- Pays
- 1 to 1
- House edge
- 1.36%
- Decided by
- Several rolls
- Can be made
- Come-out roll
How the don’t pass bet works on the come-out roll
Your chips go in the Don’t Pass bar, the narrow strip just inside the pass line, before the come-out. On that first roll a 2 or 3 wins for you at even money. A 7 or 11 loses. A 12 is a push: the bet stays and nothing is paid.
Any other total, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, becomes the point, and now the bet flips in your favor. You need a 7 before the point repeats. Because the seven rolls six ways and no point number rolls more than five, the don’t pass bettor is the favorite from here on, as the come-out and point guide shows.
What bar 12 means on the don’t pass bar
Look at the printed strip and you will usually see the words Bar 12 beside it, sometimes drawn as a pair of sixes. Without that rule the Don’t Pass would win on every craps number and the casino would be paying players to bet against the shooter. Barring one number turns a small player edge into a small house edge.
A handful of tables bar the 2 instead of the 12. The effect on your money is identical, because a 2 and a 12 each come up one way in 36. What matters is that one craps number pushes. That means 2.78% of come-out rolls end in a tie that neither wins nor loses you a cent.
Why the don’t pass house edge is 1.36%
Run every possible hand and the Don’t Pass wins 47.93% of the time, pushes 2.78% and loses 49.29%. The gap between winning and losing is 1.364 percentage points, which is the house edge. On a $25 bet that works out to an average cost of about 34 cents each time the bet reaches a decision.
Notice that the losing figure is exactly the pass line winning figure. Every hand the right side wins, you lose. Every hand it loses, you win, except the barred 12. That single push is the whole reason the two edges differ, and without it the dark side would be the one bet in the pit the house could not beat.
| Point | Ways to roll it | Ways to roll 7 | Don’t Pass wins from here |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 3 | 6 | 66.67% |
| 5 or 9 | 4 | 6 | 60.00% |
| 6 or 8 | 5 | 6 | 54.55% |
The come-out is where the don’t bettor pays for that advantage. Eight of the 36 outcomes, the six sevens and two elevens, lose straight away, and only three win. That 22.22% chance of an instant loss is the price of admission, and it is why many dark-side players put down the smallest flat bet the table will accept.
| Bet | Pays | House edge | Per roll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don't Pass | 1 to 1 | 1.36% | 0.40% |
| Don't Come | 1 to 1 | 1.36% | 0.40% |
| Pass Line | 1 to 1 | 1.41% | 0.42% |
| Come | 1 to 1 | 1.41% | 0.42% |
| Lay 4 | 1 to 2 less 5% of the win | 2.44% | 0.61% |
| Place 6 | 7 to 6 | 1.52% | 0.46% |
Laying odds behind a don’t pass bet
After the point is set you can lay odds, the dark-side version of the odds bet. You risk more than you win, at the true price: lay $40 to win $20 against a 4 or 10, $30 to win $20 against a 5 or 9, and $30 to win $25 against a 6 or 8. The house takes nothing.
Casinos cap lay odds by what the bet can win, not what you risk. At a 3-4-5x table the biggest right-side odds bet pays six times the flat bet on any point, so a don’t bettor can usually lay enough to win the same. On a $10 don’t pass against the 4 that means laying $120 to win $60.
Laying odds brings the combined cost down fast. With 1x laid the edge on the total wagered falls to 0.68%, with 3-4-5x to 0.27%, and at 10x to 0.12%. Those are the lowest figures you will find in any casino dice game. The flat bet still carries its 1.36%, but it becomes a small slice of the money in action.
The don’t come bet, the same trade mid-hand
A Don’t Come bet is a Don’t Pass made after the point is already on. You put it in the small Don’t Come box next to the row of numbers, and the next roll acts as its private come-out: 2 or 3 wins, 7 or 11 loses, 12 pushes, and any point number sends your chips traveling.
When a number rolls, the dealer moves the bet into the space above that number box, where it now needs a 7 before the number repeats. It pays even money at the same 1.36% edge. To lay odds on it, hand chips to the dealer and name the number they are for.
When the seven arrives, every Don’t Come bet already sitting behind a number wins, and so does the Don’t Pass. A fresh chip still in the Don’t Come box loses on that same roll, because for that chip the seven is a come-out natural. Most dark-side players accept that cost to keep two or three numbers covered.
Lay odds on the don’t come bar
Lay odds on a Don’t Come bet are normally working on every roll, including the next come-out, which is the opposite of the default for odds on a right-side come bet. A come-out seven helps you, so there is nothing to protect. Want them off? Tell the dealer before the dice go out.
Taking a don’t pass bet down: allowed, but a mistake
Unlike the pass line, a don’t pass bet can be removed after the point is set. The casino allows it because it helps the house. You made the bet at a disadvantage during the come-out, survived the eight losing outcomes, and now hold a position that wins at least 54.55% of the time. Pulling it throws all of that away.
Put numbers on it. A $10 Don’t Pass against a point of 4 wins twice as often as it loses from here, so its expected value is about $3.33 in your favor. Taking it down returns your $10 and forfeits those $3.33. Dealers hand the chips back cheerfully for a reason.
The reverse move is not available at all. You cannot start a fresh Don’t Pass once a point is on, because it would be a bet made only when you are already the favorite. The closest legal equivalent is a lay bet, which pays true odds on the same seven but charges a 5% commission on the win.
Dark side etiquette and a don’t pass strategy that fits the table
Betting against the shooter is legal, common and perfectly polite, provided you keep it quiet. Most of the table wants the point made, on the Las Vegas Strip or in Atlantic City alike. When the seven shows and theirs get swept, collect yours without a word. Craps crowds remember the one player who cheered a seven-out.
Online the social side disappears. Licensed games in New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia deal the Don’t Pass by the same rules, and on a live-dealer game such as Evolution’s Live Craps nobody at the table knows which side you took. For a full plan built on the dark side, see our don’t pass strategy guide.
A few habits keep dealers on your side. Keep your chips tidy in the bar. Lay odds by setting chips beside your flat bet, slightly offset, and say the number if there is any doubt. And tip now and then, because the dark side creates more awkward payouts than anyone else at the rail.