How the game works
Place bets allow you to bet on a specific number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) at any time. Unlike the Pass Line, you don’t need a come-out roll. You are betting that your chosen number will be rolled before the shooter rolls a 7. It is the most popular way for players to “cover the board” and have action on every roll.
The basic rules
- You can make or take down a Place Bet at any time during the game.
- The 6 and 8 should be bet in increments of $6 (to receive the $7 payout).
- The 4, 5, 9, and 10 should be bet in increments of $5.
- Place bets are “Off” on the come-out roll unless you explicitly tell the dealer they are “Working.”
A typical hand/round
After the shooter establishes a point, you toss your chips to the dealer and say, “Place the 6 and 8 for $12 each.” The dealer moves your chips to the thin line at the top of the 6 and 8 boxes. If the shooter rolls a 6, the dealer pays you $14. You can keep the bet up, “press” it (increase the bet), or take it down. If a 7 is rolled, the dealer clears all place bets off the table.
What’s different at different tables
Most tables pay standard rates (7:6 on 6/8, 7:5 on 5/9, 9:5 on 4/10). However, “Crapless Craps” tables allow you to place the 2, 3, 11, and 12. Be careful: the house edge on these extreme outside numbers is significantly higher than the standard 6 or 8.
Where to go next
For related reading, see Craps Payouts, Craps Table Layout, and Craps Variance.
In Detail
Place bets are the easy-button bets of craps. Pick a number, hope it shows before 7, collect if it does. Simple — but not equally priced.
This page is about direct bets on box numbers. On the surface, that may sound like one small corner of craps, but in a real casino it touches the three things that decide whether a player survives the table: the written rule, the payout, and the way the bet feels when chips are already in action. Craps is dangerous for beginners because a bet can feel smart, social, or lucky while still being badly priced.
The math that matters: Two dice create 36 equally likely ordered combinations. The shape of the game comes from that grid: 7 has 6 combinations, 6 and 8 have 5 each, 5 and 9 have 4 each, 4 and 10 have 3 each, 3 and 11 have 2 each, and 2 and 12 have only 1 each. Place 6/8 are about 1.52%, 5/9 about 4.00%, and 4/10 about 6.67%. Expected value is the grown-up way to price a bet: $EV=\sum(P_i\times W_i)-\sum(P_j\times L_j)$. If the payout is smaller than the true probability deserves, the difference is the house edge.
What it means on the felt: Place bets give clean control: turn them on, off, up, or down. That flexibility is useful. A player who understands this subject does not need to act like a robot. You can still enjoy the noise, the shooter, the stick calls, and the little rush when the dice leave the hand. The point is to know when you are paying for entertainment and when you are making a lower-cost decision.
Casino-floor truth: Craps is built to move. The table crew wants clear bets, fast decisions, and clean payouts. The layout also nudges attention toward action. The safest-looking move is not always the cheapest move, and the loudest bet is almost never the best one. Good craps play is not about predicting the next roll. It is about refusing to overpay for it.
The mistake to avoid: Do not spread across every number just to feel covered. Also, never judge this topic by one lucky hit or one ugly loss. Short sessions are noisy. The math only shows its face over repeated decisions, which is exactly why casinos are patient and players are usually not.