8/2/2022

Dealers Casino Table

Live dealer casinos primarily offer table and card games. It was only recently that studios started to produce live slot machines. But don’t expect to find dozens of table games and variants that you can find in a regular, animated casino. Live dealer studios have space constraints like land-based casinos do. Table games dealers work in casinos. They operate gaming tables that can include card games and other games of chance, such as craps and roulette. Table Games Dealers operate casino gaming tables at licensed casinos and gaming halls. Table Games Dealers receive extensive in-house training and are required to shuffle and deal cards, hand out cash chips, play house hands, determine table winners, and interact with customers.


A craps table in a casino is always run by several employees. Unlike other table games, which usually have a single dealer who runs every aspect of the game, craps has multiple employees at each table.

And each of those employees has a different function.

One of the nice things about craps is that most of the employees running the craps game are rooting for you to win. After all, they rely on tips for a high percentage of their income. Also, most craps players make tips in the form of bets for the staff, which means they have a vested interest in each roll of the dice.

This doesn’t mean they do anything to change the odds in your favor. It’s just good for morale, so to speak.

If you’re wanting to play a game of craps, you should know who’s who at the craps table. Once you’ve read this post, you’ll know just that.

The Craps Dealers


Every craps dealer in the casino has four dealers, but you’ll never see more than three of them at the table at a time. One of them is always on break. These dealers move around the table and take on different positions based on what’s going on.

One of the craps dealers will be “on the stick,” and the other two dealers will be standing on opposite sides of the craps table. These two craps dealers are said to be “on base.”

The dealers at the table should be easy to spot because casinos require them to wear a uniform. Usually, this uniform consists of black and white pants and a white shirt.

The rest of this post looks at what each dealer does during the game, starting with the “stickman.”

The Stickman

This is the craps dealer that’s “on the stick.” You’ll know which one he is because he’s literally holding a stick. He uses that stick to gather the dice after someone shoots.

The stickman is in charge of the proposition bets at the table.

I’ll get into some details about the prop bets soon, but for now, just know that any bet the stickman wants you to make has lousy odds. You should stay away from it.

So, what do I mean when I say he’s “in charge” of this?

It means that he takes the losing proposition bets off the table.

He also instructs the standing dealers about paying you off when, and if, you win a proposition bet.

The ceremonies surrounding the dice are important, too, and the stickman plays an important role here.

Dealers Casino Table

Usually, there’s a tray with six or eight dice in it. The stickman’s in charge of this tray. When it’s time for a shooter to roll the dice, the stickman shoves the tray toward the shooter so he can pick his dice. Once the dice are chosen, the stickman uses his stick to pull the tray back to him.

Finally, it’s the stickman’s job to announce the results.

He’s usually quite the colorful salesman, too, sounding more like a carnival barker than a casino employee.

At any reputable land based casino, the stickman does a good job of stimulating the action with his ongoing patter.

The Standing Dealers


The other two dealers are called “the standing dealers.” They handle the players by exchanging chips for the players’ cash. The boxman is involved in this process, too. He’s the only seated casino employee at the craps table.

The boxman always counts the money and gives the chips to the standing dealers to give to the players.

Casino chips usually come in the following denominations at the craps table:

  • $1
  • $5
  • $25
  • $100
  • $500

If you want to make a bet for less than a dollar, or if your payout includes an amount lower than a dollar, the casino just uses a normal coin or multiple coins for that amount.

You can change the denomination of your chips during the game by asking the standing dealers to change colors. Different chips are of different colors.

You will NEVER put anything in a dealer’s hand, and the dealer will NEVER put anything in your hand. This is a measure that’s meant to prevent collusion between the dealers and the players. (I almost hate using that word; thanks politics.)

You’ll put your cash on the table. When you get chips, they’re put on the table, too.

Betting and Getting Paid Off


The most important thing going on at the table, besides the shooting of the dice, is the placing and paying off of the bets. The dealers have a lot to do with both aspects of the game. In some cases, you can just place your own bets, but some craps bets must be placed for you by one of the dealers.

If it’s a bet that the dealer needs to place for you, you put your chips on the table and tell the dealer which bet you’re placing. If it’s a self-service bet, you put the chips in the appropriate location on the table.

When a resolution of a dice roll happens, the payouts are made by the dealer – just as the dealer picks up any losing bets. Losing bets are normally picked up before winning bets get paid off, as a matter of procedure.

The two standing dealers are on opposite ends of the table for a simple reason: One handles the players at one end of the table, and the other handles the players at the other end of the table.

You’ll usually see between a dozen to 20 players at a craps table, which means each dealer is handling between six to 12 players at a time.

Pay attention to what’s going on, though, because even experienced craps dealers are human and sometimes make mistakes. These mistakes aren’t always in your favor, either.

Don’t be shy about correcting their errors if they’re not in your favor.

Different people have different opinions about correcting the dealer if he makes a mistake in your favor. I agree with Frank Scoblete on this point, even though I disagree with him on many other points.

If the casino makes a mistake in your favor, it’s better to let it slide and keep the money. You’re not obligated to look out for the casino. Your job is to look out for yourself.

The Buck


The dealer is also supposed to place the buck in the appropriate spot.

What’s the buck?

It’s a round disk with two distinct sides of two different colors.

One side of the buck indicates that the point hasn’t been set yet. The casino turns it over once it has. They turn it back over once the shooter makes the point or sevens out.

The Boxman and the Floorman

The boxman isn’t really a craps dealer. He’s more like the banker in Monopoly. He doesn’t even wear the same uniform. He keeps an eye on the chips belonging to the casino, and he oversees the dealers’ payouts to make sure they’re correct. His role is to stay quiet and keep an eye on business.

The floorman is the supervisor for the entire craps pit.

A craps pit is made up of four craps tables, and the area inside those four tables is called the pit.

Depending on how busy the craps tables are, there might be more floormen than just one.

The floorman reports to the pit boss, who’s another supervisor working in the pit.

The Proposition Bets and the Mouthy Stickman

The stickman is basically in charge of the rhythm of the game, and his main job is to get players to consider the prop bets on the table.

The problem with all these prop bets is that they heavily favor the casino.

It might be that these bets are cheap to make. You might only need to bet $1.

But when the casino house edge is so high on such a bet, it becomes easy to lose a lot of money fast.

The difference between the odds of winning a bet and the payout odds is where the house gets its edge.

For Example:
If you have a bet with 35 to 1 odds of winning, but it only pays off at 30 to 1, the casino has a huge edge.

Your best move at the craps table is to stick with the most basic of bets – pass, don’t pass, come, don’t come, and the free odds bets.

Conclusion

That’s basically everything you need to know about who’s who at the craps table.

Dealers Casino Table Games

This post assumes that you already know a few things about the game, but if you don’t, check out some of the other posts about craps on our site.

Live Dealer Craps is a great opportunity for online casinos because it is one of the most exciting games in the casino world. While you can play craps on most online casino software packages, it doesn’t seem to create the same atmosphere as playing in a brick and mortar casino.

Have you ever wondered if an online craps game with live dealers would be as exciting as in a real casino setting? Many live online casinos have been successful with blackjack, roulette, and baccarat, but no one has conquered live dealer craps yet. Learn more about the table layout and setup, how to play, and the best strategy for live craps below.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: No online casino currently offers Live Dealer Craps games for real money. Below you can find the top casino sites that offer real dealer games, as well as hundreds of regular game options, including online real money craps and sic bo.

Live Craps

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Can I Play Live Dealer Craps Online?

In craps, one of the biggest issues is you can’t roll the dice, so dice rolls have to be computer generated or have someone else roll. This reduces the live game feel that many players seek when searching for a live dealer online game.

Online casino players looking to play live dealer craps have a limited number of options. Below are the three ways online players can enjoy the game.

Social Casinos

There is live dealer craps in social casinos.

Real Money Craps
Casino

You can play real money online craps (with no live dealer).

Live Game with Dice

Finally, if it’s really a live dealer game with dice you are looking for, play Live Sic Bo.

How to Play Live Dealer Craps

If you are wondering how to play craps online with a live dealer, here we’ve listed it out in a few steps.

  1. Place Your Bet

    Craps starts with one player placing a pass line or don’t pass wager. To place a bet you simply put a chip or chips on the area of the felt layout on the table where the bet is described.

  2. Placing a Bet on The Pass Line

    If you want to bet $50 on the pass line you simply place two $25 chips, or any other combination of chips adding up to $50, in the area that has the words pass line printed in the box.

  3. Placing Side Bets

    You also have the option of placing a wide range of other wagers. Most of these give such a large house advantage that you should avoid them. You can learn more about the best bets in the Live Craps Strategy section.

Where to Play Live Craps Online

Online craps players in the USA have several great live dealer craps software providers like Vivo Gaming (ViG), GGL and Ezugi. The most popular version is Vivo Gaming live dealer craps. ViG is the live dealer software supplier for MYBCasino.

ViG is also available at Rich Casino, Winward Casino, and 1xbet. Global Gaming Labs (GGL), another US-friendly live dealer provider, supplies the live casino games for Sportsbetting and 5Dimes Casino.

International online craps players have even more options. Evolution Gaming, Microgaming, Playtech, and Novomatic are some of the top software providers for live dealer games. Most of the top international online casinos provide live dealer casino games. Not all of those offer live dealer craps.

For those punters, OUSC has a suggestion. Whether you play in the United States or the global live casino market, if you cannot play Live Craps, consider playing Live Sic Bo or Online Craps.

What Is Live Sic Bo?

In online casinos that do not offer Live Dealer Craps, dice shooters switch over to play Live Sic Bo. Sic Bo is a Chinese dice game which is popular in Asian casinos. It is a live-streamed version of the Chinese dice game. Because the game is popular in Asian casinos, many live dealer casinos that supply games for Asia-friendly online casinos offer the game.

Sic Bo dealers in a brick-and-mortar casino or live dealer studio handle bets and roll the dice. The dice rolls are filmed from several angles, then streamed live to your computer screen in real time. Live dealer Sic Bo combines the convenience of online Sic Bo with the excitement and human interaction of land-based Sic Bo.

Sic Bo and Craps have a number of similarities, which we list below.

  • Dice: Both use of dice to resolve wagers, instead of playing cards or spinning wheels.
  • Smart Bets & Sucker Bets: Both games include a few smart bets, along with a bunch of sucker bets.
  • Game of Luck: In live settings and live dealer online games, both have exciting swings of fortune based on a single roll of the dice.

Differences Between Craps and Sic Bo

Beyond that, Sicbo and Craps differ in a variety of ways. In fact, many Sic Bo wagers resemble roulette’s even-money wagers more than they do craps bets. Here are a few.

  • Number of Dice: Craps uses 2 dice to resolve bets, while Sic Bo uses 3 dice.
  • Odds vs Payouts: Craps has better odds, while Sic Bo has bigger payouts.
  • Wagers: Players can wager on the Big Bet, Small Bet, Odd Bet, and Even Bet, which are determined by the sum of the three-dice rolled. They can wager on a variety of Doubles Bets and Triple Bets, which have higher payouts when a pair or a trio of numbers appear.
  • Bets / House Edge: The pass/don’t pass and come/don’t come bets in Craps have a house edge between 1.35% and 1.41%. The Big/Small Bet and the Even/Odd Bet have a house edge of 2.8%, which is comparable to the even-money bets in European Roulette (but worse odds than Craps).
  • Bet Payout: At the same time, some Sic Bo bets have 50-to-1 and 60-to-1 payouts, which are much higher than Craps payouts.
  • Sucker Bets / Jackpots: In both games, the wagers with the highest payouts are considered sucker bets, but many players enjoy the thrill of playing for bigger jackpots. In that way, Sic Bo has similarities to slot machine gaming.

Differences Between Live Dealer Craps and Online Craps

If you still really want to play craps at an online casino for real money, you can do so without a Live Dealer. What are the main differences between Live Craps and Real Money craps? See below.

Online Craps uses computer graphics to depict a simulated game of craps. Using either Adobe Flash or the Worldwide Web consortium’s HTML5, animated games of craps are shown on your computer or mobile screen. A random number generator is used to determine the result. RNG technology has been used in land-based casinos since the early 1980s in slot machines and video poker machines, so it’s nearly 40 years old and trusted. Still, many gamblers prefer a live game experience.

Casino

Live Dealer Craps

Live Dealer Craps features a table full of dealers in a land-based casino or a live dealer studio. Rounds of dice shooting are filmed live as they happen from multiple camera angles, then streamed live to your computer screen in real time. The game is 100% real as it’s happening, so you can use live chat to communicate with the craps dealer, the pit boss, and other craps players at the table. Craps is a social game which instills camaraderie among the players because most make the same bets. Live dealer craps restores the game to its original form.

Play Online Craps for Real Money

When choosing the right casino to play for real money, you need to consider factors like reliability, fast payouts, good bonuses, and a good variety of banking methods. For players in the US, we suggest playing online craps at El Royale Casino. You could even play Mobile Craps with table limits from $1 to $1,000. New players get a Welcome Bonus of up to $12,500.

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Dealers Casino Table For Sale

Perks of Live Dealer Craps

Live dealer craps has a number of perks. First, of all the casino games which do not require skill or strategy, craps has some of the best odds. Only standard baccarat or European Roulette with “la partage” or “en prison” rules have a comparable return-to-player (RTP) percentage. Below are the top four perks of Live Dealer Craps.

  1. Odds

    Craps has a house edge in the 1.35% to 1.41% region for the basic bets. While blackjack and video poker have better odds, you have to master basic strategy to receive the optimal RTP in those games. In live dealer craps, you only need to figure out which bets to make and which bets to avoid.

  2. Sense of Community

    Live craps is also a social game. Most of the players at the craps table bet on the dice shooter. This creates a sense of camaraderie, where everyone is cheering for the same result. Or better put, betting on the pass/come bets in craps creates a sense of community, as you are cheering for each other to win.

  3. The excitement of a Live Game

    With cameras that allow you to see the other dice shooters and Skype-style chat features, you can get to know other players and cheer them on as the game happens. Live dealer craps is among the most exciting games online, while also offering some of the best odds.

  4. No Gratuities

    Finally, when you play live dealer craps, you don’t have to pay a gratuity. Most live casinos do not allow or require tipping of the dealer. That’s a huge perk.

Live Craps Basic Strategy

Just like most casino games, craps has a house edge that can’t be overcome unless you cheat or learn how to control the dice. While dice control is an interesting subject, it’s difficult to find any hard evidence that it works so it’s a subject for another page.

When you play casino games with a house edge the only thing you can do from a strategy standpoint is trying to reduce the edge as much as possible. This means only placing wagers that have the smallest house edge.

The good news is this means you can ignore most of the possible wagers because they have a high edge. Here’s a list of bets that offer the lowest edges.

If you are going to play live dealer craps, there are a few tips you need to know. While the game requires no strategy once bets are made, it helps to know the best bets. While you can wager on a proposition with a 1.35% house edge, some craps bets have a 16.00% house edge — a classic sucker bet. The key is learning the best craps bets.

  • Pass Line Bet: The Pass Line Bet (or Pass Bet) is the basic bet in craps. You’re betting on the dice shooter to win. The Pass Bet has a 1.41% house edge, making it the second-best betting proposition in the game.
  • Come Bet: The Come Bet is the same as the Pass Line Bet, but it is made after the point is set. The point is a number rolled on the come-out roll. If the 2, 3, 7, 11, or 12 isn’t rolled (and bets paid), then a point is set. Then, the shooter must roll the same number before a 7 is rolled in order to win. The number required to win is called the “point”. Again, this has a 1.41% house edge.
  • Don’t Pass Bet: You can bet against the shooter in craps. The Don’t Pass Bet is betting that the shooter loses. The house edge, in this case, is 1.35%, or the best bet in craps. Wagering against the dice shooter is legal and accepted in craps, but it is considered rude to celebrate openly if you win. The reason is you’re celebrating that the shooter and most other gamblers at the table lost.
  • Don’t Come Bet: This is the opposite of the come bet. It also has great odds but comes with the onus of betting against most of the table. Again, if you win and celebrate in the live chat interface, it is considered taunting the losing bettors.
  • Taking the Odds: Once a point is established, players can “take the odds” on their original bet. Odds bets have a 0% house edge, so craps players need to learn this rule and use it when available. Land-based casinos sometimes limit odds to 5x, 10x, or 100x the original bet. Live dealer casinos will limit the odds taken, but many players (and all high rollers) max out their odds when playing live craps.
  • Avoid Sucker Bets: The craps table layout has a lot of other bets, but many of these are sucker bets. While the payout on many other craps wagers are larger than the basic bets, their odds are much worse. The single-number bets (Yo, 2, 3), the Hi-Lo bet, the Craps bet, the C&E combined bet, the “Any Seven” bet, the Horn Bet, the Whirl Bet, and the Hard 4 and Hard 10 bets all have a house edge of 11% or higher. Those are sucker bets.
  • Be Polite: To underscore the points above, read one or two “Craps Etiquette” articles and follow the suggestions. These tips make the game more pleasant for everyone at the table, which is important in a social game like craps. Some craps tips won’t apply, such as dangling your cigarette or your drink over the table’s felt. That’s what makes live dealer craps great — you can play it in the comfort of your own home.
  • No Tips Required: One final thing: you won’t need to tip the dealers. Craps has four dealers at a table, so tipping can be expensive in a land-based casino. Unless it is stated otherwise and has a button to facilitate tips, live casinos do not require tipping. That’s a big advantage over brick-and-mortar casinos.

Setup and Table Layout

Craps is played at a large table designed in a way that many players can participate at the same time. The first time you see a craps table it’s easy to be intimidated or confused.

In the center of the table are a series of possible wagers and on each end of the standard table are a series of more popular wagers. As you’ll learn in the strategy section below, the only wagers you should consider are located on each end. This means you can ignore the center of the table bets. You can learn more about the layout and other game information on Wikipedia.

Should You Play Live Craps?

Playing live craps online gives players the experience of one of the most thrilling land-based casino games. The fact live dealer craps has some of the best odds makes the game a gambler’s favorite. That also means live casinos feature craps less often than other popular games, so you might have to play Live Sic Bo instead.

American real money players won’t find many games of real money live craps, so dice shooters might have to enjoy video craps or social casino craps. Bookmark this page to get the latest updates on live dealer craps, because OUSC will be the first to tell you where to find US-friendly live craps online.

Players Also Ask About Live Craps


At the moment, few trustworthy US-friendly online casinos have live dealer craps. Top operators like Visionary iGaming and Ezugi Gaming. Of the options, Ezugi is most likely to include Live Craps or Live Sic Bo in the near future. Ezugi supports 18 casino games and was bought by Evolution Gaming in November 2018, so it might add games that Evolution has.


Not likely. Live craps casino operators have to pay the staff, so they treat their games much like a brick-and-mortar casino would. You can view a live craps game as it’s streamed online, but you won’t be able to join unless you risk chips. Social gaming casinos are your best bet for free live craps online.


Yes. Live craps is rarer than games like blackjack, baccarat, or roulette, the three most common games in live casinos. Even table poker games like Caribbean Stud, Three-Card Poker, Casino Hold’em, and Ultimate Texas Hold’em are more common these days. If you can’t find live craps online, search for Live Sic Bo, which is available in many live casinos which accept Asian players.


The best bets in online craps are the Don’t Pass and Don’t Come Bets, which have you betting against the dice shooter. The house edge on these two bets is 1.35%. The next-best are the Pass Bet and Come Bet, in which you bet on the shooter to win. These two wagers have a slightly worse 1.41% house edge.