In gambling in general and the game of Craps in particular, snake eyes is the outcome of rolling the dice in a game and getting only one pip on each die. The pair of pips resembles a pair of eyes, which is appended to the word snake because of the creature's long-standing association with treachery and betrayal. The dictionary of etymology traces use of the term as far back as 1919. Ancient Roman dice games used the term dogs to describe a throw of double ones, referring to this as "the dog throw".
Because this is the lowest possible roll, and will often be a loser in many dice games, such as Craps, the term has been employed in a more general usage as a reference to bad luck. In some board games, such as Monopoly, house rules may decide that this roll earns the player a bonus due to it being rare and otherwise disadvantageous.
The odds of rolling snake eyes on two six-sided dice are 1-in-36.
See also
- Boxcars (slang)
- Craps
- Yo-leven
Notes
