Place Bets Explained
What this guide covers
Place bets are craps' most flexible standing wager, letting you bet on a specific number without waiting for a come-out roll. This guide covers exactly how they work, their full payout structure, and how to size them sensibly. For how they compare to their commission-based cousin, see buy bets explained; for the broader betting menu they belong to, see craps betting guide.
How a place bet works
A place bet wagers that a specific number — 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 — repeats before a 7 appears. Unlike pass line, it can be placed at any time (not just before a come-out roll) and can be increased, decreased, or removed entirely at the player's discretion. This makes it fundamentally more flexible than the table's line bets, at the cost of a somewhat higher house edge.
The full place bet payout table
| Number | Payout | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| 6 or 8 | 7:6 | 1.52% |
| 5 or 9 | 7:5 | 4.0% |
| 4 or 10 | 9:5 | 6.67% |
This table reveals a clear pattern: the closer a number sits to 7 in probability (6 and 8 are the most likely non-7 totals), the better its place-bet value, since the payout adjustment needed to build in a house edge is proportionally smaller.
Why 6 and 8 are the standout place bets
Place bets on 6 and 8 carry a 1.52% house edge — close to pass line's 1.41% and considerably better than every other place bet. This is exactly why "place the 6 and 8" is one of the most commonly recommended intermediate moves in craps: it adds meaningful additional coverage to a session at a cost barely above the table's best-value line bets.
Why place bets on 4 and 10 are considerably worse value
At 6.67% house edge, place bets on 4 and 10 cost more than four times what a place bet on 6 or 8 costs, purely because 4 and 10 are individually less probable to roll (each has only three ways to be made from two dice, versus five ways for 6 or 8). If you specifically want exposure to 4 or 10, a buy bet — covered in buy bets explained — is typically better value despite its commission.
The rounding issue on 6 and 8
Because place bets on 6 and 8 pay 7:6, bet sizes that don't divide evenly by 6 produce a payout that must be rounded, and casinos round down by standard convention. A $10 place bet on 6, for example, would mathematically pay $11.67 at true 7:6 odds, but rounds down to $11. Sizing these specific bets in multiples of $6 ($6, $12, $18, $30, and so on) avoids this rounding loss entirely, which is why experienced players consistently use $6 increments for place bets on 6 and 8 specifically.
Placing and removing a place bet
Place bets can be added at any point during a round — you don't need to wait for a come-out roll or any specific table state. They can also be removed ("taken down") at any time before they resolve, giving you genuine flexibility to enter or exit specific number coverage as a session unfolds, unlike the firmly locked-in pass line bet.
"Working" versus "not working" during come-out rolls
By default, place bets are considered "not working" (inactive) during a come-out roll unless you specifically request otherwise — this protects you from losing a place bet on, say, 6 simply because a come-out roll happened to total 6, an outcome that has no bearing on pass line results but would otherwise resolve your standing place bet. You can ask the dealer (or toggle the setting online) to make a bet "working" through come-out rolls if you specifically want that exposure.
Combining place bets with pass line
A common approach layers place bets on top of a pass line-plus-odds foundation — for example, running pass line with odds on whatever the current point is, while also placing 6 and 8 for additional coverage. This spreads your action across more numbers without requiring you to wait for come bets to individually establish their own points. See craps strategy guide for how this combination fits into broader strategic approaches.
Place betting without pass line at all
Some players build their entire approach around place bets exclusively, skipping pass line altogether — this offers maximum flexibility (enter and exit any number at will) at a slightly higher baseline house edge than pass line plus odds, since place bets can't be backed with the zero-edge odds bet the way pass line and come bets can.
Multiple place bets simultaneously
There's no rule limiting how many numbers you can place at once — some players place all six numbers (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) simultaneously for maximum coverage, though this means a 7 resolves all of them as losses at once, and the blended house edge reflects the mix of good-value (6, 8) and poor-value (4, 10) numbers included. A more selective approach, placing only 6 and 8, captures most of the value without the drag of the weaker-edge numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I place a bet on the number that's already the point? Generally no — since your pass line bet already covers that exact outcome, tables typically don't allow a redundant place bet on the current point number.
Why should I size place bets on 6 and 8 in multiples of $6? Because their 7:6 payout doesn't divide evenly for every bet size, and casinos round down — multiples of $6 avoid this rounding loss entirely.
Are place bets better value than pass line? No — even the best place bets (6 and 8, at 1.52%) carry a slightly higher house edge than pass line (1.41%), though they offer flexibility pass line doesn't.
Can I remove a place bet whenever I want? Yes — unlike pass line, place bets can be added, adjusted, or removed at the player's discretion at essentially any time.
Should I avoid place bets on 4 and 10? They're considerably worse value (6.67% house edge) than 5, 6, 8, or 9 — a buy bet is typically better value if you specifically want exposure to 4 or 10.
Are place bets active during a come-out roll? Not by default — they're typically considered "not working" during come-out rolls unless you specifically request otherwise.
