Those don't bets at craps

12 November 2016

By Jerry Stickman

Hi Stickman,

I have a quick question – can I make a don’t pass bet after a come-out roll?

~ Jack


Hi Jack,

First off, rarely have I played don’t bets while at the craps table. It is just not what I want to do when playing with a table full of other players. Even without other players, I like to have enough confidence in my rolls that I will bet on them. If I don’t, I will not play.

If others are shooting the dice, I prefer to either bet with them or not bet at all. Many of the superstitious craps players feel it is bad luck to have a don’t better at the table. At the minimum, many players tend to resent don’t players. Some can even become openly hostile.

I prefer to go along with the shooters and try to keep a good karma going. But that is just my feeling and play style. Others are absolutely free to bet as they choose. I personally will not hold that against them. After all, it is their money they are betting and their bets do not influence the dice.

Well, enough of my rambling. Whether you are betting the “right side” with the shooter or the “dark side” against the shooter, the rules are the same. Once a point is established, in order to get on a new number (which I am assuming is what you want to do), you must do so by using a come or don't come bet. These bets work exactly the same as pass or don’t pass bets except they can be bet after a point is established.

For those readers who are not very familiar with craps, an explanation of these bets follows.

You start by placing your bet in the come or don’t come areas of the table. If the next roll is a 7 or 11, you win your come bet and lose your don’t come bet. If the next roll is a 2, 3 or 12, you lose you come bet. You win your don’t come bet if a 2 or 3 is rolled, but push if a 12 is rolled. If the next roll is any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10) your bet moves to that number. You then either want that number to appear before the 7 if you had a come bet, or you want the 7 to show before that number if you had a don’t come bet.

The come and don’t come bets also work exactly like the pass and don’t pass bets in other ways. With a pass or come bet, you have a two to one advantage over the casino on the come out roll. This is because on a come out roll there are eight ways to win – six ways to throw a 7 (6/1, 1/6, 5/2, 2/5, 4/3 and 3/4) and two ways to throw an 11 (6/5 and 5/6) which are winners and only four ways to lose – one way to throw a 2 (1/1), two ways to throw a 3 (2/1 and 1/2), and one way to throw a 12 (6/6). Once a point number is established, the edge switches to the casino.

With a don’t pass or don’t come bet, the house has the edge on a come out roll. You have eight ways to lose on the 7 and 11, three ways to win on the 2 and 3, and one way to push on the 12. The interesting thing about a don't pass or don't come bet is once you get past the initial roll and get to a point number, you have the advantage over the house.

I have seen players say they don't want their don't come bets to move to the 6 or 8 because these numbers are the most frequently hit point numbers and the house lets them keep their bet on the don't come for the next roll. These players fail to realize (or just don’t care) that they have an edge once they get past the come out roll. The casino lets them keep their bet in the don’t come area because it is to the house's advantage to do so. They certainly would never allow the same thing if the bet were a come bet.

Remember, if the house lets you do something that is not normal, it is nearly always not in your best interest to do it.

May all your wins be swift and large and all your losses slow and tiny.

Jerry “Stickman” is an expert in craps, blackjack and video poker and advantage slot machine play. He is a regular contributor to top gaming magazines. He authored the video poker section of Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and Pai Gow Poker! You can contact Jerry “Stickman” at stickmanjerry@aol.com