Place bet amounts are the easiest to wrap your brain around. Unless you are very new to the game, you know the basics about place betting. There are two keys to Place Bets: Payoff Odds and the dollar increments which you must wager. Below are examples based on a $5 table.
| Point | True Odds | Payoff Odds | Increments Wagers Must Be Made In |
| 6/8 | 6:5 | 7:6 | $6 |
| 5/9 | 3:2 | 7:5 | $5 |
| 4/10 | 2:1 | 9:5 | $5 |
Since place bets can be made and taken down at any time, the casino has seen fit to make you pay for that option by not paying true odds.
Point 6/8 | Point 5/9 | Point 4/10 | |||
| Place Amount | Payoff Amount | Place Amount | Payoff Amount | Place Amount | Payoff Amount |
| $6 | $7 | $5 | $7 | $5 | $9 |
| $12 | $14 | $10 | $14 | $10 | $18 |
| $18 | $21 | $15 | $21 | $15 | $27 |
| $24 | $28 | $20 | $28 | $20 buy | $39 (True odds – vig) |
| $30 | $35 | $25 | $35 | $25 buy | $49 (True odds – vig) |
| $36 | $42 | $30 | $42 | $30 buy | $59 (True odds – vig) |
| $42 | $49 | $35 | $49 | $35 buy* | $68* (True odds – vig) |
| $48 | $56 | $40 | $56 | $40 buy | $78 (True odds – vig) |
| $54 | $63 | $45 | $63 | $45 buy | $88 (True odds – vig) |
So what does the chart show us? Place bets on the 6 or 8 are made in increments of $6 (1 unit) and paid $7 per unit wagered. So an $18 place bet on the 6 or 8 (3 units) is paid $21 ($7 x 3 units). Place bets on the 5 or 9 are made in increments of $5 (1 unit) and also paid $7 per unit wagered. Therefore a $15 place bet on the 5 or 9 (3 units) is also paid $21 ($7 x 3 units).
The 4 and 10 are slightly different. Wagers here are also made in increments of $5 (1 unit). They are paid $9 per unit for the first 3 units. When you get to the 4th unit ($20) on the 4 or 10, instead of a placing it, you will be “buying” it. In doing so, you will get true odds on your wager. In return, you will have to pay a 5% commission known as the vig or vigorish.
If you place a $20 bet a good dealer SHOULD automatically ask you if you’d like to “buy” it. If he/she doesn’t, you are being short-changed. A place bet of $20 on the 4 would pay $36 ($9 x 4 units) whereas a buy bet of $20 pays $39 ( True odds of 2 to 1 – 5% vig or 20 x 2 – $1).
The house advantage on the 4 or 10 is a hefty 6.67%. Buying them instead of placing them, reduces the house advantage significantly. Buying the inside numbers is not as common, although you will sometimes see someone buying the 5 and/or 9. The calculation is the same for all buy bets: True odds – 5% vig.
There are other opportunities regarding buy bets. If you look above in my example. If you buy the 4 for $35*, the vig calculates to be $1.75*. Most casinos would round this to $2. But, frequently in cases such as this, whether you pay $1 or a $2 vig is solely at the discretion of the dealer. So it never hurts to ask the dealer something like, “What’s the most you’ll let me buy the 4 for a $1 vig?”
The other opportunity lies in whether the vig is paid when the wager is made or if it is paid only if the wager wins. In the case of buying the 4. If the vig is only paid if the wager wins, the house advantage for this bet is reduced to 1.64%.
Now that you are done here be sure to check out, Lay Bet Payoffs. See You At The Tables,
Soft Touch
