Place Bet
A place bet can be made at any time on any of the point numbers: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 10. The bet wins if the number you bet on is rolled before 7, and loses if 7 is rolled first. When making a place bet, the smartest choices are 6 or 8, because they have the lowest house edge of all the point numbers. Place any other number and you're at a higher risk of losing your money. Mind you, if you do happen to win, your winnings would be a little higher. So, the decision is up to you - placing a number with lower odds but higher payout or the other way around. The most common form of betting place bets at the table is as follows: after a point is made place the six and eight -> if you win take your winnings but leave the bet up -> if you win again ask the dealer to 'press' the bet, meaning the winnings are stacked on top of your bet and you let it ride (since you've already taken the first winnings, you're even and everything else is just gravy) -> if you keep winning you may want to press the bet once more, but after that just start collecting your winnings. You'll find the more you've pressed the more you get paid, and if you get a hot shooter this is a great way to make some real money.
Buy Bet
Same as the place bet (betting that one of the chosen point number will roll before 7) except that you have to pay 5% commission (vig) to receive the true odds. The house edge for all buy bets goes to 4.76%, which really is a good deal for 4 and 10 only, if those are the numbers you want to bet on. One thing that can make this bet at all worthwhile is if the casino collects the commission on wins only. That takes the house edge from 4.76% down to 1.64%. Now that might be worth a try.
Lay Bet
The lay bet is just the opposite of the buy bet; the bet is that the chosen point number will not be rolled before 7. A 5% vig is also collected.
Field Bet
Looks nice, occupies a large area on the table, and it seems like you've got lots to choose from. However, if you examine the bet closely, you'll see that there are more combinations of the numbers that are not part of the selection, giving the house a 5.56% advantage. Be careful with this one! It's also often forgotten that the field bet is a 'next roll' bet, meaning if on the very next roll a field number doesn't come up, the bet loses then and there. Many bets on the craps table stay up for a while before coming down, but not next roll bets like the field.
Big Six or Eight Bet
One of the most advertised bets but also one of the worst. It is the same as a place bet on the 6 or 8, except that the payoff is quite a bit lower. Your payoff by placing the 6 or 8 is 7-to-6, whereas the winning wager on the big six or eight only gets even money. Placing the 6 or 8 is definitely the better way to go.
Proposition Bets
This is the category which most of the worst bets fall into. Very attractive in the area of payoffs (ranging from 4-to-1 to 30-to-1), the odds are so low you'll never see the money. Yet, these are the most frequent bets made and the cause for many of the losses at the craps table. Check out the bets you're best to avoid…
Hardway Bets - Hard Six, Hard Eight, Hard Four, and Hard Ten
This is a group of bets offers some attractive payoffs: 10-to-1 for a 6 or an 8 and 8-to-1 for a 4 or a 10. Sounds good, doesn't it? However, the house edge ranges from 9.1% to 11.1% on any of these bets, and the odds of rolling any of those combinations is 1 in 36 rolls. Doesn't look so good now, does it? Basically if you bet on a 'hard four' it means that a pair of twos has to be rolled before a 3 and a 1 (which would be a 'soft four').
Any Seven Bet
This bet looks quite reasonable. But, as we've discussed earlier: looks are deceiving. This bet wins if the next roll is 7, which is the most frequently rolled number; however, the payoff does not reflect the many other numbers that can be rolled, giving the bet a house edge of 16.7%.
Any Craps Bet
Another appealing bet, offering a nice payoff. But look at the odds of rolling any of these (4 out of 36), and the true colours come out. Do yourself a favour: stay away.