Atlassino Academy · Craps · Lesson 13

El tirador: who throws the dice, and how

At a craps table in the provinces the dice go to one shooter at a time, who must have a bet on the line and throw by the rule book. Here is who throws, how a throw counts, and when the dice move on.

  • About 12 minutes
  • Illustrated hosts: Maya and Leo
  • Last checked 19 October 2026

Your throw ends with one die leaning against a stack of chips. Does it count, or do you throw again?

The short answer

It counts, and the face read is the one opposite the face the die leans on. A throw is nulo only in the cases the rule book names: dice short of the middle line, no die against the cushion, dice sliding, a die off the table, dice stacked, a die in a money slot, or a die turned aside inside the table. The rest of the lesson is who gets to throw, and how long the dice stay with them.

Maya, at the end of a craps table, follows two dice tumbling through the air toward the far wall after a one-handed throw, while Leo raises both hands well away from the table.
Maya explaining with an open hand.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Nobody has to throw. But if the dice come to you, the rule book asks a few things of you: a bet on the line, one hand, the dice in plain sight, and a throw that reaches the far end of the table. None of it is hard, and all of it is written down.

Who throws, and how the first shooter is chosen

The shooter, the “tirador”, is the player who throws the dice. Only players standing in the throwing spaces marked along the rail throw, and a game starts as soon as one player wants to. When more than one player wants the first throw, it goes to the highest offer within the table’s limits.

  1. A place at the rail

    Only a player standing in one of the throwing spaces at the rail throws.

  2. A bet on the line

    The shooter has a bet on Buena or on Mala, never on both.

  3. Five dice, two kept

    A new shooter is offered 5 dice and sets 3 aside.

  4. One hand, in view

    The dice are shaken in plain sight and thrown with the same hand, at once.

  5. Past the line, into the cushion

    Both dice past the middle line, at least one against the cushion, neither sliding.

Every new shooter is offered 5 dice from a different set than the last shooter’s, keeps 2 and sets the other 3 aside. On every die the opposite faces add up to 7.

The shooter’s bet

To throw, a player must have a bet on Buena, the pass line, or on Mala, the don’t pass bar, and may switch between them once a pass is decided. The shooter may not bet on Buena and on Mala at the same time.

How to throw

The shooter takes the dice in one hand and throws them with that same hand, without delay; the shake before the throw has to be clear, in sight and inside the table.

The dice must not slide. Both have to pass the middle of the table, which is the printed line nearest the shooter, and at least one has to hit the padded cushion at the far end; otherwise the throw is “nulo” and does not count.

Leo smiling, explaining with an open hand.

Leoformer dealer · rules and maths

A gentle throw that stops halfway down the table is nulo, and so is one where the dice only slide. Throw firmly enough for both dice to pass the middle line and for at least one to reach the cushion.

When a throw counts, and when it is nulo

Some throws that look spoiled still count: a die resting on a chip, a die leaning against something, which is read by the face opposite the one it leans on, and a die that bounces off the cloth, touches someone outside the table and comes back. Others do not: a die off the table, which is checked and replaced, dice stacked on each other, a die in a money slot, and a die turned aside by touching a player or an employee inside the table, below the rail.

Does the throw count?From the rule book of the Buenos Aires Province: what happened to the dice, and the verdict.
What happenedVerdict
Both dice roll past the middle line; one hits the cushion and both stop on the cloth.Counts
Both dice hit the cushion; one comes to rest on a chip on the layout.Counts
Both dice hit the cushion; one comes to rest leaning against a stack of chips.Counts
Both dice hit the cushion; one bounces up, touches a player’s sleeve above the rail and falls back onto the cloth.Counts
One die hits the cushion; the other stops before the middle line.Nulo
Both dice roll past the middle line and stop on the cloth without touching the cushion.Nulo
Both dice slide across the cloth without turning, past the middle line and into the cushion.Nulo
One die hits the cushion and jumps over the rail onto the floor.Nulo
Both dice hit the cushion and come to rest one on the other.Nulo
One die is still rolling when it touches a player’s hand inside the table, below the rail, and changes direction.Nulo

When a roll or a touch is in doubt, the person in charge of the table decides, and the decision is final; a shooter who throws carelessly can have the throw disallowed.

How long the dice stay with you

On Buena, a 7 before the point loses the bet and ends the shooter’s turn. A loss on the first throw of a pass, a 2, 3 or 12, does not: the shooter may throw again by placing a new bet. Under the rules of the Buenos Aires Province that goes up to a third time in a row.

On Mala, a 12 on the first throw settles nothing, paid or lost, and the shooter may go on. A shooter on Mala who loses with a 7 or an 11 on the first throw may throw again with a new bet: Cordoba’s rules say so, and the Buenos Aires Province rule book allows it up to a third time in a row. Under the rules of the Buenos Aires Province, once a pass on Mala is decided, the shooter passes the dice, whatever the result.

A shooter who would rather stop does so once a pass is decided, gets the whole bet back, and the game goes on to the right. A shooter who lost does not throw again in the same round of the table, unless the other players give up their turn.

Maya with a hand on her chest, speaking gently and seriously.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Throwing again after a loss on the first throw always means a new bet. Count that bet against the money you decided on at home, not against what you hope the next throw will bring back.

If the money on the table starts to feel like money you need, stop when the pass is decided: your bet comes back to you, and the lines below are there for exactly that.

If it stops being fun

If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. Minimum entry age: each province sets its own. Where we found the rule or regulator that sets it, we cite it on the page; those we found set it at 18. More on responsible gaming.

Show all provinces
0800-666-6006Buenos Aires City (CABA) · Línea de orientación por juego problemático (LOTBA) · Monday to Friday, 9 to 17
0800-444-4000Buenos Aires Province · Programa de Prevención y Asistencia al Juego Compulsivo (IPLyC)
0800-777-2983Cordoba · Línea 0800-777-AYUDA (Lotería de Córdoba) · 24 hours
0800-268-5640Santa Fe · Línea gratuita de la APRECOD (Santa Fe) · Every day, 8 to 24
0800-888-2202Entre Rios · Departamento Juego Responsable (IAFAS, PREVENJUEGO)
0261-424-7536Mendoza · Programa de Juego Responsable (IPJyC) · Monday to Friday, 8 to 14
0800-888-5836Misiones · Programa de Juego Responsable del IPLyC S.E. (0800-888-LUDO)
0800-888-2008Chaco · Línea de Juego Responsable (Lotería Chaqueña)
0299-403-8900Neuquen · Líneas de contacto, orientación y tratamiento (IJAN, juego responsable) · Monday to Friday, 8 to 15
0800-222-1700Rio Negro · Línea de Orientación al Jugador Problemático (Lotería de Río Negro)
02901-433515Tierra del Fuego · Departamento Juego Responsable (IPRA, Ushuaia)
0800-555-7678Tucuman · Juego Responsable, Ley 8986 (Caja Popular de Ahorros)
0800-999-1314San Juan · Línea gratuita del Programa Provincial de Juego Responsable (Caja de Acción Social) · Monday to Friday, 08 to 12

If you are thinking about suicide, call 135 or 0800 345 1435 from anywhere in the country

The lesson on one card

That is the lesson. Here it is on one card: print it or keep it on your phone, and ask at the table before you rely on it.

The shooter at a craps tableCordoba and Buenos Aires Province
Does the throw count?From the rule book of the Buenos Aires Province: what happened to the dice, and the verdict.
What happenedVerdict
Both dice roll past the middle line; one hits the cushion and both stop on the cloth.Counts
Both dice hit the cushion; one comes to rest on a chip on the layout.Counts
Both dice hit the cushion; one comes to rest leaning against a stack of chips.Counts
Both dice hit the cushion; one bounces up, touches a player’s sleeve above the rail and falls back onto the cloth.Counts
One die hits the cushion; the other stops before the middle line.Nulo
Both dice roll past the middle line and stop on the cloth without touching the cushion.Nulo
Both dice slide across the cloth without turning, past the middle line and into the cushion.Nulo
One die hits the cushion and jumps over the rail onto the floor.Nulo
Both dice hit the cushion and come to rest one on the other.Nulo
One die is still rolling when it touches a player’s hand inside the table, below the rail, and changes direction.Nulo

Throw with one hand, in sight, at once. You need a bet on Buena or Mala, never both.

A 7 after the point: the dice move on. A loss on the first throw: you may throw again with a new bet.

18+ under each province’s rules · Set a limit before you sit down · Play responsibly · the line for your province is at Helplines by province

If you are thinking about suicide, call 135 or 0800 345 1435 from anywhere in the country

Practice: valid or nulo, and who throws next

Level 1 describes where the dice came to rest and asks whether the throw counts. Level 2 describes a shooter’s bet and a result, and asks what happens to the dice.

Nothing is bet here, and nothing is random. Each question is a set situation, and the answer comes from the rules quoted on this page.

The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one question from it, with the answer.

Does this throw count?

  • It counts: the dice are read as they lie A die leaning against something still counts, and the face that counts is the one opposite the face it leans on.
  • Nulo: the throw does not count It does count. A die leaning against something still counts, and the face that counts is the one opposite the face it leans on.
  • Only the die that landed properly counts A throw counts or does not as a whole: there is no reading one die and throwing the other again.

A throw counts when both dice roll past the middle line, at least one hits the cushion, and neither slides; a die on a chip or leaning against something still counts. A die off the table, dice stacked on each other, a die in a money slot or a die turned aside inside the table make the throw nulo.

What happens to the dice now?

  • The shooter keeps the dice The shooter may throw again, but only by placing a new bet: the bet that lost is gone.
  • The shooter may throw again with a new bet A loss on the first throw does not end the turn: the shooter may throw again by placing a new bet, up to a third time in a row.
  • The dice go to the next shooter The dice stay with this shooter. A loss on the first throw does not end the turn: the shooter may throw again by placing a new bet, up to a third time in a row.

A 7 after the point ends the shooter’s turn. A loss on the first throw lets the shooter throw again with a new bet, up to a third time in a row, on Buena and on Mala alike. Once a pass on Mala is decided, the dice move on, and a 12 on the first throw is neutral. A shooter who stops after a pass gets the bet back, and the game goes on to the right with a new shooter.

Every question in the practice run is worked out the same way: what happened to the dice is put through the rules quoted on this page, and the answer comes out of that, not out of anybody’s memory.

How the practice run works

Where the questions come from. Every answer is worked out when the page is built, from the rules of the rule books written down as two short functions: one for a throw, one for the shooter’s turn. The wrong answers are named mistakes: reading one die and throwing the other again, a nulo taken for a valid throw and the other way round, a new bet where none is needed, and a turn kept after it has ended.

One strip, and no rounds. Every square on the strip is one question of this lesson, and all of the squares are there from the start. Your first answer fills the square it belongs to; when the squares of one level are full, the next level begins by itself, with no button in between. Practising a question you got wrong turns its cross into “fixed in practice” and does not change the count, because only first answers count.

Your progress stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Check yourself

Maya with a finger raised and a knowing look.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Five quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.

A question marked “New situation” asks you to use the lesson on a case it did not show.

1You would like to throw the dice, but you only want to bet on the field. Can you?

Show the answer

Answer: No: the shooter must have a bet on Buena or on Mala. The shooter is always on one side of the line.

  • Yes, if you bet on both Buena and Mala as well The shooter may not bet on Buena and on Mala at the same time.
  • No: the shooter must have a bet on Buena or on Mala To throw, a player needs a bet on one of the two line bets, Buena or Mala.
  • Yes: any bet on the table will do Any player may bet on the field, but the shooter in particular must have a bet on Buena or on Mala.
2One die stops on the cloth before the middle line; the other hits the cushion. What happens?

Show the answer

Answer: The throw is nulo. Both dice past the middle line, and at least one against the cushion.

  • The throw counts, because one die hit the cushion Hitting the cushion is one of the conditions, not all of them: both dice also have to pass the middle line.
  • The throw is nulo Both dice have to pass the middle of the table, and one of them did not.
  • Only the die at the cushion is read A throw counts or does not as a whole.
3A die comes to rest leaning against a stack of chips. Does the throw count, and which face is read?

Show the answer

Answer: It counts, and the face opposite the one it leans on is read. Some throws that look spoiled still count.

  • It counts, and the croupier picks the face Nobody picks the face: the rule book names it.
  • It is nulo: the die has to lie flat A leaning die still counts under the rule book.
  • It counts, and the face opposite the one it leans on is read A die leaning against anything counts, and when there is doubt the face opposite the face it rests on is the one that counts.
4You are the shooter on Buena. The point is 9, and you throw a 7. What now?

Show the answer

Answer: The bet is lost and the dice move on. The 7 after a point is the end of a shooter’s turn.

  • You throw again with a new bet A new bet brings the dice back only after a loss on the first throw of a pass.
  • You keep the dice for the next come-out throw A 7 before the point ends the turn.
  • The bet is lost and the dice move on A 7 before the point loses the Buena bet and the shooter loses the right to go on throwing.
5You lost as the shooter and the dice moved on. Can you take them again before they have gone round the table? new situation

Show the answer

Answer: Only if nobody else at the table wants to throw. The dice go round the table before they come back.

  • Only if nobody else at the table wants to throw The rule book allows it when the other players give up their turn or are absent, and then with a different set of dice.
  • Yes, whenever the next shooter finishes A shooter who lost does not throw again in the same round of the table.
  • Never again that evening The rule is about the round of the table, not the evening.

Back to the question we opened with. It counts: a die leaning against something is read by the face opposite the one it leans on, and you throw again only when the throw is nulo.

Where to go next, and further reading

18+ under each province’s rules · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page

Further reading

How it’s worked out

Rules, sources and hosts

Where the rules come from. Most of this page follows the rule book of the Buenos Aires Province, which sets out who throws, how a throw is made and every case where a throw counts or does not. The rules of Cordoba define the shooter, use two dice from a set of five, and say what a 7 after the point and a loss on the first throw do to the shooter’s turn. Where only one of them says something, as with a shooter on Mala after a decided pass, this page names which.

What is deliberately absent. What each bet pays is in the lessons on the pass line and on come bets. The Cordoba rules allow a shooter who loses on the first throw to throw again up to “3 (tres) oportunidades”, which can be read as three throws or three more; the question about a third loss in a row follows the Buenos Aires Province rule book, which says up to a third throw in a row. Neither rule book says in one sentence what a shooter on Buena does after making the point, so this page does not say it either.

Sources. Every rule on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, in the rule book’s own Spanish, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it.

Hosts. Maya and Leo are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former floor supervisor and a former dealer, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.

No promise. How a throw is made changes nothing about which numbers come up. Knowing the rules lets you take the dice without being stopped; nothing on this page says how a throw or an evening would end.

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