When to Buy the 5 and 9 Instead of Placing Them
Place versus Buy · 5 and 9 · Commission timing
Buying the 5 or 9 can pay better than Placing it when the casino charges the commission only on a win and rounds the vig favorably. There is no universal crossover amount: the better choice depends on the wager size, commission method, rounding, and table minimum.
Sam’s decision rule
Ask one question before switching: “What is the vig on this Buy 5, and is it charged only when I win?” Without that answer, a memorized threshold from another casino can be wrong.
Place 5 or 9
A standard Place 5 or Place 9 pays 7 to 5. The number has four combinations and 7 has six, so it wins 4 out of 10 resolved decisions and loses 6 out of 10.
| Place amount | Win profit at 7 to 5 | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| $5 | $7 | 4.00% |
| $10 | $14 | |
| $20 | $28 | |
| $25 | $35 |
Multiples of $5 receive the clean 7-to-5 payout. Other amounts can be rounded or handled under a house-specific breakage rule.
Buy 5 or 9
A Buy 5 or 9 pays at true odds of 3 to 2, then the casino collects a commission. Dealer-friendly Buy amounts are even numbers because the 3-to-2 payoff divides cleanly.
| Buy amount | Gross true-odds win | Example $1 win-only vig | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20 | $30 | $1 | $29 |
| $24 | $36 | $1 | $35 |
| $40 | $60 | $2 | $58 |
Those examples assume a 5% commission rounded to whole dollars and collected only on a win. A casino that collects the vig up front, uses different rounding, or charges by another schedule produces different results.
The classic $25 Place versus $24 Buy example
- $25 Place 5: wins $35; loses $25 on a seven-out.
- $24 Buy 5: wins $36 gross, less a $1 win-only vig, for $35 net; loses $24 on a seven-out.
Under those exact rules, both bets earn $35 when 5 wins, but the Buy bet risks one dollar less when 7 wins the race. That is the defensible lesson in the original CrapsPit example.
A $20 comparison can be even clearer
- $20 Place 5: wins $28.
- $20 Buy 5 with $1 commission only on a win: wins $29 net.
The Buy earns one dollar more on a win with the same $20 number exposure. But if the $1 commission is charged on every decision, the expected cost becomes worse. Commission timing matters as much as the printed true-odds payoff.
Do not assume the casino will automatically convert the wager. Say, “Buy the 5 for $24” and confirm the vig. A BUY marker or chip position distinguishes it from a Place bet.
Quick decision checklist
- Is Buy 5/9 permitted at this amount?
- Is commission collected when placed, on a win, or another way?
- How is 5% rounded?
- Does the commission itself remain at risk?
- Is the Buy amount an even number for a clean 3-to-2 payout?
- What does the Place alternative pay at the same exposure?
Use the complete Buy bet guide for commission math and compare it with the Place bet guide.
Calculate the crossover from the actual commission
Let the number exposure be W dollars and the charged commission be c dollars. A winning Place 5 or 9 earns 1.4W. A winning Buy 5 or 9 earns 1.5W − c. At equal exposure, the Buy produces the larger winning profit only when c is less than 0.1W. If the vig equals exactly 10% of the wager, the two winning profits tie.
Commission timing decides the expected cost. Because 5 or 9 wins four times and 7 wins six times among the ten resolving combinations, a win-only commission creates an expected loss of 0.4c per decision. A commission charged on every decision creates an expected loss of c. These figures assume the Buy payoff itself is true 3-to-2 odds and that no additional rounding applies.
For a $20 wager with a $1 vig, the win-only Buy earns $29 on a win and loses $20 on 7, for an expected loss of $0.40 per resolved decision. If the same $1 is charged regardless of the result, the win remains $29 but the losing cost becomes $21; expected loss rises to $1. The $20 Place alternative wins $28, loses $20, and has a $0.80 expected loss. That is why the same posted 5% commission can put the Buy on opposite sides of the Place comparison.
Doesn’t this only work if you only have to pay the vig on a win? At my casino you have to pay $1 vig up front
Bryce, run the numbers to see exactly what happens in every what-if scenario you analyze. Don’t just assume something. Always run the numbers. So, let’s run them. Suppose we Place the 5 for $25, which means we have $25 leaving our chip stack (i.e., let’s call it “going out”). If the 5 hits, we win $35 (i.e., let’s call in “coming in”). If a 7 appears, we lose the $25. So, for $25 going out, we get $35 coming in with a win. Now, let’s Buy the 5 for $24 and pay the $1 vig up front, which means we have $25 going out. If a 7 appears, we lose the $25. If the 5 hits, we win $36. So, for $25 going out, we get $36 coming in with a win. Let’s compare the outcomes for the Place and Buy. In both scenarios, we have $25 going out. In both scenarios, if a 7 hits, we lose $25. With a Place bet win, we get $35 coming in; and with a Buy bet win, we get $36 coming in. For the same $25 risk, would you rather have $35 for a win or $36 for a win? Now, let’s bump the bet up to the $50 level. Let’s run the numbers (don’t assume anything). Suppose we Place the 5 for $50, we get $70 for a win (i.e., $50 going out and $70 coming in). Now, suppose we Buy the 5 for $50 and pay a $2 vig up front, we get $75 with a win (i.e., $52 going out and $75 coming in). Therefore, with the Place bet, we risk $50 to win $70; and with the Buy bet plus a $2 vig up front, we risk $52 to win $75. Compared to the Place, in this Buy scenario where you pay the $2 vig up front, you pay an extra $2 to win an extra $5. So, essentially you’re betting $2 to win $5. I’d take those odds every day! With the 7 against the 5, the true odds are 3:2. So, for a $2 bet with 3:2 odds, a win is $3. But in this case, the extra $2 (i.e., $52 instead of $50) gets you an extra $5 with a win (i.e., $75 instead of $70). So, for the 5 or 9, I’d rather risk $52 to win $75 than risk $50 to win $70. Good luck, and have fun at the tables!
Editorial clarification, September 6, 2026: The commission accounting above needs correction. If a $24 Buy 5 carries a $1 commission paid up front, the total outlay is $25. A win produces $36 of gross profit less the $1 fee, or $35 net; a loss costs $25. That has the same −$1 expected result per decision as a $25 Place 5 that wins $35 or loses $25. At the $50 level, a $50 Buy with a $2 upfront fee wins $75 gross less the fee, or $73 net, and loses $52. Compared with a $50 Place bet that wins $70 or loses $50, the extra $2 exposure buys $3 of additional net win, not $5; both examples have a −$2 expected result. Win-only commission, different rounding, or another approved fee schedule changes the comparison, so the timing and exact dollar fee must be stated.