "shooter" and acts as one more check to make sure everyone is paid fairly. He calls the number on the dice thrown and instructs the dealers what bets to pay or to take. He controls the betting area in front of him located on the lay-out.

When you will be looking for a table to play you'll see that depending on the time of day, the minimum bet, and how "lucky" the table has been recently, you may have to squeeze your way into the table. You should find a spot at the table that gives you ample room to operate. It's all right to ask someone to move back if they are not playing. It's also all right to ask another player to move over a little so you can get in to play.