Craps Place Bets
If you're a player that wants to get in on the fast paced action offered by online craps games, one of the best ways to do it is by making a Place Bet as this can be done before the shooter establishes a point.
Place Bets allow you to quickly wager on a number or numbers in addition to your pass line bet, giving you more opportunities to win. While the Pass Line bet is still the best bet on the craps table as it offers the most favourable odds, Place Bets can also be successful when you're aware of how the percentages in the game work.
Here we'll take a look at various aspects of the Place Bet so that you know how it works and can determine if it's something that you'd like to play in future.
Making a Place Bet
The Place Bet is a dealer-only made wager. If you're confused as to who makes what bets in a game of craps an easy way to remember it is that any wager from the come bet section and above on the table is always made by the dealer, anything below that section is open to payers to make bets.
The following bets are made by players:
- Come Bet
- Pass Line Bet
- Don't Pass
- Field bet
- Odds on the Pass/Don't Pass
- Big 6 or 8
All other bets located above this section on the table are physically placed by the dealer so in a land based game you must throw you chips in the dealers direction above the come area and ask him or her to "Place X" bet for you, which they will then do. In online craps games you will be able to move the chips yourself or click on the option and the dealer will then do it for you (depending on the software you're playing on).
How to win a Place Bet
In order for a place bet to win, the selected number must be repeated before a seven is rolled. This means that if you place a wager on 6 and the shooter rolls a 2, 3, 9 and 11 then a 6, you will win because a six was rolled before a 7. If however a seven is rolled before the six, you will lose your wager.
Place Bet Payouts
When making a Place Bet you must be mindful of wagering the right values or you will not receive the maximum odds for that bet. Generally Place Bet payouts are paid as follows:
- Placing 6 or 8 - 7:6 payout
- Placing 5 or 9 - 7:5 payout
- Placing 4 or 10 - 9:5 payout
In order to receive the maximum payout for your bet you should wager in units of $5 for all numbers except 6 and 8. On the latter your wager should be $6. Any wagers lower than these amounts will not yield maximum payouts but payout at 1:1, also known as even money which is not a good return.
A great way to remember how much to be in order to receive the largest possible payout is, for example on numbers 4 to 10, to look at the payout ratio numbers. In this instance 9:5 - this means that for every 5 dollars you spend you will receive 9 if you win. So always bet that - or if you want to wager more, then double the amounts to keep the calculations simple.
Getting paid for your Place Bet
At land based casinos when you win a place bet the dealer will give you your winnings and your original wager will be left on the table. If you want it returned ask the dealer to "Take down x number" substituting "x" with whichever number you wagered on.
Place bets can be taken down at any time. If you wish to sit out a round or not have it applied to certain rolls you can instruct the dealer that you'd like to "be off on the X" and the dealer will then cover your chips with a button. When you want it back on tell the dealer you want it back or you want to "work" on the number. Just bear in mind that the Place Bet will automatically be off on the come out roll.
In online craps games, the same applies except that you will not physically tell a dealer but rather click on the buttons to apply or remove your place bet.
Closing Place Bet Tip
If you're going to play the Place Bet in craps, then we suggest that you only wager on Six and Eight as these numbers have greater odds of appearing within the various dice combinations as there are five ways to roll a 6 or 8.
