The game of craps is one of the most diverse and versatile that you will find on the casino floor. You can often guess the craps table simply by the sheer number of spectators, which often outnumber the players themselves. Indeed, craps is one of the most popular casino games out there and one of its advantages are the multiple betting options at your disposal. This allows you to experience craps in several different ways since each bet type offers its own unique payout ratios and odds.

Buy bets can also be better or worse than Place bets depending on the number you bet and the bet amount. Let’s look at the 4 and 10 first. Buy bets on the 4 and 10 are better than Place bets on those numbers. Let’s look at the math. Suppose you make a $10 Place bet on the 10. Solid citizens betting $20 or more on fours or 10s at craps 'Buy' rather than 'Place' the numbers. The benefit is that edge is less Buying than Placing, so earnings per dollar up for grabs are more. The reason is not that odds against winning change. They're 2-to-1 either way.

Craps Number Payouts

In this guide, we would like to bring to your attention the so-called Buy bets that you can place. Below, you will find detailed explanations about the bets themselves, the house edge and odds, as well as, our recommendation regarding this bet type.

Buy Bets Explained

Last week, you learned that buying a 4 or a 10 at the craps table was a much better bet than placing either of those numbers. If your casino of choice charges the 5 percent commission only on winning bets and will allow you to buy a $35 bet for the same $1 vig as a $20 bet, then you've whittled the house edge down to.95 percent. I ask this because I'm planning to use my own version of the Iron Cross on my next craps foray. The way I play the IC on my computer is to wait until Point established, then Place the 5, 6, & 8 & make the Field bet. In exchange, the casino pays Buy bets at true odds. Since the house edge is less than 5 percent on 5, 6, 8, and 9, it doesn't pay to buy these numbers. However, buying the 4 or 10 can reduce the house edge to 4.76 percent. Unless the player tells the dealer his numbers are 'working,' Place and Buy bets are usually off on a come-out roll.

The term ‘Buy bets’ refers to a number of betting options on the craps table which bear a slight resemblance to the place bets, which we cover in a different article. However, where the two bet types differ makes all the difference. The main difference between place and Buy bets lies in the amount of money that you receive at the end of the roll. A typical place bet will feature house odds very close to the true odds, with a small difference. On the other hand, Buy bets pay the true casino odds with no house edge. But there is a twist. For every winning Buy bet, you have to pay a commission of 5% on the amount wagered.

This is referred to as ‘vig’ or ‘vigorish’ in the world of casino gambling. Essentially, but bets are called such since you are paying for the privilege of receiving a true odds payout. While that might sound somewhat contradictory it is the way of things and Buy bets are by far the best wagers featured at the craps table, where odds are concerned.

At land-based casinos, you announce that you wish to place a Buy bet. You place your chips where the stickman tells you to, after which they will pull them closer and place a ‘Buy’ marker on them. Once the bet is concluded and you have won it, the stickman will give you your winnings and ask for the house commission. Typically, most casinos do not have chip denominations worth less than a dollar, so it will be rounded to the nearest whole number. Therefore, you are expecting to pay a minimum of $1 in commission. At online casinos, the process is much more streamlined since the software handles everything for you and all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the game.

As far as what the Buy bets in particular are, you will have multiple numbers to bet on. Specifically, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10, though betting on certain numbers will pay more than on others. Much like place bets, Buy bets are ‘standing bets’ and as such, they are not automatically lost on the first roll of the dice. Buy bets can remain on the table until the bet is won or until a roll has a total of 7. Keep in that Buy bets can have a minimum value, though this is more dependant on the establishment or the software provider – in the case of online casinos – more than anything else.

Buying the 4 and the 10

Buying the 4 and/or the 10 is the most worthwhile Buy bet on the craps table, both in terms of odds and payout. Whenever you make such a wager, you are betting on whether or not the next roll of the dice will result in a 4 or a 10. A winning 10 or 4 Buy bet will pay even money (2:1), whereas a place bet on the same numbers will pay 9:5. As a result, Buy bets are the way to go when wagering on these numbers.

Buying the 5 and the 9

What Numbers Crap Out

Buy bets on 5 and 9 come with the same odds of winning of 3:2 and the payout odds are the same. Generally speaking, this is the middle of the road wager where Buy bets are concerned, worse than 4 and 10, but better than 6 and 8. As far as how worthwhile this bet is, one has to look at how the casino applies the commission. If it is charged only on winning bets, then this bet is worth it. We will go more into that later.

Buying the 6 and the 8

The 6 and 8 Buy bets are the third and final Buy bet type that you will find on the craps table. As it happens, this bet is the one that gets the short end of the stick in terms of odds and payouts. Unlike the previous two, the 6/8 Buy pays only 6:5, meaning that for every $10 that you wager, you stand to win $12 before the commission is charged. As far as its Place equivalent is concerned, the 6/8 Buy features worse odds and a lower payout ratio in all circumstances.

Buy Bets Odds and House Edge

As mentioned previously, Buy bets are some of the most favorable in craps where odds are concerned. Unlike many of the other betting options, Buy wagers pay true odds, meaning that you receive a payment equal to the probability of winning the bet. This is the best possible ratio that you can get at any casino game. Though there is also the commission to consider, so in this point, we will discuss everything you need to know about the mathematical aspect of Buy bets.

Above, we stated that the commission is charged on Buy bets but what we did not mention was that land-based casinos choose to implement on their own discretion. Certain establishments charge commission on the bet regardless of the outcome, a few even charge it on the end sum, while there are even some that choose to forgo it on particular bets. However, it is becoming common practice to apply the commission only on the initial bet and only if it wins. We will use the last metric for the purposes of this guide, as it is the common form of commission that you will experience.

Each of three possible Buy bets comes with its own odds and house edge since each offers different payouts. We will take the 4/10 betting option, to begin with. Betting on 4 or 10 will provide you with a 2:1 payout, so if you bet $10 you will win $20. However, we also have to apply the 5% commission on the original bet sum, in this case, it is worth $0.50. Since it is rounded up to the nearest dollar, we shall consider it $1. This leaves us with a net balance of $19 and a house edge of 1.67%.

For comparison, the Place bet equivalent would feature a payout of 9/5 and on a $10 bet, our net balance would be $18. While a $1 difference may not seem to much too you, this is because we are dealing with smaller numbers. As soon as you start placing higher bets, the difference will be much more pronounced. In terms of casino advantage, the Place 4/10 bet has a 6.67% house edge, much higher than the Buy bet with its mere 1.67%.

The 5/9 Buy bet is where things start to become interesting. This bet has a payout ratio of 3:2 and still comes with a 5% on winning bets. So for a $100 bet, we stand to win $150 without the commission. When it is applied, we pay $5 to the casino and come out with a net balance of $145. This translates into 1.96% casino advantage as long as the commission is charged only on wins. The 5/9 Place bet, on the other hand, offers a payout of 7:5, which is somewhat lower than its Buy counterpart. For a winning $100 Place bet o

Craps Buying Numbers