Gaming Guru

In Craps, Can You Buy the 6 and the 8?

Dear Frank:

I have a question. I know you can buy the 4, 5, 9 and 10. My question is can the 6 or 8 be bought and what would the minimum buy be?

Thank you for any help.

B.W.

Dear B.W.:

Buying the 6 and 8 is the craps equivalent of jumping off the Empire State Building without a parachute. The same holds true for the 5 and 9. All these buys at $20 (the usual minimum) come in with a house edge of 4.76 percent. Just placing the 5 and 9 comes in with a 4 percent edge (still way too high) and the placing of the 6 and 8 comes in with a house edge of 1.52 percent --- a reasonable bet.

Interestingly enough, a $20 buy of the 4 and 10 actually lowers the 6.67 percent house edge down to 4.76 --- okay, not good but at least better than the placement of these two numbers.

Keep in mind that these house edges translate into money as follows: a 6.67 percent house edge means you lose $6.67 for every $100 you wager; 4.76 means you lose $4.76; 4 percent means you lose $4 and 1.52 means you lose $1.52 cents. That is some range of expected losses.

I am giving you a free 30-day subscription to my private members-only website at www.goldentouchcraps.com.

We have over 5,000 members on this private site and the conversations are interesting, enlightening and fun.

Enjoy!

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete