The Don’t Come Bet
| Updated: The Don’t Come Bet: The Twin of the Don’t Pass Wager
Inexperienced craps players are often reluctant to try their luck at the tables because the abundance of betting options can be confusing and intimidating. As a result, they may overlook some of the best odds on the casino floor. The Don’t Come bet is a good example because it carries a house edge of less than 1.5%. However, inexperienced gamblers often find it confusing because it usually takes multiple rolls to resolve.
Don’t Come bets are essentially the opposite of Come bets and are almost identical to Don’t Pass wagers. The main difference is that the Don’t Come bet becomes available only after the shooter establishes a point for the Pass Line on the come-out roll. Players can also lay odds on their Don’t Come wagers to reduce the effective house edge.
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This guide explains everything you need to know about this basic craps wager. It covers the bet’s payouts and house edge, as well as how laying free odds can reduce the effective house edge as a percentage of your total wager. We finish with several strategy tips for incorporating this wager into your craps sessions.
Basics of Come and Don’t Come Bets
Come and Don’t Come bets are among the most basic wagers in craps, along with Pass and Don’t Pass bets. These are often some of the first wagers craps players learn, although they can initially be confusing. Understanding how Pass and Don’t Pass bets work is essential because they define the basic flow of the game.
Pass bets win if the initial roll produces a total of 7 or 11 and lose if the dice show a craps number of 2, 3, or 12 on the come-out roll. Nearly the opposite applies to Don’t Pass bets: they lose on 7 or 11 and win when the shooter rolls 2 or 3 at the start of a round. A roll of 12 is a push for Don’t Pass wagers, meaning they neither win nor lose. If any remaining number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) appears on the come-out roll, it becomes the point for the Pass Line and is marked by the dealer with a puck. Pass Line wagers remain on the layout, and the shooter rolls again. In this scenario, the shooter must roll the point number before rolling a 7 for Pass bets to win. If a 7 occurs before the point number is rolled, Don’t Pass wagers win. Both Pass and Don’t Pass bets pay even money at odds of 1 to 1.
Come and Don’t Come wagers are similar, but you cannot place them on the come-out roll. They can be made only after the shooter has established a point for the Pass Line. Their winning conditions and payouts correspond to those of Pass and Don’t Pass wagers. The roll immediately after a Come or Don’t Come bet is placed is treated as a come-out roll for that specific wager. Keep in mind that the point numbers for Come and Don’t Come bets may differ from the point for Pass and Don’t Pass wagers.
What Is the Don’t Come Bet?
In theory, Come and Don’t Come wagers are not difficult to understand because they are very similar to Pass and Don’t Pass bets. The key difference is that you place them after a point has been established for the Pass Line rather than on the come-out roll. Many players become confused about when Come and Don’t Come wagers are available. Craps is a fast-paced game, and novices may find it difficult to keep track of the rolls.
The simplest way to determine whether these bets are available is to look at the layout. When the shooter establishes a point after the come-out roll, the dealer places a small white puck marked “On” above that number on the layout. The puck is black and marked “Off” when a point has yet to be established for the Pass Line.
Don’t Come bets win if a 2 or 3 is rolled immediately after the bet is placed. They lose if a 7 or 11 is rolled, while 12 is considered a push, meaning players neither win nor lose. Treating 12 as a push preserves the casino’s advantage. If any other number appears, it becomes the point for the Don’t Come bet. In this case, you need a 7 to appear before the point number to win the Don’t Come bet. If the point appears before the 7, you lose.
Here is an example. A 5 appears on the come-out roll, and you then place a Don’t Come wager. The Pass Line point of 5 is not yet relevant to your bet because you need a 2 or 3 on the next roll to win immediately. If the shooter rolls a 7 or 11, you lose. If the dice show an 8, that number becomes the point for your Don’t Come bet. Your chips are moved to the area of the table corresponding to this new point number. If the dice land on 8 before a 7, you lose. You win only if the shooter rolls a 7 before rolling another 8.
Don’t Come Bet Payout and House Edge
The outcomes in craps are governed by chance and are independent of one another. In other words, each toss is random and unaffected by previous rolls of the dice. However, the outcomes are based on mathematical probabilities, so the likelihood of winning a given bet can be calculated. This is possible because there are only 36 potential dice combinations in the game.
These combinations also make it possible to calculate the true odds and house edge for each supported bet type. Both Don’t Pass and Don’t Come wagers pay even money, meaning your profit is equal to your original bet. One of the main benefits of making Don’t Come bets is their low house edge. The house edge is 1.36%, which is slightly lower than the 1.41% edge on the Come bet. This means that, on average, players can expect to lose 1.36% of the amount wagered over the long term, or $1.36 for every $100 wagered.
This makes the Don’t Come bet a suitable option for players looking to reduce the casino’s mathematical advantage. However, people rarely place this wager because it involves betting against the shooter. Those who make it are sometimes called “wrong” bettors because most players prefer Pass and Come bets, which lose whenever Don’t Pass and Don’t Come bets win, and vice versa. If you place a Don’t Come wager at a land-based table, you will probably be betting against most other players. This social aspect does not apply in the same way to virtual online craps.
Free Odds on Don’t Come Bets
Craps players can reduce the effective house edge on their total wager by laying odds on their Don’t Come bets. Odds bets, also known as Free Odds bets, are among the most advantageous wagers in the game because they are separate bets paid at true odds and carry no house edge. They can be placed after a point has been established for Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, or Don’t Come wagers.
When the point for your Don’t Come wager is established, you can ask the dealer to lay odds for you because this is not a self-service wager. You give the chips to the dealer and state how much you want to lay. With this Odds wager, you are betting that a 7 will be rolled before the point number. If your original bet wins, the Odds wager also wins, and the casino pays the latter at true odds.
The permitted amount may be one, two, or three times your original bet, although some land-based casinos offer odds of up to 100 times the original wager to attract more players to their craps tables. Odds limits are typically described as 1x Odds, 2x Odds, 3x Odds, and so on. For example, suppose the point on your $10 Don’t Come wager is 8 and you lay $30 in odds. If a 7 appears before the 8, you receive an even-money payout on the Don’t Come wager plus the applicable payout on the Free Odds bet.
The payouts for Odds wagers vary depending on the established point number. When the point is 4 or 10, the payout is 1 to 2 (1:2). On points of 5 and 9, the Odds bet pays 2 to 3 (2:3), while on points of 6 and 8, it pays 5 to 6 (5:6). These wagers pay at true odds rather than reduced casino odds. True odds reflect the actual probabilities of winning and losing.
Free Odds bets placed behind a Don’t Come wager win if the dice produce a 7 before the point. Using a point of 8 as an example, there are six ways to roll a 7 and five ways to roll an 8. You are therefore risking six units to win five, which corresponds to the 5-to-6 payout on Odds laid against a point of 8. The payouts for Odds bets are mathematically fair and carry no house edge. Laying more odds reduces the effective house edge as a percentage of the total amount wagered, but it also increases the amount of money at risk.
Another important point is that Pass and Come bettors generally risk a smaller amount to win a larger amount when taking odds, whereas the opposite applies to Don’t Pass and Don’t Come bettors. You must place a larger Odds bet to win a smaller amount. This is because you become the favorite when laying odds against the point number, as a 7 is more likely to appear than any individual point. If your Don’t Come wager is $10 and you lay $10 in odds against a point of 10, the original bet wins $10 when a 7 appears first. The $10 Free Odds bet wins another $5, giving you a total profit of $15.
Craps Strategy Using the Don’t Come Bet
Certain wagers in craps carry very low house edges, but the game also includes several high-risk bets with a much larger casino advantage. A sound craps strategy focuses on basic wagers such as Pass, Don’t Pass, Come, and Don’t Come bets. The Don’t Come bet is a particularly attractive option because it has a low house edge of 1.36% and can be placed whenever a point has been established for the Pass Line.
Players can combine Don’t Come wagers with other bets as part of their approach. The most straightforward option is to lay odds on the Don’t Come bet, as explained in the previous section. Players seeking the lowest effective house edge should lay the highest odds their bankroll and the table limits comfortably permit. The original bet, on the other hand, should be as small as the table limits allow. This principle applies to all craps bets that allow players to take or lay odds.
For example, if you plan to wager $10 per round, you could place $2 on a Don’t Come bet and add $8 in Odds. The reason is simple: while the Don’t Come bet has a 1.36% house edge, the Odds bet carries no house edge. Without free odds, the effective house edge as a percentage of your total amount wagered would be higher.
Another strategy involves combining Don’t Pass, Don’t Come, and Field bets. The Field box includes the three craps numbers (2, 3, and 12), along with 4, 9, 10, and 11. A winning Field bet pays differently depending on the number rolled. It pays even money when 3, 4, 9, 10, or 11 is rolled, 2 to 1 when 2 is rolled, and 3 to 1 when 12 appears. Combining these wagers covers more possible roll outcomes, but it does not eliminate the house edge or guarantee a profit.