Touching chips at the craps table 575972

19 April 2025

By Jerry Stickman

4nu1k

Hi Stickman,

I had something happen to me that last time I was at the craps table. There was a wild shooter who had the dice. He would grab the dice and fire them down the table. They would fly all over the place. On one of his throws, the dice hit the chips I had on the don’t line.

My question is, is it okay for me to restack those chips? Do I have to wait for the dealer or stickman to handle it? I know they don’t want you to play with your line bet during the point cycle, but does that also apply to don’t bets?

Chuck

Hi Chuck,

Regarding your comment about line bets, it is okay to change the odds portion of the bet (but not while the dice are out). Once the point is established, however, the house has the edge on a Line bet. That is the reason that you cannot change the base portion of Line bets after the point is established.

The don’t bet is different, however. Once the point is established, the player has the edge. For this reason, you can take down a Don’t bet even when the point is established.

But, to answer your question, casinos prefer to have the dealer restack chips on the base portion of your bet that have been knocked over – both for and Don’t bets. I also like it that way as there will be no question about the authenticity of the bet.

Most dealers are very attentive during the game. After all, that is what they are being paid for. They will be even more attentive if you are tipping them. If for some reason they do not see and restack your chips, try to get their attention. Call them by name (that you can read on their name tag). If that fails and the dice are already pushed to the shoot, do not restack the chips yourself. Talk about drawing unwanted attention to yourself. If the dice should hit your hand and a 7 rolls, the entire table will want to strangle you (except, of course, those who are on Don’t ). Rather, wait until the roll is complete and try again to get the dealer’s attention.

Another suggestion would be to keep you chip stack short by using the least number of chips possible to make the bet.

I hope that helps.

As always, may all your wins be swift and large, and your losses be slow and tiny.

Jerry “Stickman”

Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines and 888casino.com. He authored the video poker section of Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Pai Gow Poker! You can Jerry “Stickman” at [email protected]
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