The pass, don't pass, come and don't come bets with odds should be your regular bets, but I know that it can get very boring if you are playing only those bets and because of that, the only other place on the board you should consider putting your money is the place bet area.
Making a place bet you bet that one of the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 it will be rolled before a 7 is hit. So, if one of those numbers comes before a 7 you win. If a 7 is rolled before one of those numbers you lose. You make a place bet by putting chips on the table and then telling the dealer to 'place the 6' or whatever number you want to place.
If the number you bet on is rolled before a 7 you win and you are paid as follows: 4 or 10 placed - 9:5 odds, 5 or 9 placed - 7:5 odds, 6 or 8 placed - 7:6 odds. As you can see the best for you is to place a bet on 6 or 8, because these bets have the best odds and also they have a good chance of hitting and never bet on big 6 or big 8, where usually the casino tries to get your bet on.
You can place the bet any time in the game, and you can bet on more than one number at a time. To take down your place bet you have to ask the dealer to 'take me down' and you'll get your bet returned, you can take your bet down at any time.