There is a high price for impatience in craps in the form of a higher house edge. To further exploit the impatient or ignorant player, there can be two or three different bets on the exact same thing, and they will all pay different odds. You might think players would only bet on the option with the best odds but you would be quite surprised, as it is common to see players throwing their money away on the higher house edge versions of the same bet. For example, the place bet on 6, the buy bet on 6, and the big 6 all are betting that a 6 will be rolled before a 7 but pay 7:6, 24:21, and 1:1 respectively, for house edges of 1.52%, 4.76%, and 9.09%. Specific descriptions of the various bets are below.

Big 6: A bet that a 6 will be rolled before a 7. Pays even money. house edge of 9.09%. Note that this is exactly the same as a place bet on 6, only the place bet pays 7:6 and has a house edge of only 1.52%. Only a fool or someone ignorant of the game would bet on the Big 6.

Big 8: The same as the Big 6 only that an 8 will be rolled before a 7.

Buy bets: This is essentially the same as the place bet, only with a different payoff. The player may "buy" any of the points (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10), which means to bet that the number will be rolled before a 7. When making a buy bet you must pay a 5% commission and your bet will pay fair odds if it wins. Fair odds are 2:1 on the 4 and 10, 3:2 on the 5 and 9, and 6:5 on the 6 and 8. A buy bet should be an increment of $20 so that the 5% commission can be an even dollar amount. Another way to look at it is that the buy bet pays 39:21 on the 4 and 10, 29:21 on the 5 and 9, and 23:21 on the 6 and 8. If the bet is not divisible by $20 the commission will be rounded up or down to the nearest dollar. The house edge on all buy bets is 4.76%. The house edge on the 5, 6, 8, and 9 place bets are all lower than the buy bet, thus the buy bet on these numbers should be avoided.

Note: If the commission is rounded down the player can cut down the house edge by betting just under $40 for a commission of $1. A buy bet of $39 on the 4 or 10 has a house edge of 2.5%. A buy bet of $38 on the 5 or 9 has a house edge of 2.56%. A buy bet of $35 on the 6 or 8 has a house edge of 2.78% which is still not as good as the place bet.

Hard ways: There are four different hard way bets. For example a hard 4 bet is betting that a pair of twos will be rolled before a 7 or any other way to roll a total of 4. This is called "the hard way" because it is harder to roll two twos than a one and a three. Likewise you can bet on a hard 6,8, or 10, each of which is a bet that the hard way of rolling the given number will occur before a 7 or any "easy" way.

The casino pays 7:1 on a hard 4 or 10 with a house edge of 11.11%.
The casino pays 9:1 on a hard 6 or 8 with a house edge of 9.09%.

Lay bets: The lay bet is the opposite of the buy bet and the same as the place bet to lose but with different paybacks. The lay bets may be placed on the 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. The bet itself is that a 7 will be rolled before the number you choose. Because the 7 is the most likely number to be rolled you will wager more than you can win. The player must pay a 5% commission on the possible winnings and the fair odds are paid on the bet itself. Fair odds are 1:2 on the 4 and 10, 2:3 on the 5 and 9, and 5:6 on the 4 and 8. Another way to look at it is that lay bet pays 19:41 on the 4 and 10, 19:31 on the 5 and 9, and 19:25 on the 6 and 8. Bets on the 4 and 10 should be in increments of $40, bets on the 5 and 9 should be in crements of $30, and bets on the 6 and 8 in crements of $24, so that the 5% commission will be divisible by $1. If the commission is not divisible by $1 it will be rounded up, thus increasing the dealer's edge. For example if you want to bet on the 10 the least bet should be $40 (not including the $1 commission) and if a 7 is rolled before a 10 you will win $20. The house edge on the 4 and 10 is 2.44%, on the 5 and 9 it is 3.23%, and on the 6 and 8 it is 4.00%. Note that the house edge on the lay bet is lower than the place bet to lose on the 4 and 10 only, if you want to make a lay bet on the 5, 6, 8, or 9 you would be advised to make a place to lose instead.

Note: If the commission is rounded down the player can cut down the house edge by betting so that the winnings will be just under $40. A lay bet of $78 on the 4 or 10 has a house edge of 1.27%. A lay bet of $57 on the 5 or 9 has a house edge of 1.72%. A lay bet of $42 on the 6 or 8 has a house edge of 2.33%. All of these are better than the place bets to lose.

Place bet (to win): This is very similar to laying odds. You may bet on a 4,5,6,8,9, or 10. If the number you bet on is rolled before a 7 then you win according to payoff schedule below. Unlike laying odds you don't need to have a pass line bet, you don't have to bet on the point, but there is a house edge. A place bet on the 6 and 8, has the lowest house edge.

A place bet on 4 or 10 pays 9:5 with a house edge of 6.67%.
A place bet on 5 or 9 pays 7:5 with a house edge of 4.00%.
A place bet on 6 or 8 pays 7:6 with a house edge of only 1.52%.

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