Do you wish to play Craps at a live table! Nowadays most of the players prefer to play online where with a simple click of the mouse you can roll the dice and get the roll simulation in front of your screen with cool sound effects. The fun and curiosity of playing craps at a real casino is quite different from the virtual one. The laughter, voices of cheers and the real sound of the craps table is an experience in itself. And to have this show in your playing schedule you should now some basics of how you can roll the dice in a live casino.
You must be knowing that after each throw, the stickman gathers the dice and places them in the center of the table while waiting for the dealers to catch up. If there are lots of bets on the table, the stickman waits until the dealers pay all winning bets. When the dealers are ready, the stickman pushes the dice to you. Regardless of what else is occurring at the table (e.g., a conversation between a player and the dealer, the dealer re-stacking chips or any other action), when the stickman pushes the dice to you, it’s a indication for you to pick them up and toss them.
When the stickman does this action you don’t have to wait or hesitate or ask anyone if they’re ready or not because by pushing the dice to you with his whip, the stickman is basically telling you, to quickly roll the dice. The stickman’s job is to keep the game going with minimal delay. After all, the more rolls the casino can get per hour, the more profit they make from new players or from those who don’t know what they they’re doing. (Remember, casinos make most of the profit from players who don’t know the game, not from strong players).
If you’re a new shooter for a new game, the stickman will empty his dice dish on the table and push all the dice to you, usually three or four pairs. When selecting two dice to throw, simply reach down and take two. Don’t analyze each dice or rearrange them or take forever to pick two. Just take any two so the game can start. Generally a new player picks up all six dice, drops them all on the table, scoops them all up again, and then drops them all again and again trying to find a pair that he thinks is lucky which is not a good sign of play as it shows immaturity as it common sense that there are no lucky dice. Also other players are anxious for the game to start, and no one wants to wait for some one wasting time trying to figure out which two dice are going to land his way. Just pick two and start the game.
What is Leave the Table
When handling the dice, always use one hand and never allow the dice to leave the table. “Leave the table” means bringing them outside the imaginary plane that extends straight up around the edge of the table. In other words, when holding the dice, always keep your hand inside the table. Once you pick them up, the crew have a watch on you until you toss them. This is a standard rule among all casinos for security purposes. It’s difficult to introduce crooked dice into the game using only one hand when it’s in plain view over the table. If you’ve never played at a live table and if this is the first time you’ve ever handled dice, you might be nervous or so excited that you forget these basic rules. The crew will quickly remind you by politely, but firmly, requesting that you use only one hand and keep it in plain view inside the table.
Crooked Dice- Make them watch
To make the crew’s job of watching for crooked dice it is better to flash an empty hand just before picking up the dice. You can reach down for the dice, turn your palm up, flash open your fingers so they (and the camera) can see your hand is empty, and then grab the dice. It’s an instantaneous, fluid motion just long enough for the crew to see empty hand, but quick enough that most players don’t even notice it and don’t realize what you are doing.
The Hit and Toss
Smoothly toss the dice, both at the same time, to the other side of the table so they hit the craps table felt first and then bounce against the back wall, which ensures you have no control over the outcome. If the dice come close to the back wall but don’t hit it, the stickman will likely call it a good roll, but will politely ask you to hit the back wall on all future throws.
The Rules
- Handle the dice with only one hand.
- Don’t bring the dice outside the table (keep them inside the table).
- Smoothly toss the dice. Don’t slide, drop, or throw them hard.
- Don’t toss the dice higher than the height of the dealers.
- Toss the dice so they land on the table felt and bounce against the back wall.
No Roll
Sometimes, even with a nice, smooth roll, a die bounces off the table. That’s fine. The stickman calls, “No roll,” empties his dice dish, and pushes all the dice to the shooter to select another pair. A “no roll” means the roll doesn’t count and no one wins or loses any bets.
When a dice leaves the table, the shooter has the option of requesting, “Same die,” meaning he wants to continue using the one that flew off the table. This is pure superstition, especially when the shooter is having a hot roll. Changing a die or both dice in the middle of a hot roll is considered bad luck. If the table is cold or choppy, then the shooter typically doesn’t care about wanting to use the same dice because it’s not lucky, so the shooter simply takes a new one from the group that the stickman offers.
When a dice leaves the table, typically a player or member of the pit crew (not the table crew) finds it, picks it up, and drops it on the table. The dealers are never allowed to leave the table to search for a dice; they must always keep their eyes on the table. After finding the dice, a player isn’t allowed to hand it directly to a dealer. Dealers and players aren’t allowed to exchange anything hand-to-hand, whether it’s money, chips, dice, food, or anything. Instead, the player drops the dice on the table, and the dealer picks it up and hands it to the boxman. The boxman then inspects it to ensure it has the proper markings and sometimes spins it between his thumb and index finger to verify it’s not weighted on one side. If it passes inspection, as it usually does, the boxman either gives it to the stickman to put in his dice dish, or he drops it on the table and the stickman pushes it to the shooter to use on her next roll.
Another “no roll” situation occurs when a die comes to rest on the boxman’s chip stack. When this occurs, the stickman simply gathers the two dice and pushes them back to the shooter for another throw.
Sometimes, a dice lands on the rail (i.e., the players’ chip rack around the top edge of the table). When this occurs, the stickman usually says something like, “No roll, too tall to call.” A good stickman uses lots of rhymes and banter that add to the fun of playing at a live table. Sometimes, a good casino has funny stickman banter built into the software to give the game the added feel of playing at a live table.
Other situations frequently occur that one might think are “no rolls,” but instead are valid rolls. These situations are when a dice comes to rest leaning against the wall, leaning on a player’s chip on the table, or leaning against the boxman’s chip stack. A “leaner” is a valid throw and the outcome for that dice is determined to be the number that is most facing up. Sometimes, the decision on what number is “most facing up” is subjective and players may or may not agree with the crew’s call, especially when it’s a losing 7-out. You can argue all you want, but the boxman won’t change his decision. The decision is made and the game continues. One of the benefits of playing at your favorite casino is that you don’t have to worry about leaners being called against you.
The DO NOTS for throwing the Dice
- Do not throw the dice so hard that they hit the back wall first before hitting the table felt. Instead, toss them smoothly so they first hit the table felt and then bounce off the back wall and stay inside the table.
- Do not throw them so hard that they bounce repeatedly off the table, throw after throw. This holds up the game and frustrates everyone. Sometimes a flying die hits another player and can hurt. Do say you’re sorry if your hard throw causes a dice to bounce off the table and hit someone, especially if it hits them in the head.
- Do not toss them so weakly that they barely hit the back wall. Avoid feeble, pathetic tosses. If a weak throw results in a 7-out, everyone at the table will blame you for the bad luck that your sissy throw caused.
- Do not try to be fancy with your throw. No one cares about your superstitions or talent for twisting your arm or wrist in weird positions as you launch the dice on their way. Besides, you look ridiculous. Just pick up the dice and toss them.
- Do not waste everyone’s time arranging the dice in a specific orientation before picking them up. It’s okay if you want to apply luck or superstition as you play, as long as it doesn’t affect other players. But avoid being letting others into frustration.
- Do not try to appear as though you’re skilled at controlling your throw (i.e., appearing as if you can somehow control their outcome). This rip-off is called “dice control” or “dice setting”
- If a throw is deemed valid (i.e., the dice bounce off the back wall), there’s no way anyone can control the dice to consistently produce a desired outcome. The shooter may be able to control the dice for the instant they’re flying through the air, but as soon as the dice hit the table felt and bounce off the back wall, the outcome is completely random. To ensure a random outcome, the dice are required to hit the back wall, which have all those rubber pointy spikes (i.e., called “pyramids”) that cause the dice to bounce completely randomly. So, don’t try to control the dice with your weird grip or tossing style. Just grab and toss them to the other end of the table.
- Do not aim for big stacks of chips at the other end of the table. When the other end has high rollers who have lots of chips stacked on the table, don’t try to knock over the stacks. Chips fly everywhere making a mess and upset the crew because they have to remember where all those chips go. If you see chip stacks at the other end of the table, do the dealers a favor and try to aim away from them. If you accidentally hit the chips and scatter them to the winds, don’t worry, they won’t say anything the first couple of times. But if your throws routinely knock chips everywhere, they’ll politely ask you to stop.
- Do not hit the mirror on the inside side of the table. The dice are hard and the corners are pointed, not rounded. Don’t break the casino’s mirror.
- Do not hit the dice against the tabletop for luck before you throw. It’s okay to gently tap them once or twice on the tabletop, but don’t knock them hard.