Place Bet in Craps - Is It Really the Best Bet?

Bill Collins
Written by Bill Collins
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Bill Collins

Professional Craps Player
  • Author of the craps novel, "Vegas Fever";
  • 20+ years of successful craps experience, consistently winning since 2003;
  • Professional writer of Craps guides, with numerous articles published;
  • Admin of Facebook group "Craps Crusher" with 4.2k+ members, offering daily insights into effective craps strategies.
Vlad Mihalache
Editorial review by Vlad Mihalache
body

Vlad Mihalache

Online Gambling and Slots Specialist
  • Accomplished content strategist and editor with over 6 years of experience in the iGaming industry;
  • Specializes in blackjack strategies, slots, and gambling addiction;
  • Online gambling expert with 2500+ articles written and reviewed;
  • Strong advocate for responsible gambling with comprehensive knowledge of gambling trends and addiction.
Intermediate
icon-thumb-up 100% icon-clock-grey 9 min
icon-calendar Updated on Jul 26, 2023

The Place bet is one of the best bets in craps. It does not have to remain in play until it is either won or lost. You have complete control of the bet at all times.

You can even take it out of play for a few rolls by saying to the dealer, “Turn off my Place bet(s)”

Those bet(s) you turned off will not be in play again, until you tell the dealer to turn them back on again. 

If a losing 7 rolls while your bets are turned off, you get these Place bets back, without losing them. You can raise or lower the bet amounts on each/all Place bet in craps at will, too. 

With a Place bet, you are totally in charge of how it gets played, and that is a really powerful weapon for you to use.

In this guide, professional dice influencer Bill Collins will walk you through all the ins and outs of this bet:

Let's dive right in!

What Is the Place Bet in Craps?

place bets in craps

A Place bet is a non-contract, player-controlled right-side bet that can be made at any time during play on any or all of the box numbers in regular craps:

  • Four 
  • Five
  • Six 
  • Eight
  • Nine
  • Ten

In crapless craps, you can bet on any or all of the numbers (two, three, four, five, six, eight, nine, ten, eleven or twelve)

By default, Place bets are off on come out rolls, unless you call them working. After the come-out rolls, you win each time a number you have a Place bet on rolls before the turn-ending 7 rolls. 

Remember

Your single bet can win multiple times. You lose all your Place bets in play when that turn-ending 7 rolls.

Place To Lose Bet

place to lose

In Europe, Australia and on some new Shoot to Win tables, you might even find a “Place to Lose bet”.  

Each Place to Lose bet wins when the 7 rolls before the number that was bet. 

All your Place to Lose Bets win when the 7 end the shooting turn; but each is lost as they get picked off, one by one. 

Here are the payouts for the Place to Lose bet:

  • 4 and 10 pay 5 to 11
  • 5 and 9 pay 5 to 8 
  • 6 and 8 pay 4 to 5 

You have as much control over bet size increases, reductions, bet being called off or removed as you do with regular Place bets.

How Do You Make a Place Bet?

You give your chips to the dealer and tell him which numbers you want to bet and how much to bet on each number. 

The dealer will locate your chips in the correct Place in the numbered squares at the top of the craps table, so that he knows who made each bet. 

It's not just a matter of putting your chips in the right number square, but also putting them in the right part of that square. 

Remember

If 6 people are all betting on 8, all their chips will be in the same square, marked with an “8”, but their chips will be stacked in different positions within that square.

If you want to bet on all six Place numbers in regular craps, you'd tell the dealer to Place your bets “across”. If you want to bet all the numbers except the center numbers , 6 and 8, you'd tell the dealer to Place your bets “outside”

If you want to bet all the numbers except the 4 and 10, you'd tell the dealer to Place your bets “inside”. A lot of players like to Place the “even numbers, 4, 6, 8 and 10, because of the lower payback on 5 and 9. 

The “6 and 8” and the “4 and 10” are also popular Place bets in Craps. That’s because 6 and 8 are the most frequently tossed numbers after 7. Also, the 4 and 10 pay the best because they are harder to hit.

Example bet

Say you want to bet $15 units on each of the inside numbers. You would give the dealer $66 in chips and say, “Inside”. 

That's all there is to it. Telling them “$66 inside” is much preferred to what is called “string betting”, where you would string out your bet description, like: “Give me $15 on the 5, $18 on the 6, $18 on the 8 and $15 on the 9.” (That will paint “rank amateur” across your forehead for everyone to see.)

And another example bet: You want to bet $36 on both 6 and 8. Just hand the dealer $72 in chips and say, “6 and 8, please”.

How Do I Win My Place Bets in Craps?

place to win bet

You win your Place bet on a number when that number rolls with your Place bet is in play on it.

A Place bet can be won numerous times using just a single starting Place bet. 

That’s because when you win, they pay you your winning and the bet stays in play until you either take it down, turn it off, or it loses when a turn-ending 7 rolls.

However, Place bets won't win or lose while the shooter is trying to establish an opening pass line point, unless you tell the dealer, “work my Place bets” before a come-out roll is tossed. 

Pro tip

By default, Place bets are “off” on come-out rolls, unless the player turns those bets on. (You can even turn on a certain amount or numbers, while leaving other bet numbers “off” on come-out rolls.

The Place Bets in Craps - Payouts and Odds

Here are the key Place bet payouts and odds:

  • 6 and 8 pay $7 for every $6 you bet, so keep your bets in multiples of $6 to get the right payouts.
  • The odds of rolling a winning 6 or 8 before a losing 7 rolls is 6-to-5 against doing it.
  • 5 and 9 pay $7 for every $5 you bet, so keep your bets on 5 and 9 in multiples of $5.
  • The odds of rolling a winning 5 or 9 before a losing 7 rolls is 6-to-4 against doing it.
  • 4 and 10 wins pay $9 for every $5 you Place bet.
  • The odds of rolling a winning 4 or 10 before a losing 7 rolls is 2-to-1 against doing it.

The Craps Place Bet Payout Chart

In the table below, you can check the payouts and house edge for each place bet in both land-based and online craps:

Bet Payout Odds House Edge Profit for $10 Bet
4 or 10 9:5 6.70% $18
5 or 9 7:5 4% $14
6 or 8 7:6 1.52% $11.66

The casino gains a lot of advantage over players because, on Place bets, only one bet can win on any one roll. However, all Place bets are lost when 7 rolls during the shooter's turn. 

If you are Place betting “across” you have 6 bets at risk of losing, on every roll, in your effort to have more of a chance of winning one of them on each roll. 

  • Betting “across” makes it to where you have to win about five times on those bets before the losing 7 rolls, just to get your bets paid for. 
  • Betting “inside”, on the four inside numbers, you'll have to win four times before you see any profit after the losing 7 has rolled. 
  • Betting just “6 and 8” requires at least two wins to end up ahead after the final 7 has rolled.

When deciding how to bet, it is always wise to know how many bets you need to win to reach your break-even point for how many Place bets you are making. 

Come up short of that number and you just had a losing turn, hopefully only a small one.

Big 6 and 8 Bets - Are They Better Than the Place Bets?

In addition to Place betting the 6 and 8, a lot of casino craps tables (both online and land-based) have a betting area in the corners of the table with a big 6/8 in a couple of boxes. 

It is closer to you and you can self-service making those bets yourself, but should you; and if not, why?

The Big 6 and Big 8 bets are pure sucker bets that are there to take advantage of uneducated players. 

You get paid even number anytime you bet either and win. If you give your bet to the dealer and tell him to Place bet the 6 and/or 8, instead, you get paid $7 for every $6 bet, instead of just getting even money.

Here's a little secret for you

The more table space the casino devotes to a bet on the layout, the more you should avoid it.

The best bets for the player in craps aren't even offered on the table layout (Like the “Buy Bet” or “Lay bet”).

Also, the “Don't Come” is given very little space, because the casino would prefer if you didn't make that bet.

Expert’s Advice - Use Strategies to Maximize Your Place Bet Odds

Betting strategies can greatly increase your likelihood of winning when it comes to Place betting.
Let me give you my favorite strategy for Place betting the 6 and 8:

  • Step 1: I start off with making an over-hedged $90 don't pass bet, along with $30 bets on each the 6 and 8, working on come-out rolls. 
  • Step 2: On come-out rolls, I add a $6 yo-11 bet that keeps me from losing my $90 don't pass bet to a come-out 11.

What betting this way does for me is that it makes the three most frequently rolled numbers, 6, 7 and 8, all winners for me when they roll after the pass line point has been established.

The Outcome of My Strategy

I win $35 on each and every hit on 6 or 8 and I win $30 when the 7 ends the turn shooting.

I only lose on come-out 7's and when I pick off my don't pass point number, which costs me my $90 don't pass bet

However, if the point was either 6 or 8, that Place bet wins $35. That makes my loss only $55 on those 6 or 8 point pick-offs. 
A come-out 7 costs me my $90 don't pass bet, my $60 in Place bets on 6 and 8 and my $6 yo-11 bet, for a loss of $156; but, my dice influencing abilities make that a rare occasion.

Final Thoughts

Since the Place bet in Craps gives me maximum control over my bets at all times, I prefer it over any other way to bet.

You should definitely give it a try.

I hope this guide will help you make more successful place bets at the craps table. Remember to gamble responsibly and check out the Chipy Craps Academy for more actionable guides!
 

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Bill Collins

Bill Collins

Professional Craps Player

About Bill Collins

  • Author of the craps novel, "Vegas Fever";
  • 20+ years of successful craps experience, consistently winning since 2003;
  • Professional writer of Craps guides, with numerous articles published;
  • Admin of Facebook group "Craps Crusher" with 4.2k+ members, offering daily insights into effective craps strategies.
Read Full Bio
Vlad Mihalache

Vlad Mihalache

Online Gambling and Slots Specialist

About Vlad Mihalache

  • Accomplished content strategist and editor with over 6 years of experience in the iGaming industry;
  • Specializes in blackjack strategies, slots, and gambling addiction;
  • Online gambling expert with 2500+ articles written and reviewed;
  • Strong advocate for responsible gambling with comprehensive knowledge of gambling trends and addiction.
Read Full Bio
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