Setting the Vig

The vig is the 5% commission a craps table charges on buy and lay bets. Casinos differ on when they collect it and how they round it, and those differences change the results. You can set the table to match the casino you play in.

Examples

The words to know

• Vig. The commission on a buy or a lay. It is always 5%. Also called the commission or the juice.
• Buy. A bet on a number that pays true odds, less the vig. A buy on the 4 pays 2:1 where a place bet pays 9:5.
• Lay. A bet against a number that pays true odds, less the vig. A lay on the 4 pays 1:2.
• Upfront. The vig is paid when the bet goes up, win or lose.
• On the win. The vig is taken out of the payout. A bet that loses pays no vig.

If you say nothing

You don't have to set any of this. A system that never mentions the vig gets the most common live-table rules:

• Buy vig is taken on the win.
• Lay vig is paid upfront.
• A fraction of a dollar rounds to the nearest dollar, and an exact half rounds down.
• The smallest vig is $1.
• The smallest buy or lay is $20.
• The 4 and 10 are bought at $20 and up, and placed below $20.

The ticket states these, so you can see them before you build. Each one is a table setting, and your own words change it: "buy the 4 for $10" buys it at $10 and lowers the buy minimum to match.

What the vig is charged on

The vig is 5% of the smaller side of the bet.

• A buy risks less than it wins, so the vig is 5% of the wager. A $50 buy on the 4 carries $2.50, which rounds to $2. A hit pays $100 and nets $98.
• A lay risks more than it wins, so the vig is 5% of the win. A $200 lay on the 4 wins $100 and carries $5. A $120 lay on the 4 wins $60 and carries $3.

Upfront or on the win only changes when the money moves. It never changes what the vig is charged on.

Upfront or on the win

Buys and lays are set separately, because casinos often treat them differently. Say which bet you mean:

Upfront costs more over a session, because losing bets pay the vig too. On the win, only winners pay.

An upfront vig is charged again after a win

When a buy or lay wins and stays up, the table treats it as a new bet for the next roll, and a new vig is due. The vig you paid when the bet went up was used by the win.

A $25 buy on the 4 with the vig upfront:

1. The bet goes up. You pay $25 plus $1 of vig.
2. The 4 hits. The bet pays $50.
3. The bet stays up, so the table takes $1 for the next round. The bankroll gains $49 and the $25 is still working.

This is how every table with an upfront vig works. There is no setting that charges the vig once for the life of the bet.

If the bankroll can't cover the new vig, the bet comes down with its winnings.

Rounding rules

5% of most bets isn't a whole dollar, and casinos round it differently. There are four rules:

• Round half down (default). Nearest dollar, and an exact half goes down. A $30 buy carries $1.50 and is charged $1. A $35 buy carries $1.75 and is charged $2.
• Round half up. Nearest dollar, and an exact half goes up. A $30 buy is charged $2.
• Round down. The fraction is dropped. A $35 buy is charged $1.
• Round up. Any fraction charges the next dollar. This is the "$1 per $20 or any part of it" rule. A $25 buy is charged $2.

The rule applies to every buy and lay on the table, upfront or on the win.

The vig is never less than $1. A table never lets a bet ride for free, so a rule that would round the vig down to nothing still charges $1. That is why buy and lay bets start at $20: below that, the $1 minimum costs more than 5%.

Tell the AI how your casino does it in plain words:

The 4 and 10 are bought at $20

At $20 and up, a buy on the 4 or 10 pays more than a place bet, even after the vig. So "place the 4", "$160 across", and "cover the numbers" all buy the 4 and 10 at $20 and up, and place them below $20. On a crapless table the same goes for the 2, 3, 11, and 12.

To buy them for less, name the amount. A $10 buy on the 4 pays $20 less the $1 minimum vig and nets $19, where a $10 place bet pays $18.

The ticket says so on its own line. If you would rather place them, say so:

The 5, 6, 8, and 9 are placed unless you ask for a buy by name. Many players buy the 5 and 9. Ask for it and the bots will make it.

A $20 buy on the 5 pays $30 and nets $29 after $1 of vig, where a $20 place bet pays $28. A buy on the 6 or 8 rarely pays more than the place bet: $30 on the 6 nets $35 either way.

Bubble machines and electronic tables

A bubble machine and an electronic table both pay to the cent. When they take the vig on the win, which is the most common setup, they charge it to the cent too. A $3 buy on the 5 carries 15 cents of vig and nets $4.35 on a hit. Dollar rounding and the $1 minimum don't apply.

Some charge the vig upfront instead, and there the two differ:

• Bubble machine. It only takes whole $1 chips, so an upfront vig is paid in whole dollars, and it is never less than $1.
• Electronic table. It takes any amount to the cent, so an upfront vig is charged to the cent as well.

On both, the smallest buy is $1, and the 4 and 10 are bought at every amount, because the buy pays more from $1 up: $1 on the 4 nets $1.95 bought and $1.80 placed.

Both commonly sell a buy on the 5 and 9. Ask for it and the bots will make it.

Say which one you play. "Bubble craps" is a bubble machine. "Electronic table game", "online craps", or any bet with cents in it is an electronic table. A machine you don't name is a bubble machine.

What you can't do yet

• A vig other than 5%.
• An upfront vig that is charged once and never again.
• Different vig rules for different numbers on the same table.

If your casino does one of these, send it in through the feedback link.

Check the ticket

Before you build, find the vig lines on the ticket. Each one should name the bet, the rate, what it is charged on, and when it is taken, like this:

If a line isn't how your casino does it, quote it and say what it should be.

Compare two vig rules

To see what a vig rule costs, run the same system at two tables. See Compare two systems.