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. Players need to wager the bonus amount and Craps Rules Buy Bet the winnings from the bonus spins 35 times. The Bonus Craps Rules Buy Bet Spins are credited after the 1st deposit and once the player wagers €20 on slots. 18+, New Customers Only.

Progress Publishing Co.

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From Chapter 2

There is a 5% commission on the amount of a Buy bet placed, and a 5% commission on the total amount won on a Buy Lay bet. The Buy bet wins if the number bet is rolled before a 7. The Buy Lay bet wins if a 7 rolls before the number bet on. In either case, the wager is paid according to true odds as listed above in the Odds section. GAME RULES CRAPS. How to Play Craps. Craps is a game where many bettors get to stake their chips on a roll of the dice. The table layout makes the game seem a little confusing at first, but the rules are easy to pick up with experience.

Craps Buy Bet

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    In This Chapter

  • Craps Personnel
  • Flow of the Craps game
  • Dice totals and their frequencies, probabilities and odds
  • Craps Bets

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Buy Bets

The Buy bets are another way for a right bettor to cover the point numbers. These Craps bets can be made at any time. Buy bets can be pressed (increased), reduced or taken down (removed) at any moment prior to a roll. They work the same way the Place bets do, but the payoffs for the Buy bets are made at the correct odds. For that increase in the payoff ratio a player has to pay the house a 5% commission on the amount of his bet.

Suppose a player wants to make a $20 Buy bet on the number 6. A 5% commission, which is also called the “vig”, the “vigorish” or the “juice”, will be $20 x 5% = $1. A player places $21 on the layout and tells the dealer that he wants to buy a 6. A dealer collects $1 vig and puts $20 in an appropriately numbered box on the layout. He also puts a small “Buy” button atop the chips to distinguish them from the Come bets. If the 6 repeats before a 7 is thrown, a player is paid at correct odds of 6 to 5 – $24.

How big is the house advantage when a player makes the Buy bets? If the house did not charge a 5% commission, the Buy bets would be the even proposition bets without any advantage for the house or the player. Thus, if we’ll use our example above, all we’ll have to do to calculate the house advantage is to divide that $1 commission charge by the amount wagered, which is $21. The result is 4.76%. We can see now, that it is cheaper to buy a 4 or 10 than to place them, because the Place bets on a 4 or 10 carry a 6.67% advantage for the house. On the other hand, it is better to place a 5,6,8 or 9 than to buy them due to a smaller house edge on the Place bets for these numbers.

If you want to buy bets you have to make at least $20 bets. If your bet is only $10, than the 5% commission on that bet is equal 50 cents, but the house will charge you $1 anyway, because $1 chips are the smallest chips on the craps table. In this case, the house advantage against you will sharply increase to 9.09%.

The Buy bets are off on a come out roll, unless you instruct the dealer to make them work.

Copyright Progress Publishing 1998

Introduction


One argument that comes up a lot is how to quantify the house edge in craps. Normally the house edge is defined as the ratio of expected loss to the initial bet. However, how do you treat bets, like the place bet for example, when many rolls may be required to resolve the bet and the player can take it down anytime? Is it a push or should we assume the bet will stay on the table until resolved?

Personally, I prefer to define the house edge in craps on a 'per bet resolved' basis. However, for those who disagree, I present this page, which defines the house edge all three ways.

Multi-Roll Bets


The following table shows the house edge of all the bets in craps which may take multiple rolls to resolve. The house edge is shown three ways: per bet made, per bet resolved, and per roll.

Craps House Edge

Bet Pays Expected RollsHouse Edge
Per Bet Made
House Edge
Per Bet Resolved
House Edge
Per Roll
Pass 1 to 1 3.38 1.41% 1.41% 0.42%
Don't Pass 1 to 1 3.47 1.36% 1.40% 0.40%
Taking Odds 6 and 8 6 to 5 3.27 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Taking Odds 5 and 9 3 to 2 3.60 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Taking Odds 4 and 10 2 to 1 4.00 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Laying Odds 6 and 8 5 to 6 3.27 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Laying Odds 5 and 9 2 to 3 3.60 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Laying Odds 4 and 10 1 to 2 4.00 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Place 6 and 8 7 to 6 3.27 0.46% 1.52% 0.46%
Place 5 and 9 7 to 5 3.60 1.11% 4.00% 1.11%
Place 4 and 10 9 to 5 4.00 1.67% 6.67% 1.67%
Big 6 and 8 1 to 1 3.27 2.78% 9.09% 2.78%
Don't Place 6 and 8 4 to 5 3.27 0.56% 1.82% 0.56%
Don't Place 5 and 9 5 to 8 3.60 0.69% 2.50% 0.69%
Don't Place 4 and 10 5 to 11 4.00 0.76% 3.03% 0.76%
Buy 6 and 8 * 23 to 21 3.27 1.46% 4.76% 1.46%
Buy 5 and 9 * 29 to 21 3.60 1.32% 4.76% 1.32%
Buy 4 and 10 * 39 to 21 4.00 1.19% 4.76% 1.19%
Buy 6 and 8 ** 23 to 20 3.27 0.69% 2.27% 0.69%
Buy 5 and 9 ** 29 to 20 3.60 0.56% 2.00% 0.56%
Buy 4 and 10 ** 39 to 20 4.00 0.42% 1.67% 0.42%
Lay 6 and 8 * 19 to 25 3.27 1.22% 4.00% 1.22%
Lay 5 and 9 * 19 to 31 3.60 0.90% 3.23% 0.90%
Lay 4 and 10 * 19 to 41 4.00 0.61% 2.44% 0.61%
Lay 6 and 8 ** 19 to 24 3.27 0.69% 2.27% 0.69%
Lay 5 and 9 ** 19 to 30 3.60 0.56% 2.00% 0.56%
Lay 4 and 10 ** 19 to 40 4.00 0.42% 1.67% 0.42%
Hard 6 and 8 (US) 9 to 1 3.27 2.78% 9.09% 2.78%
Hard 6 and 8 (AU) 19 to 2 3.60 1.39% 4.55% 1.26%
Hard 4 and 10 (US) 7 to 1 4.00 2.78% 11.11% 2.78%
Hard 4 and 10 (AU) 15 to 2 4.00 1.39% 5.56% 1.39%

Footnotes:
* Commission always paid
** Commission on win only
AU Australia rules
US United States rules

Let me add two more things, based on frequent reader comments:

  1. Some of these bets may not exist anywhere on earth. For example, I've never seen a casino with buy bets on a 5, 6, 8, and 9 where the commission was payable on a win only. Nevertheless, I don't know the rules of every craps table on earth. I also know that if I omit such bets, somebody will write in and take me to task for the omission.
  2. The table above assumes wins are calculated exactly. In other words, no rounding up or down. Let me make it perfectly clear that you can lower the house edge if the dealers will round a win up or a commission down. A common one is a 5% commission on a $25 bet is $1.25. If the casino rounds that down to $1, then that cuts the commission to 4%. Finding other situations is an exercise left up to the reader.

Single-Roll Bets


The following table shows the house edge of all the bets in craps which are always resolved in a single roll, except the field. Thus, there can be only one way to define the house edge.

Craps House Edge

Bet Pays Probability
Win
House Edge
2, 12, and all 'hard' hop bets 33 2.78% 5.56%
2, 12, and all 'hard' hop bets 32 2.78% 8.33%
2, 12, and all 'hard' hop bets 31 2.78% 11.11%
2, 12, and all 'hard' hop bets 30 2.78% 13.89%
2, 12, and all 'hard' hop bets 29 2.78% 16.67%
3, 11, and all 'easy' hop bets 16 5.56% 5.56%
3, 11, and all 'easy' hop bets 15 5.56% 11.11%
3, 11, and all 'easy' hop bets 14 5.56% 16.67%
Any craps (2, 3, or 12) 7 11.11% 11.11%
Any craps (2, 3, or 12) 7.5 11.11% 5.56%
Any seven (US) 4 16.67% 16.67%
Any seven (AU) 4.5 16.67% 8.33%

Field


  • If the field bet pays 2 to 1 on both the 2 and 12, then the house edge is 5.56%.
  • If the field bet pays 2 to 1 on the 2 and 3 to 1 on the 12, then the house edge is 2.78%.
  • If the field bet pays 3 to 1 on the 2 and 2 to 1 on the 12, then the house edge is 2.78%.
  • If the field bet pays 3 to 1 on both the 2 and 12, then the house edge is 0.00%.

Internal Links

  • How the house edge for each bet is derived, in brief.
  • The house edge of all the major bets on both a per-bet made and per-roll basis
  • Dice Control Experiments. The results of two experiments on skillful dice throwing.
  • Dice Control Advantage. The player advantage, assuming he can influence the dice.
  • Craps variants. Alternative rules and bets such as the Fire Bet, Crapless Craps, and Card Craps.
  • California craps. How craps is played in California using playing cards.
  • Play Craps. Craps game using cards at the Viejas casino in San Diego.
  • Number of Rolls Table. Probability of a shooter lasting 1 to 200 rolls before a seven-out.
  • Ask the Wizard. See craps questions I've answered about:
  • Simple Craps game. My simple Java craps game.

Craps Rules Buy Bets


Craps Rules Buy Betting

Craps Rules Buy BetWritten by: Michael Shackleford