Atlassino Academy · Craps · Lesson 4

Enganche: the bet behind the line

After the point is set, the bet behind the line is called an enganche. It is paid at the true odds, and the provinces cap it in three different ways. Here is what it pays and how large it may be.

  • About 14 minutes
  • Illustrated hosts: Leo and Maya
  • Last checked 25 October 2026

You have 10 units on Buena and the point is 6. How large an enganche may you put behind it?

The short answer

It depends on whose rule book. Under the Buenos Aires Province book, any amount up to the line bet, 10 units here; once it has reached that, the enganche may be raised to four times its amount on a 6, 40 units. The Cordoba text ties the enganche to the line bet when that bet is below the table maximum, so as we read it the ceiling is 10 units here, with no raised ceiling. A Mendoza information page describes odds bets of up to 5 times the line bet, and that is a description, not a rule of a room. Whatever the ceiling, an enganche a Buena is paid at the true odds, so it keeps nothing by itself.

Leo holds a second chip low just behind a chip in the long strip along the rail, a plain white puck marking one of six empty boxes, while Maya, arms folded and one eyebrow raised, watches the second chip.
Leo smiling, explaining with an open hand.

Leoformer dealer · rules and maths

Craps has one bet that is paid exactly what it is worth, and it can only be made behind another bet. In the provinces it is called the enganche, and the books do not agree on how large it may be. That disagreement is what this lesson is about.

What an enganche is

An enganche is a supplementary bet made after the first throw, once the point has been established. It stands behind a bet on Buena, the pass line, or on Mala, the don’t pass bar, and the same goes for the Resultado and No resultado bets. An enganche that comes in is paid by the percentages in the rule book.

  1. A line bet first

    The enganche is made on Buena or on Mala, or on a Resultado or No resultado bet, never alone.

  2. The point is set

    Only after the first throw, once the point has been established.

  3. Paid by the point

    2 to 1 on the 4 and the 10, 3 to 2 on the 5 and the 9, 6 to 5 on the 6 and the 8, on Buena.

  4. Ended by the same roll

    The point settles the enganche a Buena in the player’s favour; a 7 settles it against, and the other way round on Mala.

The line bet cannot be withdrawn, raised or reduced while the point is sought. The enganche is looser: it can be added to, reduced or withdrawn, wholly or in part, at any moment while the point is being sought.

What it pays on Buena

An enganche a Buena is paid when the point comes up before a 7, and lost when a 7 comes first. The two books print the figures differently, Cordoba as percentages and Buenos Aires Province as ratios, and the figures are the same.

What an enganche a Buena is paidPer unit of the enganche, as each rule book prints it, next to the exact odds counted from the 36 ways two dice fall.
PointCordoba printsBuenos Aires Province printsExact odds of the dice
4 and 10200%2 to 12 to 1
5 and 9150%3 to 23 to 2
6 and 8120%6 to 56 to 5

Of the 36 ways two dice fall, a 4 comes 3 ways and a 7 comes 6, so a 7 is twice as likely as a 4; the exact odds follow the same count for every point.

That makes the enganche a Buena the one bet at the table paid exactly what it is worth: it is paid at the true odds of the dice, so by itself it takes nothing from the player on average.

What it pays on Mala

The enganche a Mala is the opposite: it is paid when a 7 comes before the point, and lost when the point comes first. It risks more than it is paid, because a 7 is the likelier roll.

What an enganche a Mala is paidPer unit of the enganche, as each rule book prints it, next to the exact odds counted from the 36 ways two dice fall.
PointCordoba printsBuenos Aires Province printsExact odds of the dice
4 and 1050%1 to 21 to 2
5 and 966%2 to 32 to 3
6 and 883%5 to 65 to 6

The Buenos Aires Province book prints the ratios, and they are the exact odds. The Cordoba text prints 66 and 83 per cent where the exact figures are a little higher.

That rounding down is small but it is not nothing: at the Cordoba figures an enganche a Mala keeps 0.40% of its stake on the 5 and the 9, and 0.18% on the 6 and the 8. On the 4 and the 10, where 50 per cent is exact, it keeps 0.00%.

Maya explaining with an open hand.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Do not choose Mala because the enganche costs a little more there. Choose it, if at all, because you understand that a 7 is the roll it waits for. The price is only part of the story.

Three ceilings

How large the enganche may be is where the sources part. Here are the three, side by side, for the same line bet.

Three ceilings for the same betThe enganche a Buena behind a line bet of 10 units on a 6, as each source puts it.
SourceWhat it saysFor 10 units on the line, point 6
Buenos Aires Province, the first ceilingAny amount from the table minimum up to the size of the line bet.10 units
Buenos Aires Province, once it is reachedThe enganche may be raised until it is double its amount on a 4 or a 10, triple on a 5 or a 9 and four times on a 6 or an 8.40 units
Buenos Aires Province, the enganche a MalaLimited by the percentage the enganche a Buena is paid on the point sought.No amount: the sentence gives none
CordobaWhen the line bet is below the maximum, the value of the enganche is set by the bet first made on Buena; it changes within the minimum and the maximum.10 units, the size of the line bet, as we read it
Mendoza, an information pageFrom level, to double, or up to 5 times the line bet; some casinos may take up to 100 times.A description of the bet, not a rule of a room

The raised ceiling opens only once the enganche has reached the line bet. The Buenos Aires Province sentence on Mala is not turned into an amount here, because the sentence itself gives none.

So the same question has three answers, and the only safe one is the table’s own: ask for the minimum and the maximum of the enganche at the table you are sitting at, before the chip goes down.

What it does to the price

The line bet keeps 1.41% of itself, on average. The enganche keeps nothing, so a bigger enganche spreads the same cost over a bigger stake, and the share the house keeps of the whole stake falls.

What the house keeps of the whole stakeThe line bet on Buena alone, then with the enganche at the first ceiling of the Buenos Aires Province book and at the raised ceiling on every point.
What is stakedShare the house keeps
The line bet alone1.41%
The line bet and an enganche of the same size0.85%
The line bet and the raised enganche, every point0.45%

Shares of the whole stake, averaged over every pass and counted from the exact chances of the dice. An enganche exists only when a point is set, which is about two passes in three. The raised row assumes the enganche is raised to the full ceiling on every point; most players will not do that.

In units the picture is different. On a line bet of 10 units the average cost is 0.14 units with or without an enganche, because the enganche adds nothing to it. What the enganche does add is money on the table, and every unit in it can be lost to a 7.

Maya with a hand on her chest, speaking gently and seriously.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

A lower percentage is not a lower loss. Put the line bet and the enganche together and count them against the amount you decided on at home. If the money on the table starts to feel like money you need, stop; the lines below are there for exactly that.

If it stops being fun

If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. Minimum entry age: each province sets its own. Where we found the rule or regulator that sets it, we cite it on the page; those we found set it at 18. More on responsible gaming.

Show all provinces
0800-666-6006Buenos Aires City (CABA) · Línea de orientación por juego problemático (LOTBA) · Monday to Friday, 9 to 17
0800-444-4000Buenos Aires Province · Programa de Prevención y Asistencia al Juego Compulsivo (IPLyC)
0800-777-2983Cordoba · Línea 0800-777-AYUDA (Lotería de Córdoba) · 24 hours
0800-268-5640Santa Fe · Línea gratuita de la APRECOD (Santa Fe) · Every day, 8 to 24
0800-888-2202Entre Rios · Departamento Juego Responsable (IAFAS, PREVENJUEGO)
0261-424-7536Mendoza · Programa de Juego Responsable (IPJyC) · Monday to Friday, 8 to 14
0800-888-5836Misiones · Programa de Juego Responsable del IPLyC S.E. (0800-888-LUDO)
0800-888-2008Chaco · Línea de Juego Responsable (Lotería Chaqueña)
0299-403-8900Neuquen · Líneas de contacto, orientación y tratamiento (IJAN, juego responsable) · Monday to Friday, 8 to 15
0800-222-1700Rio Negro · Línea de Orientación al Jugador Problemático (Lotería de Río Negro)
02901-433515Tierra del Fuego · Departamento Juego Responsable (IPRA, Ushuaia)
0800-555-7678Tucuman · Juego Responsable, Ley 8986 (Caja Popular de Ahorros)
0800-999-1314San Juan · Línea gratuita del Programa Provincial de Juego Responsable (Caja de Acción Social) · Monday to Friday, 08 to 12

If you are thinking about suicide, call 135 or 0800 345 1435 from anywhere in the country

The lesson on one card

That is the lesson. Here it is on one card: print it or keep it on your phone, and ask at the table before you rely on it.

The enganche at a craps tableCordoba, Buenos Aires Province and Mendoza
What an enganche a Buena is paidPer unit of the enganche, as each rule book prints it, next to the exact odds counted from the 36 ways two dice fall.
PointCordoba printsBuenos Aires Province printsExact odds of the dice
4 and 10200%2 to 12 to 1
5 and 9150%3 to 23 to 2
6 and 8120%6 to 56 to 5

An enganche a Buena is paid at the true odds, and the point it waits for sets the figure. On Mala it is paid less than it risks.

The ceiling differs by source: Buenos Aires Province up to the line bet, then raised by point; Cordoba set by the line bet; Mendoza a description only. Ask for the maximum at the table.

18+ under each province’s rules · Set a limit before you sit down · Play responsibly · the line for your province is at Helplines by province

If you are thinking about suicide, call 135 or 0800 345 1435 from anywhere in the country

Practice: how large, and what it pays

Level 1 puts a line bet, a point and a rule book on the table and asks how large the enganche may be. Level 2 asks what the dealer pays on an enganche, on Buena and on Mala, and what a 7 does to it.

Nothing is bet here, and nothing is random. Each question is a set situation, and the answer comes from the figures quoted on this page.

The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one question from it, with the answer.

Up to what size may the enganche be raised?

  • 10 units That is where the first ceiling stops. Once the enganche has reached the line bet, the rule book lets it go on to 4 times its amount on the 6 and the 8.
  • 40 units Once the enganche has reached the line bet, the rule book lets it be raised to 4 times its amount on the 6 and the 8: 40 units.
  • 50 units Five times the line bet is how a Mendoza information page describes odds bets in general. It is not a figure of the Buenos Aires Province rule book, which names its own ceiling.

Under the rule book of Buenos Aires Province the enganche a Buena may be any amount up to the line bet; once it has reached that, it may be raised to double its amount on a 4 or a 10, triple on a 5 or a 9 and four times on a 6 or an 8. The Córdoba text sets the enganche by the bet first made on Buena when that bet is below the maximum, and the Mendoza page only describes odds bets in general.

You are the dealer. What do you pay on the enganche? Count the payout only, not the enganche itself.

  • 20 units That pays the enganche one to one, as a line bet is paid. An enganche is paid by its point: 3 to 2 on the 5 and the 9.
  • 50 units That counts the enganche itself into the payout. The 20 units belonged to the player before the roll; the dealer adds only 30 units.
  • 30 units On the 5 and the 9 the Buenos Aires Province book pays the enganche a Buena 3 to 2, the exact odds: 20 units are paid 30 units.

An enganche a Buena is paid at the true odds of its point: 2 to 1 on the 4 and the 10, 3 to 2 on the 5 and the 9, 6 to 5 on the 6 and the 8. Córdoba prints them as 200, 150 and 120 per cent, the Buenos Aires book as ratios; they are the same. Only what the dealer adds is counted, not the enganche itself.

Every question in the practice run is worked out the same way: the point and the amounts are put through the figures of the rule books quoted on this page, and the answer comes out of that, not out of anybody’s memory.

How the practice run works

Where the questions come from. Every amount is worked out when the page is built, from the payout tables of the rule books and from one short function for the ceiling. The wrong answers are named mistakes: the raised ceiling taken for the first one, the Mendoza description taken for a rule, an enganche paid one to one, the stake counted into the payout, and the figure for Buena used on Mala.

Your progress stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Check yourself

Maya with a finger raised and a knowing look.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Five quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.

A question marked “New situation” asks you to use the lesson on a case it did not show.

1Under the Buenos Aires Province rule book your line bet on Buena is 10 units, the point is 8 and your enganche has reached 10 units. How far may you raise it?

Show the answer

Answer: To 40 units, four times its amount. The first ceiling is the line bet; the raised one depends on the point.

  • Not at all: 10 units is the ceiling That is the first ceiling. Once it is reached, the book lets the enganche on a 6 or an 8 go on to four times its amount.
  • To 1,000 units, a hundred times the line bet A hundred times is the figure the Mendoza page says some casinos may take. It is not in the Buenos Aires book.
  • To 40 units, four times its amount On a 6 or an 8 the raised ceiling is four times the amount the enganche had reached.
2What does the Córdoba text say about how large an enganche may be?

Show the answer

Answer: Up to the size of the line bet, when that bet is below the maximum. The Córdoba text sets the enganche by the bet first made on Buena; ask the table for its minimum and maximum too.

  • Any amount up to the casino’s maximum, and nothing else limits it The enganche does change within the minimum and the maximum, but the text also ties its value to the bet made on Buena.
  • Up to the size of the line bet, when that bet is below the maximum The text says the value of the enganche is set by the bet first made on Buena, and we read that as a ceiling of the line bet.
  • Up to five times the line bet Five times is how the Mendoza page describes the bet in general. The Córdoba text does not say it.
3A dealer pays an enganche a Buena of 20 units on the 5. How much does the dealer add to the bet?

Show the answer

Answer: 30 units. An enganche a Buena is paid at the true odds of its point.

  • 30 units The 5 is paid 3 to 2, and 20 units at that figure is 30 units.
  • 13.33 units That is the figure for an enganche a Mala on the same point, 2 to 3.
  • 20 units That pays the enganche one to one, as a line bet is paid. An enganche is paid by its point.
4Why does the share the house keeps of the whole stake fall when an enganche is added behind the line bet?

Show the answer

Answer: The enganche is paid at the true odds, so it keeps nothing, while the stake it adds to is larger. The true odds are what make the enganche cost nothing by itself.

  • The enganche is paid more than the true odds Both rule books pay an enganche a Buena at the true odds, no more.
  • The house takes less from the line bet when an enganche is behind it The line bet is settled exactly as before. Its own cost does not change.
  • The enganche is paid at the true odds, so it keeps nothing, while the stake it adds to is larger The line bet keeps the same 1.41% of itself. The enganche keeps nothing, so the share of the whole stake falls.
5Your line bet is 10 units. Adding an enganche of the same size on every point takes the share the house keeps of the whole stake from 1.41% to 0.85%. What does the line bet cost you on average, in units? new situation

Show the answer

Answer: About 0.14 units, as before. A smaller share of a bigger stake is the same average loss, with more money at risk on every roll.

  • About half of what it cost before The share of the whole stake is halved, but the stake is twice as big. In units the average loss is the same.
  • Nothing The line bet still costs 1.41% of itself.
  • About 0.14 units, as before The enganche keeps nothing, so the average loss on the 10 units line bet does not change: 0.14 units. The share falls because the stake grew.

Back to the question we opened with. It depends on the book: up to 10 units at first under the Buenos Aires Province rule book, 40 units once that is reached, and set by the line bet, 10 units, in the Cordoba text.

Where to go next, and further reading

18+ under each province’s rules · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page

Further reading

How it’s worked out

Rules, sources and hosts

Where the rules come from. The payouts come from the craps rules of Cordoba (Art. 2: Enganche a Buena, Enganche a Mala) and of Buenos Aires Province (Resolución 1452/12, Anexo I, chapter 13: 13.2.7 and 13.3.5 to 13.3.6). The ceilings are the Buenos Aires Province sentences in 13.2.7, the Cordoba sentences in Art. 2 on the value of the enganche and on changing it within the minimum and the maximum, and a Mendoza information page that describes the bet.

Numbers. Each exact figure is counted from the 36 ways two dice fall. The share the house keeps of the whole stake is worked out from the chances and the payouts when the page is built, and our checks recompute it from the dice engine rather than reading it back from this page. Amounts are in units of the bet.

What is deliberately absent. The Buenos Aires Province sentence on how large an enganche a Mala may be is quoted but not turned into an amount: it limits the enganche to “the percentage” the enganche a Buena is paid on the point sought, and that does not fix a sum. In the raised ceiling we read “its amount” as the size the enganche had reached, which is the line bet. The Cordoba sentence says the value of the enganche “is determined by” the bet first made on Buena when that bet is below the maximum; we read that as a ceiling of the line bet, not as an enganche that has to equal it. Neither book says whether an enganche works on the next come-out roll, so this page does not say it either. Come bets are lesson 5.5.

Sources. Every rule on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, in the rule book’s own Spanish, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it.

Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.

No promise. The enganche is paid at the true odds, and it does not take the cost out of the line bet it stands behind. Knowing the ceiling lets you ask the right question at the table; nothing on this page says how a throw or an evening would end.

Spotted a mistake on this page? Tell us

Sending a report needs JavaScript. Without it, write to us through Contact and give the page address.

Please do not include personal details, such as health or money problems. For help with gambling, see Helplines by province.

Your report reaches us as an email and is not published. What we keep