The Buy Bet is a lesser known bet in Craps. It is very similar to the place bet that one can lay. In the buy bet, the player selects one of the “point numbers”. These “point numbers” also known as “box numbers” include 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. Having chosen one of these numbers as his place bet, the player now waits for the dice to roll his number. Since there is no shooter as such in online casinos, the dice is rolled automatically and a number generator displays the result. If the said number is rolled by the dice, the buy bet wins. In the event that the number 7 is rolled before the player’s chosen number rolls, the player loses.

What makes the buy bet different from the place bet? The point of distinction between the place bet and the buy bet is the payout. In the buy bet, the online casino pays the true odds if the player’s bet wins. Thus, the payouts for the numbers 4 and 10 are 2 to 1. The payouts for 5 and 9 are 3 to 2 as per the true odds. The casinos pay 6 to 5 if a bet on either of the numbers 6 or 8 wins. In return of paying the true odds, the casinos charge a commission of 5%. The net House edge on the buy bets is 4.76%. The house edge of place bets on 4 and 10 is 6.67%. Some casinos charge this commission only if the bet wins. This makes the buy bet is a better deal if one wishes to bet on the numbers 4 or 10 as it lowers the House edge to 6.67 – 5 = 1.67%.

However, the buy bet proves to be a bad deal if the player wishes to wager on other numbers like 5, 6, 8 or 9 as it carries a higher edge. Thus, players must bear in mind this calculation before deciding between place bets and buy bets.