A buy bet is a craps wager where you bet that a chosen number will roll before a 7, while paying the casino a commission, usually called the vig. In casino language, a buy bet turns a place-style number bet into a true-odds-priced wager, but the commission keeps the house edge alive.
How craps buy bets trade commission for closer-to-true-odds payouts
A buy bet looks a lot like a place bet because you choose a number such as 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. The difference is the price. A normal place bet pays fixed casino odds. A buy bet pays closer to the true odds of the number, but the casino charges a commission for giving you that better price.
That commission is the important part. A $25 buy bet on the 4 or 10 might pay true odds of 2 to 1, but the casino may charge $1 or $2 depending on house rules and whether vig is collected upfront or only after a win.
This glossary page defines the term. For the full game explanation, read Craps and the Glossary.
Where buy bets appear at a craps table
Buy bets appear on live craps tables, electronic craps layouts, and some online craps games. You may hear the dealer say “buy the 4,” “buy the 10,” or “buy the 5 and 9.” Some casinos require a minimum bet size before buying a number makes sense because the vig has to be rounded.
| Term | Plain-English meaning | Where it appears | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy Bet | A number bet with commission | Craps layout, dealer calls, game rules | Changes the payout and cost |
| Vig | Commission paid to the house | Buy and lay bets | Creates the house edge |
| True Odds | Mathematical odds of the event | Craps math and payout comparison | Explains why the bet pays more than a place bet |
| Place Bet | Similar number bet without commission | Craps layout | Often compared with buy bets |
Why the commission changes the real value
A buy bet is not “free better odds.” It is better pricing with a fee attached. Whether it is smarter than a place bet depends on the number, the bet size, the vig amount, and when the vig is collected.
The classic comparison is the 4 and 10. A place bet on the 4 or 10 pays 9 to 5. A buy bet usually pays 2 to 1, then subtracts commission. That can be better for larger bets, especially when the casino collects vig only on winning bets.
A $25 buy on the 10
You buy the 10 for $25. The true odds against rolling a 10 before a 7 are 2 to 1, so a winning buy bet may pay $50. If the casino charges $1 vig only on a win, your net profit is $49. If it charges the vig upfront, you pay the commission whether the bet wins or loses.
That small procedural detail changes the real value of the bet.
Buy bets demand accurate vig handling and payout control
From the casino side, a buy bet is a rated wager with a different payout treatment than a standard place bet. The dealer must book the bet correctly, collect or mark the vig according to house rules, and pay it at the proper odds.
Supervisors care because buy bets can create payout errors, especially on awkward bet sizes. Surveillance cares because commission handling, cap timing, late bets, and payout accuracy are part of game protection. The bet is not dangerous by itself; sloppy procedure around the bet is the problem.
True odds do not mean zero house edge
Players often hear “true odds” and assume the house has no edge. That is wrong. The commission is the price of the better payout. The bet may be good compared with another craps bet, but it is still a casino wager unless a rare promotion or error changes the math.
How a buy bet trades a better payout for an explicit fee
A buy bet sounds like the player is buying fairness. What the player is really buying is a better payout schedule with a fee attached.
When buying a number is better or worse than placing it
The phrase buy the 4 can sound like a universal instruction, but the comparison only works after the commission rule is known. A place bet and a buy bet are two different price schedules for substantially the same race: the selected number must appear before 7. On 4 or 10, the underlying chance of success is one-third because there are three ways to roll the number and six ways to roll 7. The place bet solves that by paying less than the fair 2-to-1 price. The buy bet moves the payout toward 2 to 1 and then charges a fee.
That fee can be structured several ways. A casino may collect the vig when the wager is booked, collect it only after a win, round it to whole chip units, or impose minimum commission increments. Those details create materially different effective prices, especially at small bet sizes. A posted 5% commission is not automatically 5% of the player’s expected profit, and a $1 rounded vig on a small wager can represent a much larger percentage of the stake than the same $1 on a larger wager.
For a clean comparison, write both wagers as net profit if the number wins and amount lost if 7 arrives first. Then include the commission exactly when the house charges it. This prevents a common mistake: comparing the place-bet payout before fees with a buy-bet payout after fees, or vice versa.
The 5, 6, 8, and 9 require even more care. Some houses permit them to be bought, but the ordinary place-bet pricing on 6 and 8 is already relatively efficient, so buying them under a rounded commission schedule may offer little or no advantage. The word buy is therefore not a strategy verdict. It is a bet type whose value depends on the exact number, wager size, payout, vig rate, rounding method, and collection timing.
Why vig rounding matters on small bets
Suppose a house describes the commission as 5%, but chips or electronic credits force the fee to a fixed increment. On a $20 wager, a $1 fee is exactly 5% of the stake. On a $25 wager, the same $1 is 4%. If the house rounds a calculated $1.25 fee up to $2, the effective commission becomes 8% of a $25 stake. That does not mean the official rule is deceptive; it means denomination and rounding are part of the actual payout schedule.
This is one reason experienced dealers and supervisors learn buy-bet breakpoints rather than relying on a single memorized percentage. The operational question is not only “what is the vig rate?” but “what does this exact wager cost under this table’s chip and collection rules?” A player comparing bets should ask the same question.
Terms that clarify buy-bet pricing
| Term | Difference | Best page to read next |
|---|---|---|
| Lay Bet | Betting against a number instead of for it | Lay Bet |
| Place Bet | Similar number bet without the same commission structure | Place Bet |
| Odds Bet | True odds behind a pass, don’t pass, come, or don’t come bet | Odds Bet |
| Vig | The commission that changes the bet’s cost | Vig |
| The Point | The main number established after a come-out roll | The Point |
Buy-bet questions players should settle first
Is a buy bet the same as a place bet?
No. Both are number bets, but a buy bet pays true-odds-style pricing and includes a commission.
Which numbers are commonly bought?
The 4 and 10 are the most common because the true-odds payout is meaningfully better than the place-bet payout. Some players also buy the 5, 6, 8, or 9 depending on house rules.
What does “vig on win only” mean?
It means the casino charges the commission only if the buy bet wins. This is usually better for the player than paying the commission upfront.
Does a buy bet have zero house edge?
No. The commission creates the house edge.
Should beginners use buy bets?
Beginners should first understand Pass Line, Odds Bet, and Place Bet before adding buy bets.
Buy-bet value depends on vig procedure, rounding, and exact payout rules
A buy bet sits between simple table play and casino math. It teaches one of the most important craps lessons: payout language can sound generous while the actual edge hides in rounding and procedure.
Pricing a buy bet
| Metric | Formula | Plain-English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Win on Buy Bet | Bet Amount × True-Odds Payout | What the bet pays before commission |
| Net Win on Buy Bet | Gross Win - Vig | What the player keeps after commission |
| Expected Loss | Total Amount Wagered × House Edge | Long-run average cost of the wager |
| Effective Commission Rate | Vig / Bet Amount | The fee as a percentage of the bet |
Reading the net payout rather than the headline payout
The payout is only one part of the bet. If you buy the 4 for $25 and win $50 before a $1 vig, you did not really win $50. You won $49 net. In a single roll, that difference feels tiny. Across many decisions, it becomes the house edge.
For a published mathematical comparison, Wizard of Odds craps basics is useful for checking conventional place and buy pricing. For a casino rule example, Venetian craps rules illustrates how local procedures can be stated. The table you are actually playing still controls the accepted vig and rounding procedure.
What to read after buy bets
Start with Craps for the full game picture, then read Pass Line, Odds Bet, Place Bet, and Lay Bet to compare the main number bets. For a casino-side view of table procedure, read Casino Operations and Table Game Protection.