Come and Don't Come Bets in Craps
Last reviewed: June 2026
Come and Don’t Come bets are essentially private Pass and Don’t Pass lines that you open after a point is already on the board — they carry the same low house edge and let you build multiple active numbers without any additional math penalty.
If you have read our Pass vs. Don’t Pass breakdown, Come and Don’t Come will feel immediately familiar. The mechanics are almost identical; the only real difference is timing. Where Pass and Don’t Pass are live only during a come-out roll, Come and Don’t Come can be placed at any point during a round once the shooter has established a point. That single distinction is what makes them so useful for players who want more action on the table without wandering into the territory of higher-edge bets.
How a Come Bet Works
Once a point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) is established, you may place a chip in the large Come box at any time. The very next roll then acts as a mini come-out just for your bet:
- 7 or 11 — your Come bet wins immediately at even money.
- 2, 3, or 12 — your Come bet loses immediately (craps).
- Any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10) — that number becomes your Come point, and the dealer physically moves your chip into the corresponding numbered box on the layout.
From that moment on, your bet rides on its own private contest: if the Come point rolls again before a 7, you win even money. If a 7 appears first, you lose. The shooter’s main point is irrelevant to your Come bet — both bets simply coexist on the table, each tracking its own outcome independently.
Because the resolution rules are identical to a Pass line bet, the math is identical too: 1.41% house edge (exactly 7/495) on your initial Come wager.
How a Don’t Come Bet Works
The Don’t Come bet mirrors the Don’t Pass: you are wagering against the number. After a point is set, place a chip in the Don’t Come bar. On the next roll:
- 7 or 11 — Don’t Come loses.
- 2 or 3 — Don’t Come wins.
- 12 — push (your money is returned, no decision). This bar-12 rule is the source of the house’s edge on the wrong side.
- Any other number — that number becomes the Don’t Come point. Your chip moves to a small area behind the numbered box, and you now need a 7 to appear before that number repeats.
The house edge on Don’t Come is 1.36% per initial wager (exactly 27/1980) — marginally lower than Come because the push on 12 slightly favors the casino less than a full loss would. In practice the difference is tiny, and both bets are among the best on a craps table.
Why Players Use Come Bets
The primary appeal is coverage. Suppose the shooter’s point is 8. You place a Come bet, and it travels to the 5. You place another, and it goes to the 10. Now you have three numbers working simultaneously — the 8 (via your Pass bet), the 5, and the 10 — all at the same 1.41% edge. Spreading across numbers this way increases the frequency with which you win something on each roll, smoothing out the experience of waiting for any single point to hit.
Contrast this with Place bets, which can also cover multiple numbers but at higher edges: Place 5 or 9 costs you 4.00%, and Place 4 or 10 costs 6.67%. For a player who wants multi-number coverage, Come bets are the lower-cost route. See Place bets explained for a full comparison.
The one tactical trade-off is control. With a Place bet you can take it down or reduce it whenever you like. A Come bet, once it travels to a box, stays there until it resolves — you cannot simply call it off mid-roll without forfeiting winnings you may be owed.
Backing Come Bets with Free Odds
Once your Come bet has traveled to a box, you can hand additional chips to the dealer and ask to “lay odds” or “put odds” on your Come point. This is the same Free Odds wager available behind the Pass line, paying at true probability with a 0% house edge — the only bet in the casino with no built-in margin.
True odds on each Come point:
| Come Point | True Odds (Come wins) |
|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 2 to 1 |
| 5 or 9 | 3 to 2 |
| 6 or 8 | 6 to 5 |
Most casinos allow the same odds multiples on Come bets as on Pass — commonly 3-4-5× (3× on 4/10, 4× on 5/9, 5× on 6/8). At that cap, the combined house edge across your flat Come bet and its odds drops to roughly 0.37% on total action wagered. That is about as close to a break-even proposition as any casino game offers. For the full mechanics of how odds scale down the blended edge, see Craps Odds Bets.
The “Working/Off” Default on Come-Out Rolls
There is one procedural detail that surprises many players. When a shooter sevens out and a new come-out roll begins, the odds attached to Come bets sitting in numbered boxes are off by default — the casino does not pay them (or collect them) if the come-out roll happens to hit those numbers or a 7.
Why does this exist? Historically, the convention protects players from losing their odds portion on a 7 during a come-out, while still allowing them to win on their flat Come bet if the number hits first. You can ask the dealer to keep your Come odds working on the come-out if you prefer; just say so before the roll and the dealer will mark your stack accordingly.
The flat Come bet itself is always working — only the odds portion defaults to off.
Come vs. Don’t Come: Which to Choose?
Neither is strictly superior. Don’t Come’s 1.36% edge is a hair lower, but you are laying odds rather than taking them — meaning you put up more money to win less, which affects your bankroll variance significantly. Right-side Come bettors tend to win more frequently in smaller amounts during a hot roll; wrong-side Don’t Come players grind quietly and win big when a 7 ends a long hand. The math over thousands of bets converges to nearly the same place.
If you are new to craps, starting on the Come side is usually easier to follow since you are rooting alongside most of the table. Once you are comfortable with the flow of a round, the Don’t Come is worth exploring — especially if you intend to use Free Odds aggressively, since the combined long-run cost is essentially identical.
House Edge Summary
| Bet | House Edge | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Come (flat) | 1.41% | Same as Pass |
| Don’t Come (flat) | 1.36% | Bar-12 push |
| Come + 1× Odds | ~0.85% on total action | — |
| Come + 2× Odds | ~0.61% on total action | — |
| Come + 3-4-5× Odds | ~0.37% on total action | Most common casino cap |
| Come + 10× Odds | ~0.18% on total action | Where available |
| Free Odds alone | 0% | No house margin |
Frequently Asked
Can I remove a Come bet after it travels to a box? Technically yes — a Come bet is “contract” while it is waiting in the Come area on the next roll, but once it has moved to a box it can be taken down because you are now the one with the mathematical disadvantage (the 7 is more likely than any specific number). Casinos will let you pull it, but doing so when you have a mathematical edge locked in (from odds or just position) is generally not in your favor. The flat Come bet moving to a box is in the house’s favor; your choice to remove it simply ends the contest.
Are Don’t Come bets rare at a live table? They are less common than Come bets because most craps players root for the shooter, but they are perfectly ordinary. Dealers handle them routinely. Just be understated when you win on a 7-out — the rest of the table just lost.
Do Come bets pay on the come-out 7 even if I have a Come point waiting? No — a 7 on the come-out is a winner for a new Come bet sitting in the Come bar, but it wipes out any Come bets already resting in their numbered boxes. That is the same 7 that ends the round.
Is there any strategy to how many Come bets to have working at once? Mathematically each one carries the same 1.41% edge, so adding more does not worsen or improve your long-run cost per dollar wagered. The practical consideration is bankroll: more active points mean more chips on the table at once, which magnifies swings. Two or three Come bets alongside the Pass line is a common balanced approach; see Craps Optimal Strategy for a deeper look.
Sources & Further Reading
- Wizard of Odds — Craps — house edge tables and come-bet analysis
- Craps for Beginners — LearnTheOdds — full introduction to the table
- Craps Odds Bets — LearnTheOdds — how Free Odds reduce your blended edge
Educational explanation only. No real-money gambling happens on LearnTheOdds.
Responsible gambling: Play for entertainment, not income — the math favors the house over time. Set limits, never chase losses, and if it stops being fun, take a break. 21+. Need help? Call 1-800-MY-RESET (1800myreset.org).