A place bet backs one of the six box numbers—4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10—to appear before 7. It does not require that number to be the table’s point, and it can usually be made, changed, pressed, or removed between rolls while betting is open.
The wager is easy to describe, but not every place number is priced equally. Place 6 and 8 have the lowest standard house edge in the group. Place 4 and 10 have the highest, and a properly priced buy bet can sometimes be the cheaper way to back those numbers.
One number against seven
Suppose $12 is placed on 6. Three things can happen on a roll:
- 6 appears: the bet wins and normally remains up unless the player asks to take it down.
- 7 appears while the bet is working: the bet loses.
- Any other total appears: nothing happens to the place 6.
The third category is why a place bet can survive several rolls. A sequence of 4, 9, 3, 11, and 8 does not move a place 6 closer to winning or losing. Each new roll is still governed by the same dice probabilities.
Payout units are not cosmetic
Standard payouts create preferred betting multiples. Using those multiples lets the dealer pay exactly without rounding or awkward fractional chips.
| Place number | Standard payout | Natural betting unit | Example win |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 9 to 5 | Multiples of $5 | $10 wins $18 |
| 5 or 9 | 7 to 5 | Multiples of $5 | $10 wins $14 |
| 6 or 8 | 7 to 6 | Multiples of $6 | $12 wins $14 |
A $10 place 6 does not divide cleanly at 7 to 6. Depending on denomination and house procedure, the dealer may require correction, pay according to a rounding rule, or ask for an additional $2. Saying “$12 place 6” before the dice move avoids that issue.
The table is based on standard casino craps payouts. A variant, electronic game, promotional rule, or jurisdiction can differ, so the displayed rules remain controlling.
Exact cost of the standard place numbers
House edge can be calculated from the combinations that resolve the wager. Rolls that are neither the selected number nor 7 do not change the expected value; they simply delay resolution.
For a wager amount B, net win W, win combinations n, and six combinations for 7, expected value per resolved bet is:
EV = [n / (n + 6) × W] − [6 / (n + 6) × B]
where EV is the long-run average result for one resolved wager. A negative EV is an expected player loss.
Place 4 or 10
A $5 bet wins $9. The selected number has three combinations.
EV = (3/9 × $9) − (6/9 × $5) = $3.00 − $3.33 = −$0.33
Expected loss divided by the $5 stake is about 6.67%.
Place 5 or 9
A $5 bet wins $7. The number has four combinations.
EV = (4/10 × $7) − (6/10 × $5) = $2.80 − $3.00 = −$0.20
The house edge is 4.00%.
Place 6 or 8
A $6 bet wins $7. The number has five combinations.
EV = (5/11 × $7) − (6/11 × $6) = $35/11 − $36/11 = −$1/11
The expected loss is about $0.0909 on $6, producing a house edge of about 1.52%.
These percentages describe the average loss per amount initially wagered when the bet resolves. They do not predict the result of a short session. A place 4 can win immediately; a place 6 can lose immediately. The percentages emerge only over repeated decisions.
Per decision and per roll are different measurements
The house-edge figures above use the amount wagered and stop the clock when either the selected number or 7 resolves the bet. A per-roll expected loss is smaller because many rolls do nothing.
For a $12 place 6, one roll has five winning combinations, six losing combinations, and 25 non-deciding combinations. The one-roll expected value is:
EV per roll = (5/36 × $14) − (6/36 × $12) + (25/36 × $0)
EV per roll = $70/36 − $72/36 = −$2/36, or about −$0.0556
That is about 0.46% of the $12 at risk per roll. It does not replace the 1.52% house edge per resolved place-6 decision. The two rates use different denominators and time frames. This distinction matters when comparing a bet that resolves in one roll with a bet that may stay active across several rolls.
What happens on a come-out roll?
Place bets are commonly treated as not working on the come-out roll unless the player asks to have them working. That protects the wager from a come-out 7, but it also means the wager does not win if its number rolls while it is off.
Massachusetts’ official rules, for example, state that place bets to win are inactive on come-out rolls unless the player calls them “on” and the dealer indicates that status. See the Massachusetts Craps and Mini-Craps rules. House procedures elsewhere may differ, and automated versions should display whether each bet is on or off.
A clear instruction is better than an assumption: “My place 6 and 8 are working on the come-out.” Wait for the dealer to acknowledge it before the dice are released.
Place, buy, and Come odds solve different problems
A place bet is convenient because it can be made directly on a number without first establishing a Come point. Convenience is not the same as best price.
- Place bet: direct number-before-7 wager using the place payout schedule.
- Buy bet: direct number-before-7 wager paid at true odds, with a commission under the house rule.
- Come bet with odds: begins as a Come wager; after it travels to a number, the supplemental odds bet is paid at true odds but depends on the line-bet sequence.
For 6 and 8, standard place payouts are relatively efficient. For 4 and 10, a buy bet can become preferable when the stake and commission convention make the effective cost lower. The crossover depends on whether commission is charged upfront or only on wins and how the casino rounds it.
“Place across” is six separate prices
A player who places across covers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. The instruction sounds like one bet, but it creates six separately owned wagers with three payout schedules and six chances to lose when 7 appears.
At a common $64-across amount, the layout can hold $10 each on 4, 5, 9, and 10 and $12 each on 6 and 8. If 7 rolls while all are working, the full $64 is lost. If 6 rolls, only the $12 place 6 wins $14; the other five positions remain unchanged.
This is useful for bankroll tracking. A player who says “I am betting $12 numbers” may actually have $64 exposed on every working roll. Count the total chips that can lose to 7, not only the amount on the number that most recently paid.
Pressing without losing track
A winning place bet usually remains on the layout. The player may:
- take the win and leave the original bet unchanged;
- press by a stated amount;
- press to a stated total;
- take the wager down;
- move it to another number.
“Press it” can be ambiguous because houses and dealers may interpret a standard press differently. “Press my 6 from $12 to $18” is precise. The dealer can use $6 of the $14 win for the press and return $8.
Tracking the new total matters because future payouts depend on the amount actually booked, not on what the player intended. Look at the chips and listen to the dealer’s repeat before the next roll.
The most useful place-bet rule is therefore not a betting system. It is a procedure: choose the number, use a proper unit, confirm whether it is working, and state every press or reduction as a final total.