Buying a number
November 13th, 2017 at 1:25:25 PM
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At the Rivers in Pittsburgh (and I saw the same at a few in Tunica, MS, IIRC), I placed $20 on the 5 and got a "Buy" chip on top. I asked how much this was costing me and was told that any number bets over $20 were automatically Buys. Is this the same everywhere? I did not find out if it meant I was getting free odds or if it was costing me a commission because the shooter 7ed out. In this case is there a commission? On WoO, it says that the only good buy is on the 4/10 unless the commission is paid only on a win, is this what is happening in this case? Thanks in advance for the info.
November 13th, 2017 at 2:34:40 PM
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Hello Cynic
You bought the 5 for $20 and you were eligible for a payout at true Odds in exchange for a $1 commission payable only if your bet had won. Your net payout of $29 would have been slightly bettter than the payout of $28 for a Place bet.
The casino did you a favor. It probably has this friendly policy as a tactic in its market competition. The broader idea of the standard five percent commission being payable only after bets win is historically very recent. Extending the idea and making it automatic is welcome. I expect that the idea will spread, just as occurred with the idea of higher Odds multiples, which began after 1960.
I also expect that the automatic courtesy Buy policy applies to only the Outside numbers. The 6 and 8 are always better when Placed.
After ascertaining that the Buy commission is charged only on winning bets, you may request that all Outside numbers over $20 be bought wherever you play. It pays to ask.
You bought the 5 for $20 and you were eligible for a payout at true Odds in exchange for a $1 commission payable only if your bet had won. Your net payout of $29 would have been slightly bettter than the payout of $28 for a Place bet.
The casino did you a favor. It probably has this friendly policy as a tactic in its market competition. The broader idea of the standard five percent commission being payable only after bets win is historically very recent. Extending the idea and making it automatic is welcome. I expect that the idea will spread, just as occurred with the idea of higher Odds multiples, which began after 1960.
I also expect that the automatic courtesy Buy policy applies to only the Outside numbers. The 6 and 8 are always better when Placed.
After ascertaining that the Buy commission is charged only on winning bets, you may request that all Outside numbers over $20 be bought wherever you play. It pays to ask.
"I suppose I was mad. Every great genius is mad upon the subject in which he is greatest. The unsuccessful madman is disgraced and called a lunatic." Fitz-James O'Brien, The Diamond Lens (1858)
November 13th, 2017 at 3:56:41 PM
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Yep rivers allows buy bets on 4, 5, 9, 10 with commission only on wins. I believe Buying the 5 and 9 like this makes them one of the best bets in the building.
Expect the worst and you will never be disappointed.
I AM NOT PART OF GWAE RADIO SHOW
November 14th, 2017 at 3:17:59 AM
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Don't know if any casinos still do this, but buying the 12, vig on win, was the best bet ever. So most (if not all) casinos went 5% up front on all the extreme numbers.
When a rock is thrown into a pack of dogs, the one that yells the loudest is the one who got hit.
November 14th, 2017 at 6:16:04 AM
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No, unfortunately. Start with a PassLine bet. Its 1.414 percent against you. Then there is a Place Bet. If the casino lets you do that, it takes a bigger bite. A "Buy Bet" is simply a place bet wherein the player is buying the right to be paid off at true mathematical odds rather than enduring the casino's "bite". Its a good deal even if you have to pay a commission up front but a much better deal if they only take their commission if your bet wins.Quote: CynicI placed $20 on the 5 and got a "Buy" chip on top. I asked how much this was costing me and was told that any number bets over $20 were automatically Buys. Is this the same everywhere?
