Being the Shooter: What to Do When the Dice Come to You In Craps
You are standing at a craps table. You have been there for a while. You have made some pass line bets, taken some odds, won a little, lost a little. The dice have been moving around the table from shooter to shooter, and now the stickman is pushing them across the felt to you. Five dice are coming your way. You have to pick two. Everybody at the table is watching. You have about four seconds to figure out what to do.
This is the moment that most new craps players dread. Being a player is one thing. Being the shooter, with the dice in your hand and 10 strangers waiting on you, is another thing entirely. The first time it happens, your hand sweats a little. You forget which way to throw. You wonder if you are going to embarrass yourself.
I have good news. You are not going to embarrass yourself. Being the shooter is not actually hard. You just have to know a handful of things, most of which are about how to handle the dice and how not to slow down the game. The actual throwing part is more or less throwing two dice at a wall and hoping. There is no skill required, and any skill people claim to have, like dice control, is mostly mythology. We will get to that.
This article walks you through everything that happens when you become the shooter. The selection, the etiquette, the throw itself, what to do during your roll, and what happens when you eventually seven out and pass the dice to the next person. By the end you should feel completely comfortable picking up the dice when they come around. If you have not read our article on the basic rules of craps, give that a quick scan first so the references make sense.
How the dice get to you
The shooter rotates around the table in a clockwise direction. Whoever has the dice now will eventually seven out, the dice will pass to the player on their left, and that player gets the option to be the next shooter. If they pass, the dice go to the next player on their left. The dice keep moving around the table until somebody takes them.
You can pass on shooting if you do not want to. Just say "pass" or wave the dice off when the stickman pushes them to you. Nothing bad happens. Plenty of players never shoot. Some players have superstitions about not wanting to shoot, some are just shy, and some prefer to focus on betting. There is no requirement that you shoot when it is your turn.
Online craps handles this differently depending on the platform. Some online versions have you as the shooter for every roll. Some simulate a multi-player table where the dice rotate. Live dealer online craps, where you are watching a real shooter through a video feed, works exactly like a live table. The rules around being the shooter only really matter at a physical table or in live-dealer online play. If you are playing software-based craps where there is no actual shooter, none of this applies. The software just rolls the dice and you bet on the outcome.
The selection: picking your dice
Here is what happens. The stickman puts five dice in front of you. You pick two. The other three go back to the stickman. Why five? Because the casino keeps multiple dice on the table at all times in case one breaks, gets damaged or flies off the table.
The selection process is mostly cosmetic. The dice are essentially identical. They are all the same size, the same weight and the same coloring. There is no advantage to picking specific dice. Some players do it slowly and dramatically, examining each die, picking the ones that "feel right." This is theater. The math is not affected.
What you should do is pick two dice quickly and confidently. Use one hand. Not two. The casino has a rule that the shooter handles the dice with one hand only, both during selection and during the throw. This rule exists to prevent palming or switching dice, which used to be a real cheating method back when casinos were less paranoid. The rule is enforced. If you pick up dice with two hands, the boxman or the stickman will say something.
One thing to know. Some players have rituals around their selection. Some kiss the dice for luck. Some shake them in their fist. Some blow on them. None of this affects the math. All of it is fine to do as long as you keep one hand on the dice the whole time and do not slow down the game. Just do not take 30 seconds to pick. The table is waiting.
The throw itself
You are holding two dice. The stickman is watching you. The other players have placed their bets and are waiting. Time to throw.
Here is what you need to do. Throw both dice at the same time, with one hand, hard enough that they hit the back wall on the far side of the table. The back wall is the foam-padded wall with the pyramid bumps on it. The bumps are designed to randomize the bounce so the dice cannot be controlled. Hitting the back wall is the rule. If you do not hit it, the throw can be ruled invalid, although casinos are usually pretty lenient on a player's first roll or two.
The mechanics of the throw are simple. Step up to the table. Get your throwing arm at a comfortable position. Some players sweep their arm forward in an underhand motion. Some flick from the wrist. Some throw more like a baseball pitch. They all work as long as the dice clear the felt and reach the back wall. There is no required form.
The most common mistake new shooters make is throwing too softly. They are nervous about throwing the dice off the table or knocking over chip stacks, so they lob it. The dice land in the middle of the felt and roll harmlessly to a stop. The stickman will tell you to hit the back wall on the next throw. Throw a little harder.
The other mistake is throwing too hard. Some new shooters launch the dice like they are skipping stones. The dice rocket off the back wall, fly off the table, hit somebody in the chest, or knock over chip stacks. This is annoying for everybody. A medium-firm throw is right. Enough to clearly hit the back wall, not so much that the dice end up in another zip code.
If you throw and one die does not reach the back wall, the casino usually counts the throw if both dice landed cleanly on the felt. If one die flies off the table, the throw might or might not count, depending on the casino. Most casinos will use the same dice if they did not get damaged, but some superstitious players ask for new dice when they leave the table. Whether you go along with that is up to you.
The come out roll: your first throw as shooter
When the dice come to you, you start with a come out roll. This is the same as any come out roll. Roll a 7 or 11, naturals win the table. Roll a 2, 3 or 12, craps lose the table. Roll a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, that becomes the point.
If you crap out on the come out, you do not give up the dice. You keep shooting. The puck stays off, you have another come out roll, and you go again. You only give up the dice when you seven out during a point cycle. Crapping out, while it costs the table their pass line bets, does not end your turn as shooter.
If you roll a natural, you also keep the dice. Pass line bets win, the puck stays off, and you have another come out. You can roll multiple naturals in a row without ever setting a point. Some shooters do this and the table is happy.
If you roll a point number, the puck flips on and you are now in the point cycle. The table is on you. They want you to make the point.
What to do during your roll
Once a point is set, you keep rolling until either you make the point, in which case you start a new come out, or you seven out, in which case the dice pass to the next player. There is no time limit. You can shoot as long as the dice cooperate.
The pace is up to you, within reason. You should not stand there for two minutes between rolls staring at the felt. The table wants the action to keep moving. But you also do not need to roll in rapid succession. A normal pace is something like 15 to 30 seconds between rolls, accounting for the time the dealers need to settle bets.
You can take small breaks. If somebody is making bets that need dealer attention, the stickman will hold the dice until the dealer is ready. You can take a sip of your drink between rolls. You can chat with the player next to you. The table is forgiving as long as you are roughly keeping pace.
One thing to be aware of. While you are shooting, the table tends to develop momentum. If you are throwing well and making points, the energy builds. People high-five, they cheer, the noise level goes up. If you have been making points for a while, you become the center of attention at the table. This is fine, this is fun, but it can get in your head if you let it. Just keep throwing the way you have been throwing. Do not change anything because of the noise.
Long rolls are rare and exciting. Most shooters seven out within a few minutes. The average shooter rolls about seven to nine times before sevening out, which is a real statistic that has been calculated by people with too much time on their hands. So a typical shooter does not have a long roll. They roll a few times, make a point or two, eventually a 7 hits, and they pass the dice. That is the norm. If you happen to catch fire and roll for 30 minutes, you will remember that for the rest of your life. Most shooters do not.
Sevening out: the moment you give up the dice
Eventually a 7 hits during a point cycle. Pass line bets lose. Most other bets on the table lose. The puck flips back to off. The dice come to you, the stickman pulls them back to himself, and your turn as shooter is done.
This is the moment. Some shooters take it personally, like they let the table down. They feel embarrassed when they seven out. Some apologize to the other players. Some put their head down and quietly leave the table.
Do not do any of this. Sevening out is a normal, expected part of the game. The dice are random. You did not cause it. You did not let anybody down. Every shooter eventually sevens out. Even the legendary long-roll shooters, the ones who made history, eventually sevened out. It is the only way a shooter's turn ends.
The right move is to just be cool about it. Do not apologize. Do not say anything. Maybe nod at the players next to you. Take a drink. Get ready for the next come out as a regular bettor. The dice move on to the next player and the table resets. Nobody actually blames you.
The exception is if you do something specifically wrong, like throwing too softly for the entire roll, or saying the word seven, or knocking over chip stacks repeatedly. In those cases the players might be a little annoyed. But nobody at a craps table holds it against a shooter for sevening out. That is just dice doing dice things.
The "dice control" debate
I should mention this since it comes up a lot. There is a school of thought, especially among some craps players, that the way you throw the dice affects what you roll. Specifically, that by holding the dice a certain way, throwing them with a certain motion and landing them softly against the back wall, you can influence the outcome.
This is called dice control or dice setting. There are players who claim they can roll fewer 7s by using these techniques. There are books written about it. There are seminars. There are dice control coaches.
The math says it does not work. Not in any reliable way. The pyramid bumps on the back wall are specifically designed to randomize the dice on the bounce. Even if a shooter could land the dice in a controlled way without the bounce, the bounce kills any pre-set orientation. Casino dice are also extremely precise, machined to tight tolerances, so they do not have biases that can be exploited.
That said, some practitioners claim small advantages over very long sample sizes. The studies are mixed. Most independent analysis says any effect is too small to measure reliably and definitely too small to exploit at any level a casino would notice. Casinos are generally not concerned about dice control, which is a pretty good indicator that they do not think it works either.
For a beginner, just throw the dice normally and have fun. Do not try to control them. Do not buy a book or a course. Random throws are random throws, and the math at the table does not care how stylish your throw is.
Tipping the dealers when you shoot
If you have a hot roll going, it is good form to tip the dealers. The standard way to do this is to make a small bet for them on a number, usually after a successful point. Drop a chip in front of you and say "for the dealers" or "two-way hardway" or whatever specific bet you want to make on their behalf. The dealer will set up the bet and acknowledge.
You do not have to tip if you are not having a good roll. You also do not have to tip elaborately. A few dollars now and then is plenty. Some players tip every time they make a point. Some tip when they cash out. Some tip only on big wins. The dealers do not expect a specific amount, but a regular pattern of small tips is appreciated.
One specific thing some players do for a hot shooter. If you have been on a good roll for several minutes, the dealers might root for you a little harder if you are tipping them along the way. They are getting paid by the casino, but they also share in tips, so they are not totally neutral about whether you make money or not. A friendly shooter who tips reasonably is going to get warmer attention than a stoic one who does not.
The etiquette article goes deeper on tipping practices, but the short version for shooters is, if you are making money, throw a little to the crew.
Common new shooter mistakes
A few things to watch out for.
Throwing with two hands. The dice need to be handled with one hand only. Pick them up with one hand, hold them in one hand, throw them with one hand. Two-handed throws will get you corrected.
Letting the dice fly off the table. This happens to everyone occasionally, especially when you throw too hard. The dealers handle it. The casino retrieves the dice. The roll might or might not count depending on the situation. It is annoying but not a big deal.
Saying the word seven during a point cycle. Even as the shooter. Especially as the shooter. The other players will glare at you. You did not cause the next 7 by saying it, but the table superstition is real and you do not want to break it.
Throwing too softly to reach the back wall. Common new-shooter mistake. The stickman will tell you. Throw harder.
Taking too long between throws. Some new shooters get in their head and pause for 30 seconds before each roll. Keep the pace moving. The dealers and the other players will appreciate it.
Leaving chips in the way of where the dice are going to land. If you have chips spread out on the layout near the middle, the dice can land on them and become cocked dice. This is annoying and slows the game down. Try to keep your chips on the rail or in the betting boxes, not in the middle of the felt.
Apologizing for sevening out. Just do not. It is awkward. Nobody blames you.
Online play and being the shooter
If you are playing live dealer online craps, where you are watching a real human shoot through a video feed, the rules I have described apply. You are not the shooter, but you are watching one, and they go through the same process.
If you are playing software-based online craps, there is no shooter. The software just rolls dice. You bet on the outcomes. There is no rotation, no throwing, no etiquette. The software handles all of it.
This is one of the bigger differences between online and live craps. Live craps has the social dynamic of being the shooter, which is half the fun for a lot of players. Online software craps strips that out. We talk about all the differences in our article on online vs live craps.
The bottom line on being the shooter
Being the shooter is not as scary as it looks the first time. Pick two dice with one hand. Throw them at the back wall. Keep rolling until you seven out. Be polite to the dealers and the other players. Tip a little if you have a good run. That is the whole job.
The first time the dice come to you, you might feel some nerves. Everybody does. By the second or third time, it is just part of the game. The cheers when you make a point are part of what makes craps fun. The groans when you seven out are not really directed at you. The whole experience is a kind of low-key social ritual that has been happening at craps tables for over a century.
Embrace it. Pick up the dice. Throw them at the wall. See what happens.
The next article gets into the differences between online and live craps in detail, since the shooter experience is one of the biggest gaps between the two formats.
Read next: Online vs Live Craps