Blowing on Dice in Craps – Lucky or Just a Waste of Time? – Gambling Sites

Of all the crazy gambling superstitions, one of the most popular is the blowing on dice in crapsand the relatively recent addendum to that practice: Having a woman blow on your dice at the craps table just before you roll them.

So, does blowing on dice give you good luck? In the craps game, I mean. Probably not. But the woman blowing on the dice is flattered (sometimes), and the roller is heartened (sometimes), so in reality, whos to say?

Of course, if youd rather not concern yourself with the very subjective importance of blowing on dice, you start exploring online gambling in the US right now, but since youre still here, Im going to guess that youd like to learn more about what blowing on dice in craps might mean.

Its a charming gesture, indeed, but whether the dice themselves are thereby charmed is an entirely different story.

And just for clarification, its blow on the dice, not blow up the dice.

Has Anyone Done Anything to Help Blowing on Dice be Lucky?

You mean, has anyone done something to dice to force a specific result? Something thatright after you blow on dice in crapswould somehow make the dice roll snake eyes, for example?

There are plenty of ways to fix dice (although break would seem to be the more appropriate word), from hollowing them out (floated dice) to weighting them (loaded dice) and even slicing fragile layers of plastic off various sides of the die (shaved dice).

One odd version of fixing dice (and almost certainly apocryphal) is the painting of dice with a sticky substance activated by the moisture in human exhalation. Literally, blowing on dice makes them sticky.

First, ewww. Also, nah.

Frankly, this use of painted dice sounds far-fetched in the extreme, whatever the era in which it was supposedly used. Glue wont stick to dirt or rough stone (almost all of the world in Roman times).

And for most of the past hundred years or so, craps tables have been covered with felt, and the throw of the dice isnt legal (in most casinos) if the dice do not bounce off the farthest wall surrounding the table.

Even Superglue would be hard-pressed to stick properly under those circumstancesand Superglue isnt activated by blowing on it.

Want the TL; DR version? No, its unlikely anyone has ever successfully used breath-activated glue to fix dice.

There are quite a few ways to roll dice in a casino incorrectly. For example, New Hampshire has a fairly representative set of rules and procedures for craps.

Who Did It First?

The lots cast by Roman soldiers over two thousand years ago were most likely dice. As it happens, dice were quite common in ancient times, used in various games as well as in cleromancy (divining the gods intentions).

And for once, it appears Western culture influenced Chinese culture because most accounts say the Chinese got the idea for dominoes from dice.

So When was it done? is probably an unanswerable question, but its safe to say that the act of blowing on dice arose simultaneouslysimply as a method for removing the dust they collected each time they were tossed.

Incidentally, dont take all the mentions of casting lots in the Old Testament, meaning the ancients were too busy playing craps to notice Noah over there building that big boat. Also known as cleromancy, casting lots actually means any method of using objects to obtain a random answer. Flipping a coin and drawing straws are both examples of casting lots.

From casting lots in B.C. days right up through the heyday of the back-street craps game, blowing on dice was necessary to keep it clean.

By the way, even if youre an old hand at craps, you might still pick up a few good pointers reading our post on craps bets to avoid.

What do the worst crap bets and wearing socks and sandals have in common? I will tell you! Theyll get you home much earlier than anticipated. Its nice to be able to joke about bad craps bets. But losing money is no laughing matter. Thats...

A Watershed Moment in Dice-Blowing History

The 1950 Broadway musical Guys and Dolls was based on several Damon Runyan short stories and featured an entire cast for whom the adjective runyanesque was invented.

Set in the New York City underworld of the 1930s, the musical featured down-on-their-luck gamblers, molls and frails, gangsters, and of course, gambling. Among the tunes was the song Luck Be a Lady, sung by the character (and degenerate gambler) Sky Masterson.

Fun fact Marlon Brando sang Luck be a Lady in the 1955 film version of Guys and Dolls.

The cover of that song Frank Sinatra recorded a few years later is very likely the version you currently have running through your head. And if not, why not? Its a great song.

The verse that makes this song a classic (and pertinent to our discussion here) is:

A lady doesnt leave her escort: It isnt fair, it isnt nice. A lady doesnt wander all over the room And blow on some other guys dice.

I doubt that the songor even the Guys and Dolls from which it camewere instrumental in creating the blow-on-your-boyfriends-dice gesture but they both served to popularize it on a grand scale.

Since then, you will find nary a craps table without plenty of couples, each of whom is doing their best to keep the gesture alive.

If you are new to the world of craps, be sure to get help to the jive with our basics of playing craps.

A New Mating Ritual Is Born

So, does blowing on dice give you you good luck? While blowing on dice in craps isnt likely to inculcate them with anything worthwhile, the gesture itself has become a traditional part of the call and response of human courtship and mating.

In much the same way the girlfriends or wives sing Happy Birthday like Marilyn Monroe, or men bring roses and chocolates to their significant other for on Valentines Day.

Do you think Im exaggerating here?

Stand at any busy craps table in any casino and watch the action for a while. Over time, youll see shooters who consistently blow on their dice before rolling and others who never blow on the dice.

And, of course, youll see one or two with a female companion there to blow on their dice before each roll. Count the number of times the female side of the couple does NOT blow on their dice before they shoot.

Times up. Whats the count? Zero, you say? Whod a thunk it?

Incidentally, if youre finding this all a bit sexist, note that women have their men blow on their dice, too. Additionally, both sides of the gesture often find it insulting if the service is not requested (or worse, not provided).

Blowing on dice may not make them lucky, but failure to perform the ritual properly can certainly anger some lesser gods or goddesses in your life.

Be that as it may, for most shooters playing alone at the craps table, the act of blowing on the dice before rolling them is a habit.

But allowing or inviting ones female companion to blow on the dice is very much part of the modern call-and-response of modern courtship. And frankly, its about as laden with sexual undertones as virtually anything else you can do in public without embarrassment or censure.

Incidentally, while they havent figured out a way to blow on virtual dice, but you can experience all the other thrills of craps with one of our recommended craps apps.

Should You Blow On Dice in Craps?

Baseball pros are encouraged to pursue their various superstitions, particularly during a winning streak. If not changing your underwear makes you feel lucky enough to pitch another no-hitter, then, by all means, dont change your underwear. The rest of the team will stay at the hotel the next block.

But craps is not baseball. While a pitchers confidence level can and will influence his performance in the game, a craps shooters confidence does not influence their performance as a shooter.

In craps, rolling the dice results in a random number between two and twelve (random, that is, provided the dice themselves are not fixed in some way).

Why do people blow on dice? Since confidence or skill has nothing to do with that result, believing the companions blowing on your dice will make them lucky for you is harmless.

Still, if its taken in the manner it is givena wish that you would enjoy good luck on your next dice toss (rather than a guarantee of it), youre on solid ground.

So, blowing on dice in craps is harmless, charming, silly, or all threedepending on your perspective. But one thing it can never be is lucky.

No. If you want to guarantee luck, you should either trust your daily horoscopes predictions in the paper or bet on the numbers shown on the fortune cookie you got with your take-out last Saturday.

On that, the science is settled.

Oh, one last thing: One place you never have to worry about whether blowing on dice or not is lucky or unlucky (or just silly) is to go where you can play live craps online.

Read more here:

Blowing on Dice in Craps - Lucky or Just a Waste of Time? - Gambling Sites