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We’ve played craps a time or two during our innumerable Las Vegas outings, but until recently had never heard the term “burning the dice.”
A helpful yet surly floor supervisor at one of our favorite casinos shared that “burning the dice” is a method cheaters use, so it’s not permitted.
“Burning the dice” is when a player rubs the dice against the table felt repeatedly in an attempt to dull the corners and influence the roll.
Players should take care to avoid friction with the felt, as well as casino management.
Casinos are always on the lookout for cheaters, of course, so there are a number of rules and procedures to prevent tampering with the dice or making rolls less random, the way Mother Nature intended.
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Longtime followers of this blog will recall we compiled a list of 11 Casino Dice Security Measures to Keep Players From Cheating. It was the one time we did “research” and “took notes.”
Security steps include the serial numbers on dice, making dice translucent, backfilling the pips, canceling used dice and the aforementioned sharp corners.
The dots on dice are pips. When they’re drilled, they’re filled back in (backfilled) to ensure perfect balance.
Here’s a fun game. Whenever you see an advertisement for a casino, make sure to notice whether the dice have rounded or sharp corners. If the corners are rounded, you know somebody slipped up, as dice with rounded corners are never used in casinos.
Dice with rounded corners are typically used in board games and for other non-gambling purposes.
Hot and cold games online. Once you start noticing dice corners, you can’t not see them!
Even bigtime movies get casino dice wrong. Check out this still from the popular documentary starring Bruce Willis, “Armageddon.”
We trust this prop person never worked in Hollywood again.
We call “no roll” on that one! Landing on an asteroid to divert it from a collision course with Earth is a lot more believable than a casino using dice with rounded corners.
Now, you know.
Knowing what “burning the dice” is will win you a bar bet someday, or at least help you avoid the wrath of a casino pit boss.
Note: Yes, we know a pit boss is different from a floor supervisor. We honestly didn’t expect you to read this far.
Craps is one of the most lively games in a Las Vegas casino, and it’s also one of the games with the most colorful jargon.
Over the decades, craps dealers (many of them bored out of their skulls) have come up with clever ways of calling out dice numbers, often based upon rhymes.
Here’s a collection of our favorite names for dice combinations in craps.
Because the number seven is the most frequently rolled number on the dice, it has the most nicknames. Sevens, by the way, are jerks, except on what’s called the “come-out roll.” Long story.
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Many of the slang terms for craps numbers have fascinating stories behind them. We obviously won’t be talking about those here, because we have a reputation to preserve.
An “Australian yo” is called that because on the opposite sides (“down under”) of a 1 and 2 are a 6 and 5. Those total 11, and “yo” is another name for 11. It’s called “yo” because it’s bad luck to say “seven” at a craps table. Please keep up.
It’s the “lumber number” (2-4) because of 2-by-4s, woodwise.
A “ballerina” is called that because, wait for it, two 2s sound like “tutu.” Hey, we didn’t say this was rocket science.
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A 4-5 combination is called a “Jesse James” because the notorious outlaw was shot with a .45 caliber pistol.
A pair of threes is called “Brooklyn Forest” because, wait for it, “two trees.” The reference may date back to the 1943 novel, “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.”
A hard six is also sometimes referred to as “sixie from dixie.”
An easy six (a five and one) is sometimes called “alien handshake.”
A pair of fives can also be called as a “pair of sunflowers.”
At one time, the 3-2 combo was called “O.J.” (his uniform number was 32), before, you know, he murdered people. Now, the script has been flipped, and that combo reversed is 2-3, or Michael Jordan’s uniform number, 23.
Craps, of course, is a male-dominated game, so we hear the roll of 2-3 is also known as the “waitress roll,” because it’s a “pair and a tray.” Horn bets in craps.
Naturally, our list isn’t complete. Names like “boxcars” for 12 have sometimes been replaced with colorful counterparts. A 12 can also be referred to as “all the spots we got.”
Thanks to our reader James H. for this gem: A roll of three is sometimes called a “shocker,” because its a two and a one. Saucy!
Reader Jonathan T. says he’s heard dealer refer to the hard six as “Colombian breakfast” because, well, two lines.