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.

Craps is played with a pair of dice. Since each die has six sides there are six possible outcomes. Two dice makes 6×6 and therefore there are 36 possible combinations on each roll. Since only one combination can give you a total of 12 (6 + 6), the probability of this on any given roll is one in thirty-six. Craps Dice Combinations. Our table showing all of the possible combinations that can be thrown using two standard casino dies. Other wagers, like the Any Craps bet, allow for more winning combinations. The Any Craps bet pays out 7 to 1 whenever numbers 2, 3 or 12 are rolled. There is one combination for number 2, two combinations that add up to number 3, and one combination that adds up to 12. The probability of dice combinations determine the odds of the payout. The following chart shows the dice combinations needed to roll each number. The two and twelve are the hardest to roll since only one combination of dice is possible. The game of craps is built around the dice roll of seven, since it is the most easily rolled dice combination.

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.

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.

Craps Possible Combinations Meaning

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.

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.”

Craps Possible Combinations Games

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.