We’ve played craps a time or two during our innumerable Las Vegas outings, but until recently had never heard the term “burning the dice.”

A helpful yet surly floor supervisor at one of our favorite casinos shared that “burning the dice” is a method cheaters use, so it’s not permitted.

Craps is a popular dice game typically played in a casino as well as informal settings. It is played with a pair of dice in which players bet on dice rolls. When one is playing Craps, money is then wagered against either the casino or the other players in the game.
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A single round of craps is divided into two parts: the come-out roll and the point roll. A player known as the “shooter” rolls two dice to determine results. Each involves the placement of bets, though one is contingent on the other. If a player either rolls a “7” or craps out on the come-out roll, then that round of betting ends. Did you scroll all this way to get facts about dice craps? Well you're in luck, because here they come. There are 800 dice craps for sale on Etsy, and they cost $32.06 on average. The most common dice craps material is metal. The most popular color? You guessed it: red. Cyber-Deals Wide Selection Craps Bundle Set: Las Vegas Style Felt Layout + Pair 19mm Authentic Nevada Casino Table-Played Dice by Cyber-Deals $26.99 $ 26. 99 - $29.99 $ 29.

“Burning the dice” is when a player rubs the dice against the table felt repeatedly in an attempt to dull the corners and influence the roll.

Players should take care to avoid friction with the felt, as well as casino management.

Casinos are always on the lookout for cheaters, of course, so there are a number of rules and procedures to prevent tampering with the dice or making rolls less random, the way Mother Nature intended.

Longtime followers of this blog will recall we compiled a list of 11 Casino Dice Security Measures to Keep Players From Cheating. It was the one time we did “research” and “took notes.”

Security steps include the serial numbers on dice, making dice translucent, backfilling the pips, canceling used dice and the aforementioned sharp corners.

The dots on dice are pips. When they’re drilled, they’re filled back in (backfilled) to ensure perfect balance.

Here’s a fun game. Whenever you see an advertisement for a casino, make sure to notice whether the dice have rounded or sharp corners. If the corners are rounded, you know somebody slipped up, as dice with rounded corners are never used in casinos.

Dice with rounded corners are typically used in board games and for other non-gambling purposes.

Once you start noticing dice corners, you can’t not see them!

Craps Dice Game

Even bigtime movies get casino dice wrong. Check out this still from the popular documentary starring Bruce Willis, “Armageddon.”

We trust this prop person never worked in Hollywood again.

We call “no roll” on that one! Landing on an asteroid to divert it from a collision course with Earth is a lot more believable than a casino using dice with rounded corners.

Now, you know.

Knowing what “burning the dice” is will win you a bar bet someday, or at least help you avoid the wrath of a casino pit boss.

Craps Dice Set

Note: Yes, we know a pit boss is different from a floor supervisor. We honestly didn’t expect you to read this far.