Crap Game Gobbledygook
27 May 2005
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark, After reading your column about the
slang names given for hole cards in poker, I
remembered an article you ran several years ago
about the calls dealers make at craps. Could you
please reprint that article as I found it quite
interesting? Rick S.
It was back in the 90's, Rick, when I wrote that
column on crap table lingo, and yet I still get
queries like yours to reprint those colorful
calls made by a stickperson with a rattan rake
in hand, yelling out mumbo jumbo beyond
recognition. Here are those calls, plus some new
ones sent in by readers and dealers alike since
it last appeared.
We're coming out, Rick, new selection, new
direction; you roll 'em, I'll tole 'em.
TWO: "Craps," "eye balls," "two aces," "rats
eyes," "snake eyes," "push the don't," "eleven
in a shoe store," "twice in the rice," "two
craps two, two bad boys from Illinois," "two
crap aces," "aces in both places," "a spot and a
dot," "dimples."
THREE: "Craps," "ace-deuce," "three craps, ace
caught a deuce, no use," "divorce roll, come up
single," "winner on the dark side," "three craps
three, the indicator," "crap and a half, flip
side 'O Yo," "small ace deuce, can't produce,"
"the other side of eleven's tummy," (Here's an
example of an old-time crap dealer, Judd, who
invents a call that made its way across Nevada
to a carpet joint that I've worked in. It
doesn't make sense, like many of the calls, so
your confusion is fitting.) "three craps, the
middle," "two-one, son of a gun."
FOUR: "Double deuce," "Little Joe," "little Joe
from Kokomo," "hit us in the tu tu," "ace trey,
the easy way," "two spots and two dots."
FIVE: "After five, the field's alive,"
"thirty-two juice roll" (OJ's jersey number),
"little Phoebe," "fiver, fiver, racetrack
driver," "we got the fever," "five fever,"
"five, no field five."
SIX: "Big Red, catch'em in the corner," "like a
chip">blue chip stock," "pair-o-treys, waiter's
roll," "the national average," "sixie from
Dixie."
SEVEN: "Seven out, line away," "grab the money,"
"five two, you're all through," "six ace, end of
the race," "front line winner, back line
skinner," "six one, you're all done,"
"four-three, woe is me," "seven's a bruiser, the
front line's a loser," "six-ace, you lost the
race," Six-ace, in your face," "up pops the
devil," "Benny Blue, you're all through," "one
roll, no butter," (A seven rolled right after
making the point), "three-four, now we're poor,"
"three-four, we've lost the war."
EIGHT: "A square pair, like mom and dad," "Ozzie
and Harriet," "Donnie and Marie," "the windows,"
"eighter from Decatur."
NINE: "Center field," "center of the garden,"
"ocean liner niner," "Nina from Pasadena," "Nina
Niner, wine and dine her," "What shot Jesse
James? A forty-five."
TEN: "Puppy paws," "pair-a-roses," "pair of
sunflowers," "the big one on the end,"
"fifty-five to stay alive," "two stars from
mars," "sixty-four, out the door."
ELEVEN: "Yo leven," "yo levine the dancing
queen," "six five, no jive," "it's not my
eleven, it's yo eleven."
TWELVE: "Craps," "boxcars," "atomic craps," "a
whole lot of crap," "craps to the max," "12
craps, it's crap unless you're betting on it,"
"all the spots we got," "all the spots and all
the dots," "all the crap there is," "outstanding
in your field," "triple dipple, in the lucky
ducky," "midnight," "double saw on boxcars,"
"Crapus Maximus."
Sure enough, every good hand comes to a
turn-about when the seven wields its ugly face.
So, Rick, cinco dos (7), adios.
Gambling quote of the week: "Researchers have
discovered that rats are very similar to humans
in many ways, except they are not stupid enough
to purchase lottery tickets." --Dave Barry
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