A tour of the table

Chapter 1: Foundations · Lesson 2 of 21 · 5 min read

Learn the layout, the crew and the puck, so the table stops looking like a maze.

A craps table is a big tub with a felt layout. The layout is printed twice, once at each end, so players on both sides reach the same bets. The middle is shared.

Start from the outside rail and work inward.

• Pass Line: the long strip that runs around the edge. This is the main bet of the game, and most players start here.
• Don't Pass Bar: a thinner strip just inside it. It's the opposite of the Pass Line.
• Come and Don't Come: big areas that work like Pass and Don't Pass, but you can bet them at any moment.
• Field: a band of numbers (2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12) that wins or loses on the very next roll.
• Big 6 / Big 8: a corner box. (Spoiler: you'll learn to skip it.)
• Number boxes (4, 5, SIX, 8, NINE, 10): along the top. Dealers set Place, Buy and Lay bets here, and move Come bets here. They also mark the point.
• Center ("proposition") bets: the colourful middle section run by the stickman. It has Any 7, Any Craps, the hardways, 2, 3, 11, 12 and the Horn. These pay big and cost the most.

The people:

• Shooter: the player rolling the dice. The dice move around the table clockwise.
• Dealers (two, one for each end): they take, pay and move bets.
• Stickman: runs the game from the middle, pushes the dice to the shooter, calls each roll and handles the center bets.
• Boxperson: sits between the dealers and supervises.

The puck is a disc that is white ON on one side and black OFF on the other. It tells you which phase the game is in. That's the next lesson.

This is a finding game. Tap each area when asked, and read the short note that pops up. No chips are placed.