- Pays
- 1 to 1
- House edge
- 9.09%
- Decided by
- 6/8 or 7
- Can be made
- Any roll
What Big 6 and Big 8 are in craps
The Big 6 and Big 8 are two bets that share one printed box, usually a red square split into halves with a large 6 and a large 8. A Big 6 bet wins when a 6 rolls before a 7. A Big 8 bet wins when an 8 rolls before a 7. Everything else is a no-decision.
That sounds like a decent proposition, and it nearly is. A 6 and an 8 can each be rolled five ways out of 36, while the seven can be rolled six ways. So the number shows first 5 times in 11, or 45.45% of the time. The trouble is not the odds of winning. It is the payout.
Even money on a bet that loses more often than it wins is a losing price. Per 11 decisions, you win 5 units and lose 6. That missing unit, spread over 11 decisions, is the 9.09% house edge on Big 6 and Big 8. It is identical for both halves, since the 8 is simply the mirror of the 6.
Where the box sits in the corner
Look at the two long ends of a craps layout, the parts nearest the players at each end of the table. At the outside corner, beside the pass line and the come area, sits the Big 6 and 8 box. Our guide to the craps table layout shows where it falls relative to everything else.
The location is part of the design. It sits right where your chips already are, reachable without leaning over the table, and it asks nothing of the dealer. Players often set the bet themselves. The place numbers, by contrast, sit in the middle of the layout, and you have to hand chips to the dealer and call the bet.
Big 6 and 8 vs place 6 and 8: the same numbers, a different price
A place bet on the 6 or 8 covers the identical event. It wins when the number rolls before a 7 and loses when the 7 comes first. The only change is that it pays 7 to 6 instead of 1 to 1, and that single extra dollar per six cuts the house edge from 9.09% to 1.52%.
| Bet | Pays | House edge | Per roll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big 6 | 1 to 1 | 9.09% | 2.78% |
| Big 8 | 1 to 1 | 9.09% | 2.78% |
| Place 6 | 7 to 6 | 1.52% | 0.46% |
| Place 8 | 7 to 6 | 1.52% | 0.46% |
| Buy 6 | 6 to 5 less 5% | 2.27% | 0.69% |
| Field | 1 to 1; 2 pays 2 to 1; 12 pays 2 to 1 | 5.56% | 5.56% |
The pattern is plain. Big 6 and Big 8 cost six times as much as a place bet for the same outcome. A buy bet on the 6, paying true odds less 5%, comes in at 2.27%. You would have to go to the proposition box to find a worse price on these numbers.
A worked $6 example
Say you bet $6 on the Big 6 and a friend places the 6 for $6. Over 11 average decisions, the 6 arrives five times and the 7 six times. You win $6 five times, $30, and lose $6 six times, $36. Net, you are down $6. Your friend wins $7 five times, $35, and loses $36. Net, down $1.
That is the whole comparison in dollars. The same number, the same risk on each seven, and a gap of $5 for every 11 decisions. At $12 the place bet pays $14 and the Big 6 pays $12. At $30 the place bet pays $35 and the Big 6 pays $30. The difference scales with the stake.
Why the house edge on Big 6 and Big 8 is 9.09%
The math is short. Winning probability is 5/11 and losing probability is 6/11. At even money the expected result is 5/11 minus 6/11, which is minus 1/11, or 9.09% of the bet. A 7 to 6 payout raises the win side to 35/66 against 36/66 lost, leaving only 1/66, or 1.52%.
Per roll the picture is kinder, since most rolls decide nothing. A Big 6 bet costs about 2.78% of its stake on each roll, while a place 6 costs about 0.46%. Those are still far apart. Use the calculator below to compare the corner box with the place bet, the pass line and the Field bet.
For scale, Big 6 and Big 8 cost the same 9.09% as a Hard 6 bet, which pays 9 to 1 on a far rarer event. The hardways at least offer a large payout for their price. The corner box charges proposition-level money for a small, even-money win, which makes it hard to recommend at any stake.
Why players still bet big 6 8 in craps
Convenience is the first reason. There is no minimum unit to think about: $5 pays $5, $7 pays $7. A place bet on the 6 or 8 needs a multiple of $6 to pay correctly, and new players who do not know that often feel awkward asking. The corner box removes the question at a steep price.
The second reason is habit from casino games that pay even money on everything. At a blackjack table, even money is normal, so it looks fair here too. It is not. An even-money payout only works on a bet that wins half the time, and a 6 before a 7 falls short of half by more than four points.
A third reason is simply that the box looks prominent. It is printed large, right in front of you, and it seems like a main bet rather than a side option. Dealers will take your place bet without fuss, and on a busy table asking for “six and eight for twelve” is one of the most routine calls there is.
Better ways to bet the 6 and 8
If you want action on the 6 and 8, place them in multiples of $6. At a $10 table, $12 on each is a common starting spread, and each hit pays $14. Our page on craps payouts lists the dealer math for every place number, and the payout trainer lets you drill it until it is automatic.
Better still, get the numbers through the line. A Come bet that travels to the 6 or 8 carries a 1.41% edge, and the odds bet behind it pays true 6 to 5 with no edge at all. That pairing costs less than even the place bet, although it takes a roll or two to set up.
A buy bet on the 6 or 8 pays true odds less a 5% commission, and at 2.27% it is still far cheaper than the box. It rarely beats a place bet on these two numbers, though, and the buy and lay bets page explains why buying makes more sense on the 4 and 10.
Big 6 big 8 craps online and in state casinos
Seven states license online casinos, and regulated craps is easiest to find in New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, for players 21 or older inside the state. Some computer-dealt games there show a Big 6 and Big 8 box and some do not. Where it appears, it usually pays even money, as at a casino table.
Before you bet online, open the game’s help or rules screen and read the pay table for the place numbers and the box. Licensed games publish these rules, and the math works exactly as it does in a Las Vegas pit. If you gamble and it stops being fun, call 1-800-GAMBLER, or 1-800-270-7117 in Michigan.
At a real table the fix takes one sentence. Instead of dropping $6 into the corner, hand the dealer $12 and say “six and eight”. You get the same coverage on the same numbers, and every time either one hits, the dealer pushes over $7 instead of $6. Is there any reason left to reach for the box?