2.THE EQUIPMENT The Table Craps is played on a large table surrounded by a railing
that
serves to keep the dice from rolling off the table when they are
thrown. The
railing also helps keep the game honest. When rolling the dice, you
will be
expected to throw them hard enough so that they bounce off the rail at
the
opposite end of the table. This rail is lined with ribbed rubber.
Bouncing
the dice off the rail helps ensure that the roll will completely
random,
beyond the control of the shooter. If you fail to bounce the dice, you
will
be warned by a dealer or the box man to throw harder. If you repeatedly
fail
to hit the rail, you may lose your turn to shoot.
The top of the rail contains two grooves for you to keep your chips in.
Keep
your hands up there also when not betting. If you have your hand down
on the
table when the dice are rolled and one of the dice hits your hand, it
can
upset the shooter. If he didn't get the number he was hoping for, he
may
blame you for affecting the outcome. The crap-table crew may also get
upset,
fearing that you ay have been trying to "past post" (make an illegal
bet
after the deadline).
The Dice The dice used at casino craps are quite different from the
ones
you use at home to play Monopoly. Each one has the casino logo and a
serial
number imprinted on it, to make it more difficult for a cheat to
counterfeit. It is transparent, to make it more difficult for a cheat
to
load, and larger, to make it more difficult for a cheat to palm. The
standard sizes used in casino games are ¾ inch and 5/8 inch. And I mean
exactly; these dice have been measured by caliper to ensure that there
is no
more than a one-ten-thousand-of-an-inch difference between any of the
sides.
The spots on these dice have been filled, so they are flush with the
surface
of the die. The material that the spots are made of has the same
specific
gravity as the material that the dice themselves are made of, so each
die is
perfectly balanced even though it has more spots on some sides than on
others. Those dice you use at home are slightly imbalanced by the fact
that
they have six little holes on one side and only one hole on the
opposite
side. Finally, casino dice have sharp edges and corners, which are more
precise than the rounded ones found on cheap dice. This means that the
dice
must be changed frequently to avoid imbalances caused by chipped
corners and
edges. In other words, the casinos spare no expense to ensure that
their
dice are the perfect instruments for arriving at a random number from 2
to
12.
Although only two dice are used in the game, the stickman has a set of
from
five to eight dice. When it is you turn to shoot the dice, he will push
all
of these dice over to you with his stick. Pick out any two you want to
use.
You will use these two dice as long as it is your turn to roll. The
stickman
will then drop the other dice into a small semicircular wooden bowl
called a
dice boat that he keeps in front of him.
The Stick The stickman's wooden stick serves tow purposes. It allows
him
to retrieve the dice from any part of the table without undue
stretching. It
also helps protect the players form cheating. The most common method
used by
crooked gambling houses to cheat the patrons at craps involves the
stickman
periodically switching the dice for various kinds of crooked dice by
sleight
of hand. To do that, he must pick up the dice with his hand. Use of the
stick keeps the dealer's hand form coming into contact with the dice.
You
won't have to worry about this kind of cheating in any major casino in
places like Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, Atlantic City, or Puerto Rico.
However, if you should ever find yourself in a casino crap game where
the
stickman follows the practice of picking the dice up with his hand to
toss
them back to the shooter, pick up your money with your hand and leave
immediately.
The Buck The last piece of equipment you will find on the crap table
is the
dice buck. This is a round piece of black and white plastic that looks
a
little like an Eskimo Pie. On one side it bears the word ON and on the
other
side it bears the word OFF. There are two of these, one on each side of
the
layout. The two dealers use the buck to help the players keep track of
what
is happening in the game at any given moment. This is done by placing
it
with the proper word up and positioning it on the correct spot on the
layout.
The Layout The surface of the crap table is usually green, although
sometimes it is blue or even red. On it is an elaborate pattern of
boxes,
words, numbers, and drawings of dice that is called the layout. The
crap
layout acts as a roadmap to the game.
Initially, this layout may appear confusing. Actually, the crap layout
is
only half as complicated as it appears to be, since the right side of
the
layout is duplicate of the left side. Each player only has to concern
himself with the half nearest him. The central portion of the layout
consists entirely of sucker bets carrying prohibitive house percentage.
If
you completely ignore this central portion, it will not only simplify
matters for you, but it will also save you money.
The exact position of each wager the bet, and what the status of the
bet is
at that point in the game. Some of these bets are placed on the layout
by
the dealers, some are placed by the player, and some are placed by the
player and later moved to different part of the layout by a dealer when
the
status of the bet changes. see more > > >
