crapshooter

1 9.9

A person who plays the dice game craps to try to win money

noun
/ˈkræpˌʃutər/

: jugador de craps

And, like you, I still believe that www still has more than its fair share of "cardsharps and crapshooters."

Examples

He is a crapshooter covering a lifetime of losses with one throw of the dice.

Fiction book (1991)
She had joined the men in Julian Binford's The Crapshooter, watching the dice describe their crazy jigging across the blue plane that was supposed to be the solid surface she tossed the dice on, but appeared a receptive opacity, a pool of aquamarine opalescence, a sky.

Fiction book (1994)
He is a crapshooter hoping to win big at the casino tonight.
The noisy crowd of crapshooters filled the casino as the dice were rolled on the tables.
As a seasoned crapshooter, she knew all the strategies to increase her chances of winning.

Synonyms

gambler

vscrapshooter

115 3.4

A person who risks money on games or races hoping to win more

is restricted to someone who does this in a single dice game

bettor

vscrapshooter

7 5.9

A person who puts money on the result of a game or race

focuses on bets placed in one dice game rather than general wagering

shooter

vscrapshooter

6 6.7

A person who throws the dice in the game of craps

is specifically a gambler in that dice game not only the thrower

gamester

vscrapshooter

Archaic

1 7.3

A person who plays games for fun, sport, or money

is used only for someone gambling in that specific dice game

better

vscrapshooter

Archaic

1 6.8

A person who places a bet on a game or race

is the same action but limited to a single dice game

crap-shooter

vscrapshooter

Jargon

9.8

A person who throws dice to gamble in the game of craps

is the same meaning but written without a hyphen

gamesman

vscrapshooter

Archaic

8.1

A person who plays games for money, for example at a casino

is limited to gambling in one specific dice game rather than general play

wagerer

vscrapshooter

6.8

A person who bets money on the result of an event

is the same idea but confined to one dice gambling setting

Surface Forms

crapshooter singular

crapshooters plural

Morphology

crapshooter = craps + shooter (transparent) = craps + shoot + er

The compound directly combines the game name 'craps' with 'shooter' (one who shoots/rolls), so the meaning is compositionally clear.

Etymology

Crapshooter joins the word craps, meaning 'a dice game', and shooter, meaning someone who 'shoots' or throws the dice. A helpful way to remember it is to picture the shooter throwing the dice across the table, so a crapshooter is a gambler who rolls the dice in the game of craps.