It is important to be very familiar the different terms that are used
in the game of craps, because you are going to find yourself playing the
game and being exposed to this kind of "lexicon." The last thing you want
to do is get intimidated by the surroundings or confused with the
terminology that is used, because you will fall well behind and may lose
bets - or opportunities to make bets -as a result.
There are specific names related to the three different types of combinations you're going to encounter at the craps table. In a previous chapter, we have already talked about BOXCARS (a pair of sixes) and SNAKE EYES (a pair of ones). Here are some of the others:
The NATURAL -- This refers to a combination that comes out to a total of either 7 or 11
The POINT -- This is a combination that adds up to a total of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10
Also, when the player rolls CRAPS -- That means he has rolled a combination that is a total of 2, 3 or 12
The entire game of craps revolves around the player who is known, quite appropriately, as the SHOOTER. This is the player at the table who throws the dice, and he is primarily involved in establishing the POINT. There are also wagers that involve whether a 7 or 11, or CRAPS is rolled before the point number that is established is "made" again.
The COME-OUT ROLL is actually any roll (and keep in mind that there could be more than one of them) that is made before the point is established by the shooter. For the point to be established, the roll has to come out to a combination that equals any of the totals defined as a "point" -- as was listed above, these are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10.
If the come-out roll produces a 6, that becomes the point. After this, the players at the table are wagering on whether or not another six is going to be rolled before the shooter once again throws a 7.
There is also something called a PASS LINE bet, which will go into in more detail as we progress. If a NATURAL (which, as we said, is the 7 or 11) is rolled before the point is established, those players who have placed Pass Line bets win. But they will lose if the shooter throws a craps combination (2, 3 or 12) before the establishment of the point.
If the shooter throws a seven (7) on the come-out roll, everyone who has a bet on the Pass Line will wind up a winner. After the point has been established, and a 7 rolls before that point is rolled again, all the Pass Line bets wind up as losers, and a new shooter is brought into the game. The way this happens that customarily the dice are handed to the next person at the table in a clockwise direction. If the player, when the dice are offered, makes the choice not to roll them, he or she just has to tell the dealer they want to "pass" and then the next person simply becomes the shooter.
Anyone who elects to become the shooter must make a PASS or DON'T PASS bet before throwing the dice the first time.
Of course, the terminology and process we have referred to are generally applied in the brick-and-mortar version of craps, although a lot of the same principles are retained in the online game.