What is snake eyes?
No dice roll has better branding. Snake eyes - two single pips glaring up from the felt - is the most famous throw in dice, and in craps it's usually bad news.
What it means at the table
Snake eyes is the hardest total to roll: just 1 of the 36 combinations, a 1-in-36 shot. On the come-out roll a 2 is craps - the pass line loses instantly, while don't pass wins. During a point chase it's just a roll like any other, though it does pay the field's 2:1 bonus.
The Aces bet
The middle of the layout offers Aces: a one-roll bet that the very next throw is snake eyes, paying 30:1. True odds are 35:1, so the house edge is a steep 13.89% - among the worst on the table. Its twin, Ace-Deuce (a 3), pays 15:1 at an 11.11% edge. Fun to throw a free chip at once in a while; ruinous as a habit.
The name
The term comes from the two dice showing a single centered pip each - a pair of beady eyes. It's older than modern craps and shows up throughout American slang as shorthand for bad luck. Its opposite number, double 6s, has equally colorful names - see boxcars - and the glossary collects the rest of the table's vocabulary.
Related questions
What is boxcars?
Boxcars is the roll of double 6s - a total of 12, also called midnight - named after the boxy freight cars the two dice resemble. On the come-out it craps out the pass line but only pushes don't pass (bar 12). The one-roll Boxcars prop pays 30:1, and the field pays 3:1 on it here.
Why is it called craps?
Two explanations compete, both from the game's New Orleans days. 'Craps' may come from the French 'crapaud,' meaning toad - a nod to players crouching over street games - or from 'crabs,' the old English name for the losing throw in Hazard, the game craps descends from.
What is the come-out roll?
The come-out roll is the first roll of a new craps round. For pass line bettors, a 7 or 11 wins instantly, a 2, 3 or 12 (craps) loses, and any other total - 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 - becomes the point that the shooter then tries to repeat before rolling a 7.