Craps bet guide · Reviewed August 18, 2026
A Lay bet wins when 7 rolls before a selected 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. You risk more than you can win because 7 has more combinations than any one box number, then pay a commission—usually calculated from the potential win.
Sam’s verdict
Lay bets create frequent smaller wins and less frequent larger losses. That profile can feel safer than it is. Commission timing and rounding matter enough that I ask for the exact lay amount, win, and vig before committing chips.
Lay bet rules and true odds
| Number laid | Ways number rolls | Ways 7 rolls | Amount laid to win | Example before commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 3 | 6 | 2 to 1 | Lay $40 to win $20 |
| 5 or 9 | 4 | 6 | 3 to 2 | Lay $30 to win $20 |
| 6 or 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 to 5 | Lay $30 to win $25 |
Other totals do nothing. The wager remains working until 7 wins it, the selected number defeats it, or you call it off, reduce it, or take it down under house procedure. “No 4” is common shorthand for laying against 4.
The commission determines the real cost
A common commission is 5% of the amount the Lay bet can win, not 5% of the larger amount laid. The casino may collect it upfront or only after a win. Chip denominations and house rounding can materially change small wagers.
| Commission assumption | Lay 4/10 edge | Lay 5/9 edge | Lay 6/8 edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exact 5% of potential win, collected only when wager wins | 1.67% | 2.00% | 2.27% |
| Exact 5% of potential win, collected upfront | About 2.44% | About 3.23% | 4.00% |
Those figures exclude whole-chip rounding. If an exact commission is $2.50, do not assume it will become $2; a table might collect $2.50, round it, require a different wager multiple, or use another approved procedure.
How the edge is created
Lay 4 illustrates the calculation. Ignore non-decisive totals. Seven has six combinations and 4 has three, so 7 wins two decisions out of three. Laying $40 to win $20 is exactly fair before commission:
- Two winning decisions produce $40 total gross profit.
- One losing decision costs the $40 amount laid.
- Before commission, those outcomes balance.
A 5% fee on the $20 potential win is $1. If it is collected only on each win, two wins net $38 while the one loss remains $40: an expected two-dollar deficit across $120 laid, or 1.67%. Upfront commission increases the cost because the fee is paid on losing decisions too.
Probability is not player advantage: once a Lay bet exists, 7 is more likely to arrive first than the selected number. The true-odds payoff compensates for risking more to win less, and the commission produces negative expectation.
Worked examples
Lay $9 against 9
The true-odds ratio is 3 to 2. If 7 arrives before 9, the gross profit is $6: $9 ÷ 3 × 2. A 5% commission on the $6 win is $0.30 before the house applies its denomination and rounding rule.
Lay $60 against 8
At 6 to 5, $60 lays to win $50. Five percent of the potential $50 win is $2.50. If commission is collected only on a win, a winning settlement is $50 gross minus the approved commission. If it is collected upfront, you pay the fee whether 7 or 8 arrives first.
Lay $200 against 4
At 2 to 1, the gross win is $100. Five percent of $100 is a $5 commission. If 4 rolls first, the $200 wager loses; the exact treatment of any upfront fee follows the posted or approved house rules.
How to make a Lay bet
- Wait until bets are open and get the dealer’s attention.
- Place chips where the dealer directs, commonly in the Come area.
- State both number and desired exposure: “Lay the 9 for thirty,” or ask, “How much do I lay to win twenty on 9?”
- The dealer positions the chips in the number box and uses a LAY marker.
- Confirm the commission, possible win, and whether the vig is charged now or only after a win.
Lay wagers are generally controlled by the dealer, not self-service. They commonly remain working on a come-out because 7 is a winning result, but working status is a house rule. You can call a Lay bet off if you do not want action on a particular roll.
Do not use missing-number logic
A number missing for 30 minutes is no less likely on the next fair roll. The old version of this guide described distribution “correcting itself”; that is not how independent rolls work. A long absence and a sudden cluster are both possible without creating a forecastable correction.
Lay bet versus Don’t Pass Odds
Both wagers lay true odds against a box number, but Don’t Pass Odds requires first surviving the flat Don’t Pass come-out. Its Odds portion has no commission and no edge by itself. A Lay bet can be started directly against a selected number but pays commission. Read the Don’t Pass guide before treating them as interchangeable.
Lay-bet questions
Does a Lay bet win on come-out 7?
Yes if the wager is working. Lay bets commonly remain on through the come-out, but an OFF marker or house procedure can change their status.
Can I lay the current point?
Generally yes: the standalone Lay bet is a separate wager that 7 will arrive before that number. It can exist alongside Pass or Don’t Pass action, subject to limits and procedure.
Why is laying 4 less expensive than laying 6?
The 4 has three combinations against six 7s; the 6 has five combinations against six 7s. Commission therefore represents a different share of the amount risked, and Lay 6/8 carries the higher idealized edge.
I’ve seen elsewhere that the minimum lay bet must pay off 4 times the table minimum before the vig (i.e. $10 table must lay $80 to win $38 on no 4/10), is that prevalent? Thanks.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for visiting the website, and thanks for your question.
We’re very sorry, but we don’t fully understand the question. We’re hung up on the phrase, “…before the vig….” Are you asking if it’s normal practice to not apply the vig until the win amount is at least 4 times the table minimum? In other words, are you asking if the winning payoff must be 4 times the table minimum before you pay any vig? If that’s your question, then that’s not the norm, at least in the parts of the country where we play. If that’s truly your question, then it’s surprising such a rule exists in a for-profit casino because it’s hard to believe a casino would let you make a bet (other than the true odds bet) without the casino having an advantage–and the casino gets its advantage on the Lay bet by charging the vig. So, for example, if you lay $20 to win $10 and don’t have to pay a vig when you win, then the casino doesn’t make any money from that bet. However, if the casino that has such a rule is in a particular area where the competition is fierce, then the casino might use such a rule to entice players into their casino instead of the competition’s.
Again, we’re sorry for not understanding your question. You’re welcome to reply with a clarification so we can then try again with an answer. Thanks again for visiting the website, and good luck at the tables!
Sorry for the confusion. My question was mostly about the minimum lay
bet. At a $10 table would I need to lay $80 to win $38 ($40 minus 5%
vig) or could I make a smaller bet (i.e. lay $40 to win $19 ($20 minus
5%)?
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the clarification. The answer is that it depends on the casino. We’ve never played where the minimum Lay bet requirement is so high, but nothing would surprise us in terms of a casino’s playing requirements. Some casinos where we play (such as in Biloxi, MS) don’t have such a requirement at all. Same for the Buy bet. For example, in some casinos, we can Buy the 4 or 10 for $10, but in others we must Buy it for at least $20 or $25. So, when you ask if an $80 minimum Lay bet on a $10 minimum table is prevalent, our answer is no.
In our opinion, such a rule is outrageous and puts unnecessary limits on the players. If we walked into a casino and learned of that rule, we’d turn right around, walk out, and play at the casino across the street. If that casino is the only game in town, then that’s why they can get away with having such a high Lay requirement on a $10 table. Does that casino have a similarly high requirement for the Buy bet? The only reason we can think of why a casino would have such high Lay and Buy requirements is that they want to discourage average players from making those bets because of their relatively low house advantages (in this context, an “average” player is one who typically makes bets close to the table minimums). Because the Lay bet on the 4 or 10 has a house advantage of only about 1.6%, the casino with such a high Lay requirement is doing only one thing—they’re trying to discourage you from making that bet because of it’s low house advantage.
The casino knows most players aren’t going to make such an expensive bet (i.e., an $80 bet is way out of reach for the average player), so the casino has effectively removed that bet with its low house advantage from the table for a most players. If the casino doesn’t have much competition, it knows players will still play at their table even if their rules put the Lay bet out of reach for most players. The casino knows those players will forget the Lay bet and make other bets with higher house advantages, which means bigger profits for the casino.