The Come Bet
| Updated: The Come Bet – One of the Best Wagers in Craps
Many inexperienced players are intimidated by the large number of bet types available in craps. The craps layout supports more than 50 wagers, with some being considerably easier to understand than others. If you are new to craps, a good starting point is to master the basic Pass Line bet, as it offers some of the best odds of winning in the entire game. Several common wagers follow similar rules, including the Come bet.
Come bets work similarly to Pass Line wagers. The main difference is that players can place them only after a point number has been established on the come-out roll. Other than that, the winning conditions and payouts for Come bets largely coincide with those for Pass Line bets. Their house edges are also identical, as both types of wagers yield a house advantage of less than one and a half percent. In this article, we explain how Come bets work, examine their house edge, and discuss how to incorporate them into your craps betting strategy.
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How Come Bets Work
Many inexperienced players are so intimidated by the Come bet, and the Pass Line in general, that they avoid it altogether, despite it being one of the best wagers they can make in the entire game.
This fear partially stems from the fact that the bet’s name conveys nothing about how it actually works. In comparison, when you hear “Any 7“, the number required for a win is immediately clear.
The dealer often transfers Come bettors’ chips to a separate betting box, which further adds to the confusion for novice craps players. In reality, Come bets are not difficult to understand and are worth considering because of their low house edge.
When Can Players Make Come Bets?
Come bets closely resemble Pass Line bets, but there are several distinct differences between the two. Unlike Pass Line bets, Come bets are placed after the come-out roll, once a point number has been established. A small puck is used to indicate when players can make Come bets.
One side of the puck is black and has the word “Off” printed on it. The other side is white and reads “On”. After the shooter rolls a point number, the dealer positions the puck with its white side facing upward on the corresponding numbered box on the layout, indicating that Come bets are now available. The puck not only signals that Come bets are being accepted, but also shows Pass Line bettors their point number.
Before the come-out roll, the puck is placed above the Don’t Come Bar area with its black “Off” side facing up. This shows that the shooter is about to establish a point on the following roll and that Come bets are currently unavailable. After a point is rolled, Come bettors must place their chips in the large betting area on the layout that reads “COME”.
When Does the Come Bet Win?
Come bets are similar to Pass Line bets in that they win whenever the shooter rolls a natural 7 or 11 on the next dice toss. If this happens, Come bettors are paid at even-money odds. Like Pass Line wagers, Come bets lose if one of the three craps numbers, 2, 3, or 12, is rolled.
But what happens if no natural or craps number appears on the next roll? What if the shooter rolls a 5, 8, or 10, for example? If any other number is rolled, it becomes the point for the Come bettors, also known as “the come point”. The dealer will then move your chips into the box corresponding to the current come-point number. Come bets pay even money, or 1 to 1, if the point number is rolled before the shooter throws a 7. If a 7 appears before the come-point number, Come bettors lose the round.
As you can see, the rules are relatively straightforward, but many players still find this dual outcome confusing. The fact that Come bets often require multiple dice tosses to resolve can add to the confusion. If the rules are still unclear, the following concrete examples should help.
Several Examples with Come Bets
Imagine that you approach the craps table and see that Come bets are available because the small puck reads “On” and is positioned above a numbered box. Let’s assume that you intend to flat bet in $10 units. You must place your $10 chip in the COME area before the stickman gives the dice to the shooter. An 11 appears on the very next roll, and your Come bet is an automatic winner. You let it ride, and the next toss brings a lucky 7, so you win again.
Now, let’s examine what happens if no 7 or 11 appears immediately after you place your $10 chip in the COME area. Assume that the next tosses produce the following sequence of rolls: 4, 3, 11, 8, 6, and 4.
Since the shooter rolled a 4 immediately after you made your wager, the 4 becomes the point for your Come bet. The dealer takes your $10 chip and places it within the betting box that reads “4”. The next four numbers, 3, 11, 8, and 6, have no effect on your Come bet. Fortunately, the shooter rolls a second 4 on the sixth throw. Your Come bet wins because its point is rolled before a 7. The dealer pays you at even odds, giving you $10 in winnings in addition to your original $10 wager.
Let’s finish with one last example to reinforce the rules. We will provide a sequence of rolls, but this time, try to determine the bet’s outcome before reading the explanation. You wager another $10 on a Come bet, and the shooter throws the following sequence of rolls: 9, 4, 3, and 7. Did you win or lose?
If your answer is “lose”, you are correct. The shooter established a point of 9 for your Come bet but failed to roll the come point before a 7 appeared on the fourth toss. Had your come point been rolled first, you would have received an even-money payout for an overall return of $20.
What Happens When There Are Multiple Come Bettors at the Table?
Those of you who have entered a casino have probably noticed how busy and noisy craps tables tend to be. This means that you most likely will not be the only player when you join the table. What’s more, there is a good chance that other Come bettors will be at the table with you.
Sometimes, there may be as many as six Come bettors, each wagering a different amount on this bet. When a point number for these Come bets is thrown, the dealer moves the bettors’ chips into the box corresponding to the point. You may wonder how craps dealers keep track of all the action and, more specifically, how they determine which chips belong to each player.
To prevent mistakes, the dealers place each player’s chips in a position that reflects where the player is standing at the table. For example, if your position is immediately to the left of the stickman, your chips will be placed in the front-right corner of the numbered box when viewed from your perspective.
If you do not retrieve your payout, the craps personnel will interpret this as letting the bet ride on the next roll of the dice. If you do not intend to place another Come bet on the next roll or want to decrease your wager, it is up to you to collect or adjust your chips.
Also remember that Come bettors are not permitted to take down their wagers after placing their chips on the layout. The chips remain on the table until the Come bet wins or loses.
The House Edge on Come Bets
Many people play craps without fully understanding the house edge they face. The challenge with craps is that each type of wager has its own odds and house edge. In contrast, the house edge for all bet types in roulette is either 2.70% or 5.26%, depending on the number of zeros on the wheel. The only exception is the five-number bet on double-zero wheels, where the house holds an advantage of 7.89% over players.
Although this makes craps more complex, the game also offers some of the best bets available in a casino. The Come bet is a good example, as it puts you at a statistical disadvantage of only 1.41%. You can further reduce this house edge, as we explain in the next section. On average, Come bets will cost you $1.41 for every $100 wagered.
On the first roll, the number of dice combinations that produce an immediate win is higher than the number that cause an immediate loss. There are eight combinations with which your Come bet can win on the first dice toss after the come-out roll. As explained earlier, you need a 7, which has six possible combinations, or an 11, which has two possible combinations, to receive an immediate payout after making a Come bet. Only four combinations for the craps numbers 2, 3, and 12 can cause an immediate loss: 1-1, 2-1, 1-2, and 6-6.
Things become more complicated if you do not win on the next throw of the dice. Your Come bet faces a disadvantage after a come point is established. You need the shooter to roll your come point before a 7. The problem is that a 7 has more dice combinations than any possible point number. Therefore, the shooter is more likely to roll a 7 before your point.
That said, you can play several Come bets simultaneously. To illustrate how multiple Come bets work, suppose the shooter establishes a point for the Pass Line and you place your chips in the COME area. The next dice roll results in a 10, which becomes the come point. At this stage, you decide to place another bet in the COME area. The shooter throws the dice again and rolls a 6.
You now have two come-point numbers to follow: 10 for the first Come bet and 6 for the second. Your chips will be placed within the 10 and 6 betting boxes above the COME area. These numbers must be rolled before a 7 appears for your two bets to win.
Many Come bettors like to play multiple wagers simultaneously because this enables them to cover more numbers on the layout. This way, they can win several bets if the shooter rolls their come points before rolling a 7. This approach is riskier because a roll of 7 automatically causes all Come bets on point numbers to lose.
Free Odds on Come Bets
In the previous section, we mentioned that players can further reduce the house edge on Come bets. Craps players can achieve this by backing their Come bets with free odds, just as Pass Line bettors can.
Backing your bet with free odds is among the most advantageous moves you can make in a casino because this is the only type of wager where the house holds no advantage over players. Winners are paid at true odds, which is rare in a casino.
Casinos normally limit the amounts wagered with free odds because they have no edge over players. These restrictions vary among gambling venues, depending on their policies. Some casinos in Las Vegas limit odds bets to the table minimum. Other venues allow you to back your Come bet with multiples of your original wager, capping the free-odds wager at three times the amount initially staked. Others permit you to take up to 100x odds.
To take odds on your Come bet, verbally indicate your intention by saying, “Odds, please,” because only the dealer is allowed to handle this type of wager. The dealer will then take your chips and place them on top of your initial Come bet. The free-odds chips are placed slightly off-center so that the dealer can distinguish them from your original bet.
Come bets backed by odds also win when the point is rolled before a 7. The payouts vary for different points, depending on the number of possible winning combinations. We have broken down the payouts in the chart below. These payouts apply only to the free odds bet. The original wager still returns even money if it wins.
| Winning Point Number Pairs | Payout on Come Bets with Odds |
|---|---|
| 6 and 8 | 6 to 5 |
| 5 and 9 | 3 to 2 |
| 4 and 10 | 2 to 1 |
The payouts show why backing your Come bets with odds can be beneficial. If you win with a point number of 6 or 8, where there are three possible winning combinations for each number, your odds bet will return $6 for a wager of $5. Generally, the more money you wager when taking odds, the more you reduce the overall house edge on your initial bet.
The Difference between Come and Don’t Come Bets
The Don’t Come bet largely mirrors the Come bet, so it is important to understand how it works. The Don’t Come bet can be considered an extension of the Don’t Pass bet. Both yield a low house edge of 1.36%. The Don’t Come bet is also available only after a point has been established for the Pass Line.
You place your chips in the section of the layout that reads “Don’t Come Bar”. The Don’t Come bet wins even money if the shooter rolls a craps number of 2 or 3 on the next throw. Rolling a 12 results in a push. If a 7 or 11 occurs on the next roll, the Don’t Come bet loses. As you can see, this wager works like the Come bet, but in reverse.
If any other number, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10, is rolled, it becomes the point for the Don’t Come bet. The Don’t Come bet wins even money if the shooter rolls a 7 before the point number appears. This reversal is the main difference between the two types of bets. Keep in mind that your chips remain on the layout after your Don’t Come bet wins, so make sure to remove them if you do not intend to let the wager ride.
Players can again reduce the house edge by combining their Don’t Come bets with free odds bets. In this case, they “lay the odds” instead of “taking” them. Odds bets are made in multiples of 1x, 2x, 3x, or higher, and the more you invest, the lower the overall house edge on your Don’t Come bet becomes. Winning bets of this type return different payouts depending on the point. The payouts are listed in the table below.
| Point Number Pairs | Payout on Don’t Come Bets with Odds |
|---|---|
| 6 and 8 | 5 to 6 |
| 5 and 9 | 2 to 3 |
| 4 and 10 | 1 to 2 |
Incorporating Come Bets into Your Betting Strategy
We recommend that aspiring craps players stick to bets with the lowest house edges. The Come bet belongs to this category, as does its “twin”, the Don’t Come bet, which has an even lower house edge. Different craps experts have developed various ways to incorporate Come bets into a betting strategy.
In many cases, these bets are used in conjunction with Pass Line wagers and complemented with free odds. You start by placing a Pass Line bet and take 2x odds after a point is rolled. Once the point is established, you make a Come bet, which is also complemented with 2x odds. This way, you have two numbers working for you. If the Pass Line point or the come point is rolled, you win one of your bets, place it again, and back it with 2x odds.
For example, if the shooter rolls the Pass Line point before a 7, your Pass Line bet wins. You collect your payout and make another Pass Line bet. The Come bet will not be affected by the other wager winning and will remain on the layout.
The second thing to remember is that free odds are not active during come-out rolls. When the shooter throws a 7 on a come-out roll and your Pass Line bet wins, the odds you have taken will be returned to you.
This approach has two main advantages. First, it is relatively conservative. Your exposure to a 7 is lower because you play only two numbers at any given time. Second, you reduce the house edge on your Pass Line and Come bets to 0.60% by taking 2x odds. This straightforward approach can help beginners become familiar with Pass Line bets, Come bets, and free odds during their first sessions at the craps table.