Smarter Bet Guide to Craps
Even More Craps Bets: Place, Lay, Buy
It’s amazing, but pass, don’t pass, come, don’t come, and odds (sometimes referred to as “free odds”) make up just a fraction of the bets available on a craps table. There
Basil Nestor is the author of the new Playboy Complete Guide to Casino Gambling. This wonderful book teaches players how to avoid sucker bets and win more when playing gambling games. He is also the author of The Smarter Bet Guide series for video poker, slots, craps, and many other books about gambling. Basil's website is www.smarterbet.com are more than two dozen others!
None of them are as good as the wagers we’ve previously covered. You won’t miss any bargains if you skip the next few articles and go our advanced craps strategy, but you will miss learning about some of the sneaky ways that a casino extracts a monster edge. Knowledge will also eliminate temptation, so you should read the next few sections to avoid being lured by whiz-bang payoffs and bets that are oh-so tempting to make.
Place Bets
Let’s say a shooter throws the following sequence: 6,5,8,10,4,7. That’s death to a do bettor; it’s a bunch of points and then seven-out, a real drag. One alternative is to bet the don’t, but there’s no guarantee that the next sequence won’t be 6,5,8,8,6,5. What can be done? Some players prefer to bet numbers directly so they’ll pay off each time the shooter rolls those numbers.
A place bet is simply a wager that a number will appear before 7. The table below shows the various place bets, the odds, and how they pay.
Place Bets
|
Number
|
True Odds
(against)
|
House Odds Pay
|
$60 Bet Pays
|
Place House Edge
|
|
4
|
2:1
|
9:5
|
$108
|
6.7%
|
|
5
|
3:2
|
7:5
|
$84
|
4.0%
|
|
6
|
6:5
|
7:6
|
$70
|
1.5%
|
|
8
|
6:5
|
7:6
|
$70
|
1.5%
|
|
9
|
3:2
|
7:5
|
$84
|
4.0%
|
|
10
|
2:1
|
9:5
|
$108
|
6.7%
|
Notice that the 6 and 8 have an edge that’s just 0.1 percent worse than a bet on the line or come, but the edge nearly triples or quadruples on the rest of the numbers. A $60 bet on 4/10 pays $108, but odds would return $120. A bettor may not notice the $12 difference if the dice produce a lot of points, but in the long run the winning won’t keep pace with the losing. A roll of 7 will appear frequently enough to wipe out the profits. When will that happen? It might take hours, days, years, or it could happen on the next roll. Remember, the house edge works. That’s how casinos pay for the plush carpets and chandeliers.
A place bet is handled in a similar way to odds. Just put money down and say “$60 on the eight” or “place it on the five.” A dealer will move the chips to the appropriate box. Also note that 6 and 8 should be wagered in multiples of six. If you bet $25 you’ll only be paid for a win on $24.
Place bets are automatically off during a come-out. And of course, you can take them down at any time.
Buy Bets
Buy bets are similar to place bets, but they’re paid at true odds. Sounds great! Did I mention the vig? What’s a vig? We covered that in Chapter 2, but here’s a quick refresher: Vig is short for vigorish, and it’s basically a fee for making a bet. Strictly speaking, vigorish is synonymous with any casino house edge, but the word is mostly used in situations that involve a betting fee.
Buy bets are similar to place bets, but they’re paid at true odds. Sounds great! Did I mention the vig? What’s a vig? We covered that in Chapter 2, but here’s a quick refresher: Vig is short for vigorish, and it’s basically a fee for making a bet. Strictly speaking, vigorish is synonymous with any casino house edge, but the word is mostly used in situations that involve a betting fee.Buy bets have a vig of five percent on the wager. Aside from that, they’re handled like place bets. Tell the dealer which number you want to buy, and he’ll take the vig and move the chips to the appropriate box.
|
Number
|
True Odds (against)
|
$60 Bet Pays
|
5% Vig
|
Buy House Edge (standard)
|
Buy House Edge (vig on win only)
|
|
4
|
2:1
|
$120
|
3
|
4.8%
|
1.6%
|
|
5
|
3:2
|
$90
|
3
|
4.8%
|
1.9%
|
|
6
|
6:5
|
$72
|
3
|
4.8%
|
2.2%
|
|
8
|
6:5
|
$72
|
3
|
4.8%
|
2.2%
|
|
9
|
3:2
|
$90
|
3
|
4.8%
|
1.9%
|
|
10
|
2:1
|
$120
|
3
|
4.8%
|
1.6%
|
The vig is returned if the bet is taken down. An additional vig is charged every time the dice deliver a decision. Some casinos only charge a vig on winning wagers and that drops the edge considerably, particularly on the outside numbers (4/10).
As with place bets, buy bets are automatically off during a come-out, and you can take them down at any time.
Lay Bets
Lay bets (sometimes called no bets) are the mirror opposite of buy bets. They pay true odds when the shooter rolls a seven before the number. That makes a lay bet essentially the same as laying odds, except a five-percent vig is charged on the amount to be won.
|
Number
|
True Odds (against)
|
$120 Bet Pays
|
5% Vig
|
Lay House Edge (standard)
|
Lay House Edge (vig on win only)
|
|
4
|
1:2
|
$60
|
3
|
2.4%
|
1.6%
|
|
5
|
2:3
|
$80
|
4
|
3.2%
|
1.9%
|
|
6
|
5:6
|
$100
|
5
|
4.0%
|
2.2%
|
|
8
|
5:6
|
$100
|
5
|
4.0%
|
2.2%
|
|
9
|
2:3
|
$80
|
4
|
3.2%
|
1.9%
|
|
10
|
1:2
|
$60
|
3
|
2.4%
|
1.6%
|
As with buy bets, the vig is returned if the bet is taken down. An additional vig is charged every time the dice produce a decision. Also note that some casinos charge a vig only on winning wagers.
Lay bets are always on unless you request them to be turned off.
As with buy bets, the vig is returned if the bet is taken down. An additional vig is charged every time the dice produce a decision. Also note that some casinos charge a vig only on winning wagers.
Lay bets are always on unless you request them to be turned off.
Squeezing the House
Of course, if a player really wants to squeeze the house, then the best strategy is to avoid place, buy, and lay bets altogether. Some craps enthusiasts would argue that they’re not “bad” bets when compared to slots and roulette. That’s true. The world won’t end if you play them. But your bankroll may die prematurely. If you make these bets, just be aware that you’re paying for the pleasure.