Come and Don't Come Craps Bets

The average pass attempt takes about four or five rolls, though boomerang rolls (point-point) are quite common, as are point followed by an immediate seven-out. Naturals and craps on the come-out areBasil Nestor is the author of the new Playboy Complete Guide to Casino Gambling. This wonderful book teaches players how to avoid sucker bets and win more when playing gambling games.  He is also the author of The Smarter Bet Guide series for video poker, slots, craps, and many other books about gambling.  Basil's website is www.smarterbet.com  also pretty frequent. But even though there are plenty of quick decisions that can occur for pass and don’t pass, the reverse is also true. It can take twenty minutes or longer for a shooter to hit her point or seven-out. Craps lore is filled with amazing stories of people who have held the dice for an hour or more. A feat like that would be extraordinarily boring if the only wagers at stake were the pass and don’t pass. Craps is exciting because every roll can be a winner. The extra action comes from bets like these…

Come is the largest area of the layout on most tables. It’s the first thing most people see (or at least the first thing that registers) when they peer over the rail. What the heck does it mean?

The origin of the phrase is lost in the mists of history, but you’ll find it helpful to consider come as a hearty welcome to players who have arrived at the game during the shooter’s attempt to pass.

It’s simple. A come bet works like a pass-line bet except that a come bet is made after the shooter establishes a point. Nevertheless, the wager has a full opportunity for a natural win on the first roll.

How does that work? The key to understanding come (and its opposite, don’t come) is to forget about the shooter’s attempt to pass and simply focus on the numbers as the shooter rolls them. Think of the numbers as a series. Remember, the rules for winning and losing are exactly the same for pass and for come.

For example, a come wager will win on the first roll when the dice produce 7 or 11, and it will lose with craps. A winning 7 for a come bet might be a seven-out for the shooter, but the shooter’s contest doesn’t involve the come bet. A come bet has its own come-out and its own point. Come is entirely independent of the shooter’s attempt to pass except that both wagers use the same sequence of numbers.

“Do and Don’t Betting Examples” shows how this works. Imagine that four players simultaneously arrive at the table. Each player bets only one way and waits for a win or loss before placing another bet. The various wagers are shown side by side. They all occur during the same random rolls of the dice. Empty spaces indicate no effect from the roll.

Do and Don’t Betting Examples

Pass and don’t-pass bets are made when the shooter is coming out. Come and don’t-come bets are made after a shooter’s point has been established. Wins and losses in this table reflect these particular random dice rolls.

Notice that the first roll in the sequence is the shooter’s come-out. It has no effect on the come and don’t come because action is not allowed for those wagers. The next 7 (fifteenth roll in the sequence) is a win for the come but a loss for the shooter. The final 7 (final roll in the sequence) is a loss for both do bettors and a win for both don’t bettors.

There is no limit to the number of come and don’t-come wagers a player can make alone or in tandem with other bets. Betting on multiple successive rolls is common, though it can get expensive. If a shooter throws 7, the current come bet will win, but the others that are waiting for a point will be lost. On the other hand, if the shooter is throwing a lot of numbers and 7 is nowhere to be seen, multiple come bets will earn a lot of money. And of course, the opposite is true for multiple don’t-come bets; one 7 brings rich rewards, but a hot shooter will knock off multiple don’t-come bets like a kung fu master in a martial arts movie.

A bet on come has the exact same house edge (1.4 percent) and overall probability of winning or losing as a bet on the pass line. Ditto for don’t come and don’t pass. But there are some practical differences beyond the issue of when the bets are allowed.

Come and don’t come belong to a category of craps wagers that are handled in whole or in part by a dealer. Points are not designated with a puck. Instead, the chips are moved into the numbered squares, an area that is off-limits to the players. Here’s how it works for come.

As with line wagers, you begin by noting whether the shooter is coming out or trying to roll a point. You can make a come bet if the puck is ON.

Just reach across the layout and put your chips on the come. Come bets that win or lose on the first roll are handled like any bet; they’re either paid or taken. If a point is rolled, a dealer moves the come bet to the corresponding number box on the layout. The exact placement of the chips in the box will reflect where you’re standing at the table. The chips will stay there until a 7 or the point is rolled. A 7 makes them disappear, but a point will bring them back to the come box with a matching pile of chips.

If you’re making multiple come bets of equal value and a previous one happens to win while the current one has just established a point, the dealer won’t bother switching multiple stacks of chips. He will pay the bet on the come, and then move chips from one number to another if necessary. This is called off and on.

Wagers on the don’t come are placed and handled similarly to come bets. Simply put your chips on the don’t come. They’re moved to a corresponding number box if a point is rolled. A 7 brings the wager back with matching funds; a point makes it disappear.