1. What Is Come Line In Craps
2. Don't Come Line In Craps

The Best Bets In Craps: Pass/Come and Don’t Pass/Don’t Come

By Jerry 'Stickman'

Dec 29, 2018 Most game developers offer $1 minimum wagers on pass line, don’t pass line, come, and don’t come. Therefore, you can place one of these bets along with 3x odds for just $4. Serious craps players would rather have the higher odds featured at land-based casinos. A pass line on come-out (before a point is set) wins if a 7 or 11 is tossed and loses when a 2, 3, or 12 appears. If any other number is thrown, that number becomes the point and the come-out cycle is over for the pass line bet.

The game of craps can be very exciting. It can also be very frustrating. One of the great draws to this game is the variety of bets available. One can bet with the shooter – betting that he will make the point number before the 7 shows, or one can bet that the 7 will rear its ugly head before the shooter repeats the point number.

Of course, there are dozens of other bets also available; place bets, hard way bets, field bets, horn bets, whirl bets, hop bets, big 6, big 8 and big red. Each bet comes with its own probability of hitting, payback amount and related house edge.

Two of the very best bets on the table are the pass line / come bets (with the shooter), and the don’t pass / don’t come bets (against the shooter). Both of these bets have about a 1.4 percent house edge, but obviously pay at different times.

A pass line – on come-out (before a point is set) – wins if a 7 or 11 is tossed and loses when a 2, 3, or 12 appears. If any other number is thrown, that number becomes the point and the come-out cycle is over for the pass line bet. The point numbers (sometimes called box numbers because they are the numbers in the 'boxes' by the dealers) are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10.

The come bet works just like the pass line bet, but it is placed when a point is already established for the pass line. The player places the bet in the Come area. If a 7 or 11 appears, the bet wins. If a 2, 3, or 12 appears, the come bet loses. If any other number is rolled, the come bet is moved inside the square by the dealer that contains that number. The point is now established and the come-out cycle is over for that come bet.

If a 7 is rolled when there is a come bet in the Come area, the come bet wins but the pass line and any come bets that have already been moved to a point number lose.

The power of pass / come bets is realized during the come out phase. It wins on a 7 or 11 and loses on a 2, 3, or 12. There are six ways to make a 7 (1-6, 6-1, 2-5, 5-2, 3-4, 4-3) and two ways to make an 11 (5-6, 6-5) for a total of eight ways to win. There is one way to make a 2 (1-1), two ways to make a 3 (1-2, 2-1) and one way to make a 12 (6-6) for a total of four ways to lose. That is a 2-to-1 advantage. Once a point is established, however, the advatage swings solidly toward to house.

The don’t pass/don’t come works similar to the pass/come bet, however, you are betting the opposite way. On come-out, a don’t pass / don’t come loses if a 7 or 11 is thrown and wins if a 2 or 3 is rolled. If this bet were truly the opposite of the pass/come bet, the player would have an edge, so in order to tip the scales toward the house, the 12 appearing on come-out is a push – no one wins or loses. This one minor change is enough to swing the edge toward the house.

The edge is solidly with the house on the come-out with don’t pass/don’t come bets. There are 8 ways to lose and only 3 ways to win, however , once you make it past the come-out, the edge favors the player.

Once a point is established, the pass/come, don’t pass/don’t come player can add odds behind initial (flat) bet. This is called placing odds for the pass/come bet and laying odds for the don’t pass/don’t come bet. On a win, the flat portion of the bet is paid even money and the odds are paid at true odds. For example, the odds of throwing a 4 before a 7 is 2-to-1. For a point of 4 the odds behind a pass or come bet are paid at 2 units for every unit bet. For don’t pass/don’t come the odds are 1-to-2 that the 7 will appear before the 4, so the odds are paid at 1 unit for each 2 unit laid.

The flat portion of pass/come bets are considered 'contract' bets after the point is established. This means that the flat portion cannot be removed or reduced once the point is established. It can be increased however. The odds can be increased, decreased or removed at anytime.

Don’t pass / don’t come bets can be removed at any time since the player has the edge on these bets.

As stated previously, the house edge for pass/come, don’t pass/don’t come bets is about 1.4 percent. Because the odds bets are paid at true odds, there is no house edge on the odds portion. By adding single odds (equal to the flat bet), the edge drops to .83 percent. At double odds it drops to .61% and at 5 times odds it drops to paltry 1/3 of one percent. This is why the pass/come and don’t pass/don’t come bets are the best in the game of craps.

Stick with this betting and your winning session will increase and the amount you lose will decrease. It is in the math.

What Is Come Line In Craps

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. The 'Stickman' is also a certified instructor for Golden Touch Craps and Golden Touch Blackjack. For more information visit www.goldentouchcraps.com or www.goldentouchblackjack.com or call 1-886-738-3423. You can contact Jerry 'Stickman' at stickmanGTC@aol.com

Most inexperienced players who decide to put their luck to the test by joining the craps table opt for placing bets on the Pass Line as those have greater chances of winning. If you are new to craps and wish to diversify your gaming session a bit, you can switch from placing Pass and Don't Pass bets to another multiple-roll bet type known as the Come bet.

This bet type is easy to explain as long as players understand how the Pass Line works. Besides, placing systematically only Line bets tends to become boring after prolonged periods of time as one is required to wait out numerous dice rolls with results irrelevant to their bet.

That is why it would be a good idea to incorporate the Come bet into your session's betting pattern. This way, you will not only diversify your play but would also turn some profit as the Come bet is among the least hazardous bet types in craps.

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The Come Bet Explained

In most general terms, the Come bet is like the Pass Line bet, the only difference is that players can place Come bets only after the come out roll of the dice when a Point has been established. So basically, the only instance when Come bets are not accepted, is on the come-out roll for the Pass Line.

If you take a look at the craps table layout, you will quickly notice there is one section labeled “Come”. This is where players are expected to place their chips when making Come bets. However, before a player proceeds to place their Come bet, they should check whether the plastic disk at the side is flipped and if it reads “On” or “Off” on top. If the disk is “On”, this would indicate the shooter has already “come out”. The fate of all Pass Line bets is determined and Come bets are now accepted.

The Come bet revolves around the same principle the Pass Line bet does.

Players place their bets in the Come box, win on 7 or 11 and lose when any of the Craps numbers (2, 3 or 12) is rolled. Any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) can become the Point on the next roll. When this happens, the croupier will move your Come bet in the respective number's box. Let's assume the number 5 has been established as a Point. This is where the 7 comes back in the game. Players, who have placed their Come bet will win provided that their Come-Point number or 5 in this case is rolled before the number 7.

Odds for the Come Bet

The Come bet is among the most basic types of bets one can place at the craps table. Since its chances of winning are greater, it pays out even money meaning that if you place a $10 wager, you can win another $10.

However, as there is a built-in advantage for the casino, the odds for the Come bet are slightly biased at 251 to 244. Nevertheless, the Come bet, along with the Pass Line bets is among the most profitable options for players as its house edge is the lowest and stands at 1.41%.

A house edge of 1.41% is considered a good option, especially when compared to bets like the Yo-leven and Any Craps with their house edge of 11.11%. Still, there are ways to tip the scales in your favor.

Don't Come Line In Craps

For instance, you can combine your Come bets with the so-called Free Odds bets. If you are playing in a land-based venue, make sure you comply with the table's etiquette, however. If you wish to back your Come bet with odds, you should throw your chips in the Come box and indicate to the croupier these are to be used to back the Come bet. This way, the odds will be removed for the Come bet rolls and players' disadvantage will be greatly reduced along with the odds.

It is possible to back the Come bet by combining it with single (1x), double (2x), triple (3x), five-times (5x) and ten-times (10x) odds. The house edge is reduced with each increment of the free odds bets. Thus, if you combine your Come bet with a Free double-odds bet, the built-in advantage will drop to 0.85%, while a ten-times odds bet will reduce it to 0.18%.

Conclusion

Come bets, along with the Pass and Don't Pass bets, are among the most basic wagers players can place in a game of craps. These are the most suitable for novices who wish to play it safe and stick to less risky wagers with a lower house edge. Similarly to the Pass/Don't Pass pair, the Come bet, too, has its counterpart, the Don't Come bet, which works, in the same manner, the Don't Pass bet does, only a point has to be already established in order for you to place a Don't Come bet.