Be smart, play smart, learn how to play casino craps the right way!
A Place bet is a “standing” bet, meaning the bet stays working, or standing, until it wins or loses, or until you remove it. A Place bet can be made on any of the point numbers: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. Like the Pass Line bet, a Place bet works against the number 7. After making a Place bet, the only numbers that matter are the Place number and 7; all other numbers are meaningless. After making a Place bet, each subsequent roll can produce one of three outcomes: 1) a 7 shows and your Place bet loses, 2) the Place number shows and your Place bet wins, or 3) any other number shows and nothing happens to your Place bet (i.e., all others number have no affect on your Place bet).
Place bets don’t pay off according to true odds. Instead, the house gets its advantage by paying them off at less than true odds (i.e., they stick it to the player by not paying their fair share when the player wins).
The Place odds aren’t quite as good as true odds. The house sticks it to the player to make money by paying less than true odds. For a winning $5 bet on the 4 or 10, the Place odds pay only $9, but the true odds say we should be paid $10. For a winning $10 bet on the 5 or 9, the Place odds pay only $14, but the true odds say we should be paid $15. And for a winning $30 bet on the 6 or 8, the Place odds pay only $35, but the true odds say we should be paid $36.
You might think, “How much do I put down to make a Place bet?” As always, the bet amount depends on the odds. The Place odds for the 4 and 10 are 9:5, and the Place odds for the 5 and 9 are 7:5. Therefore, Place bets for the 4, 5, 9, and 10 should be in multiples of $5. For example, a winning $10 Place bet on the 4 gets you $18. A winning $15 Place bet on the 9 gets you $21. Don’t let the math scare you! Since these bets are in multiples of $5, simply divide your bet by 5 and then multiply by the winning odds to determine your winning amount. So, for your $10 Place bet on the 4 (which has Place odds of 9:5), $10 divided by 5 = $2, and $2 x 9 = $18. For your $15 Place bet on the 9 (which has Place odds of 7:5), $15 divided by 5 = $3, and $3 x 7 = $21.
The Place odds for the 6 and 8 are 7:6, which means the bet should be in multiples of $6. For example, a winning $12 Place bet on the 6 gets you $14. A winning $30 Place bet on the 8 gets you $35. Do the math. For your $30 Place bet on the 8 (which has Place odds of 7:6), $30 divided by 6 = $5, and $5 x 7 = $35.
Know the difference between Place odds and true odds. Learn the difference so you don’t have to think about it. You don’t want to look like a newbie fumbling around with how much to put down for each Place number. (James Bond never asked the dealer, “Um, excuse me, how much is the six?”) However, if you have trouble remembering the Place odds the first time you play, don’t be afraid to ask the dealer how much to drop. It’ll be as easy as pie after 15 minutes at the table.
If you’re like me, you’ll search out and play a table with a $3 minimum bet instead of the typical $5 or $10 minimum. Suppose you find a $3 table (a few are still left in the middle of the Vegas Strip). Since the minimum bet is only $3, you can make $3 Place bets, but you don’t get the full Place odds. The payoff odds for a $3 Place bet on the 6 or 8 are 1:1, or even money. For the 5 or 9, it’s 4:3 (i.e., your $3 bet wins $4). For the 4 or 10, it’s 5:3 (i.e., your $3 bet wins $5).
For a $3 Place bet, you get a little less than full Place odds because the lowest chip denomination at the craps table that casinos allow is generally $1, so they can’t pay you a fraction of a dollar (i.e., cents). For example, suppose you make a $3 Place bet on the 5. The full Place odds are 7:5, but the reduced payoff odds for a $3 bet are only 4:3. Why? Because it gives the casino another excuse to stick it to the player! The roulette table has chips for 25 cents or 50 cents, so why can’t the craps table have chip denominations less than $1? That’s right. They stick it to you again! The full Place odds are 7:5, which means for a $3 Place bet on the 5, we divide $3 by 5 = 60 cents, and then multiply 60 cents by 7 = $4.20. So, for a $3 Place bet on the 5 or 9 with full Place odds of 7:5, we expect to be paid $4.20 when we win. The craps table doesn’t have 20-cent chips, so the casino rounds down to $4.
Let’s look at a $3 Place bet on the 4 or 10. The full Place odds are 9:5, which means we divide $3 by 5 = 60 cents, and then multiply 60 cents by 9 = $5.40. So, for a $3 Place bet on the 4 or 10 with full Place odds of 9:5, we expect to win $5.40, but the casino rounds down to $5. (Notice how the casino rounds down instead of up.) The player isn’t giving up much by making $3 Place bets, so if you have a limited bankroll, these bets are fun and give you more action than just Pass Line bets. The point is, be aware that you get a little less than full Place odds and increase the house advantage when you make $3 Place bets.
Full Place odds aren’t as good as true odds. That’s how the house maintains its advantage. Remember, the house is in business to make money, not to gamble. Over time, the house wins because when you lose, you pay the true odds; but when you win, the house pays you less than true odds. So, by paying less than their fair share when you win, the house can’t help but come out a winner over the long haul. Let’s look closer at how the house sticks it to the player.
Let’s look at the number 4. The true odds for making a 4 compared to a 7 are 1:2 (i.e., three ways to make a 4 compared to six ways to make a 7, which is 3:6, which reduces down to 1:2). Therefore, since the number 7 is twice as easy to make as a 4, we expect to get paid twice as much as our bet when we win. For example, if we bet $5 on the 4 to hit before the 7, we expect to get $10 when we win (i.e., $5 x 2 = $10). However, for a Place bet on the 4, the payoff odds are only 9:5. This is close to 2:1, but not quite. Therefore, if we make a $5 Place bet on the 4 and win, the house pays us only $9. When the house loses, they don’t pay the true odds; they pay only $9 instead of $10 and keep that extra dollar. You might think, “For my $5 bet, I win $9, so I don’t care if they screw me out of that extra $1. It’s only a buck.” Okay, but think of it this way. That’s only one Place bet made by one player during one game. Imagine keeping that extra dollar when other people at the table make that same bet, multiplied by the number of tables in action, multiplied by the number of hours in a day, multiplied by the number of days in a month, and so on. It’s easy to see how the house rakes in the money over the long haul.
You can make or remove Place bets at any time during a game. You can also make them while the puck is OFF (before a new come-out roll), but typically, dealers prefer that you wait until a point is established and then make your Place bets. Occasionally, you see a player try to make a Place bet while the puck is OFF by asking, “Can you Place the six for me now, please, so I don’t forget after the come-out?” The dealer usually obliges (as he should; after all, you’re the customer), but sometimes a dealer in a bad mood will ask the player to wait until a point is established.
Dealers who ask you to wait to make a Place bet until after a point is established do so because they’re lazy. Suppose you Place the 6 before the come-out and the dealer moves your chip into the 6 point box. The shooter then rolls a 6 for the point. The dealer moves the ON puck into the 6 point box, and then has to ask, “Sir, what do you want to do with your six?” Since your Pass Line bet covers the 6 (because 6 is now the point), you likely don’t want it covered again by your Place bet. The dealer then has to move your Place 6 to whatever other number you want, or return it to you if you decide to take it down. You think, “Gee, wow, that sure is a lot of extra work for the dealer.” You’re right, it’s no effort at all, but it’s amazing how many dealers–even good ones–don’t like moving your Place bets around because you couldn’t wait until after the point was established to make them.
You can make as many Place bets as you want, up to a maximum of six (i.e., the 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10), including the point. Yes, you can Place the point. For example, suppose you walk up to a table and see an ON puck in the 6 point box (i.e., a game is in progress and the shooter’s point is 6). Suppose you love the number 6 and you want immediate action, but you don’t want to make a Put bet so you decide to Place the shooter’s point. To do this, place your chips centered directly on the bottom line of the Pass Line (i.e., the line that separates the Pass Line from the apron). As long as you center your chips on that line, the dealer knows it’s a Place bet on the shooter’s point instead of Put bet in the Pass Line. If you don’t want to make your Place bet this way, simply drop your chips in the Come box and tell the dealer, “Place the point, please.” The dealer then moves your chips to the point box.
The dealer positions all Place bets (except when you Place the shooter’s point yourself), so you have to put your chips on the table and tell the dealer what you want. Then, the dealer puts them in the proper position in the point box for the number you want to Place. To an untrained eye, players’ chips appear to be scattered all over the point boxes. To the contrary, it’s well organized. Each player position has a corresponding chip position for each point box. The same is true for Lay bets, Come bets, and Don’t Come bets. For all bets in and around the point boxes, players’ chip locations correspond to their positions at the table.
Now you know! Remember, learn how to play casino craps the right way.
Related posts:
7 Sep
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Thanks for your comment.
Well you can do anything you want, then its your system. Hit It & Quit It is just an outline for a style. Say a 5 hits on a $25 bet, the house pays you $35. How much did the 6 or 8 pay you? Nuttin!. This system bets the house’s money against itself on the numbers that hit to cascade the payout amount.
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Good system. My question is isn’t it mathematically better to press the 6, then 8 FIRST regardless of which place numbers are before hit, since the 6 and 8 come up more often than the other place numbers
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
too bad you never get to have a chance to roll 4 times. and 7’s never come up that easy on the come.
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
I have practiced alot on Bodog’s crap game… I have made the most money, up to 3k, playing the darkside method. Started with 15 dollar bets on the dont pass line, then when i get a few hundred up and over, I bumped it up to 25 dollar bets. One other question Al, in your opinion, what hotel on the strip offers the best room comps, if I play for several hours with a 1k bankroll? Ive heard the Venitian is good. My buddy says he plays there with about 1-2k and never pays for his rooms… Thanks
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
No they wont kick you out, of course not. A player can take down ANY bet except a Pass Line or Come Bet settled on a point. It always seems like getting out with your money before the cops come. The “cops” being the Seven in this case.
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Ive tried this style as well as the dark side… This one works well. They wont kick me out of the casino will they Al if they see me betting like this?? LOL
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Scam ? how you figure ?
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Since watching Big Al’s Craps, My Craps profits have quadrupeled!
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Thats proof that the Sevens are coming, you might as well get paid. Sometimes no shooter will make a point for 30-40 minutes. Counting only on Pass Line can cost ya.
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
hahaha I also lost a 2000 dollar bank roll sevening out in 2 minutes.
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Great game!
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
I never had problems using the Bodog software. Maybe it's your connection speed?
Try to contact customer service and see what they have to say about it before you start playing for money.
You can read other Bodog user experiences at Hypercasinos.com
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
I personally play craps at Casino Del Rio and Piggs Casino. They have some of the most realistic craps games online, although I think that it is hard to replicate the thrill of playing craps in a real casino. They are still good games, there's just not quite the camraderie.
Here is a link that lists some good craps casinos, including the ones I mentioned above: http://www.ranked-online-casinos.com/craps-online-casinos.html
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Nope.
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Betting the pass line with odds is pretty much the same too.Technically the don't pass line has slightly better odds (1.38% vs 1.41%), but once you add the odds bet, the difference is pretty negligible.
Also, try to play at Casino Royale. They have a 100x table, with $1 minimum bet. Making a $1 pass (or don't pass) bet then adding the $100 odds bet is the best bet in Vegas. But if you don't have the bankroll for that, a $10 odds bet is still darn good odds (the house edge is somewhere in the neighborhood of .001%).
There are a lot of other betting strategies that are fun to play, but have significantly worse odds. For example, if you make a $10 place bet on 5, and $12 place bet on 6 and 8, then a $5 field bet, you win if any number but 7 hits. If a 7 hits, you lose $39, so just leave it up for 2 rolls per shooter. This will lose in the long run, but it's a fun way to play, and if not too many people are sevening out too quickly, you can build up a profit rather quickly.
Good luck and have fun.
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
As already stated, the probability of a seven coming up on any given roll is 1 in 6 (16.67% of the time). Similary, the probability of a seven not coming up on any given roll is 5 in 6 (83.33% of the time). Since each roll of the dice is an independent random event unrelated to any previous roll(s), there is no way to predict how long a shooter will be able to throw the dice before sevening-out, no matter who's rolling. By way of example, if a shooter has rolled the dice 100 times without rolling a seven, what are the chances that the next roll will now be a seven? A: Still 1 in 6.
To try and alter the random nature of the dice toss through "dice control" is a Class B Felony under Nevada statute. Don't waste your time or money. Any "pros" that feign that ability and try to sell it to you are just felons in waiting.
All that having been said, craps is still the best game in the house; the only game with a true 50/50 bet on the table (the Odds bet). Your ability to prevail at the table is largely a function of good betting and money management skills. And a little luck doesn't hurt.
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
AC is the only one I know of for craps, unless you want to troop all the way up to Connecticut.
To my knowledge only dogs and horses are legal gambling in Maryland, although I've heard that Baltimore is considering to allow slot machines in OTB places.
There are no indian casinos in MD unfortunately.
Sorry… I feel ya man, craps is my game too.
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Cherokee is your best bet.
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
You can place bets anytime you want, except when the dice are being thrown. Ask the dealers for help, they will help you, but make sure you tip them for their help and service!!
7:24 am on October 8th, 2009
Craps or cramps?I am going to presume you mean cramps and it is not unusual to get cramps when exercising.There are many things that can cause them,maybe a chat to your family Doctor to be on the safe side,but I doubt there is anything to be concerned about.