Playing the don't side
Betting the don't pass means rooting for the 7 while everyone else roots against it. It's slightly the better bet, the odds math runs backwards, and nobody at a live table will love you for it. Here's the whole picture.
Don't pass rules
The don't pass bar sits right next to the pass line, and it's almost exactly the opposite bet. On the comeout roll:
- A 2 or 3 rolls: you win even money. $10 pays $10.
- A 7 or 11 rolls: you lose.
- A 12 rolls: push. Your bet stays where it is, nothing happens.
- Any point number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10) rolls: that's the point, and now you need a 7 before that number repeats.
Once a point is set, you win if a 7 shows first and lose if the point shows first. Since 7 has 6 ways and no point has more than 5, you are the favorite on every point. On a 4 or 10 you win 2 times in 3. On a 5 or 9, 3 in 5. On a 6 or 8, 6 in 11.
The don't come is the same bet made after a point is established. Your chip goes in the DON'T COME box, the next roll acts as a private comeout for that chip (2 or 3 wins, 7 or 11 loses, 12 pushes), and if a point number rolls the dealer moves your chip to the small box above that number. From there it wins on a 7 and loses if that number repeats. If you know how come bets work, the don't come is the mirror image.
Bar 12: why the 12 pushes
Look at the don't pass area and you'll see BAR 12 (or a picture of two sixes) printed on it. That's the whole house edge, right there. If the don't pass won on 2, 3, and 12, it would be an exact mirror of the pass line, and since the pass line loses 1.41% for the player, an exact mirror would win 1.41% for the player. No casino runs a bet like that. So the house bars one of the craps numbers. The 12 has only one way to roll, so barring it removes exactly 1 of your 36 comeout outcomes and turns it into a tie.
A few casinos bar the 2 instead. Same effect, same edge, because 2 and 12 both have one way to roll.
Why 1.36% is better than 1.41%
The don't pass loses on the comeout more often than it wins. Eight combinations (six 7s, two 11s) beat you, three combinations (one 2, two 3s) pay you, and one (the 12) ties. But you make it back on the point, where you're the favorite every time. Work every branch through and the don't pass carries a house edge of 1.36%, against 1.41% for the pass line.
The difference is one-twentieth of one percent. On $1,000 of don't pass bets you expect to lose about $13.60 instead of $14.10. That's fifty cents. It's real, and it makes the don't the cheapest flat bet on the layout, but the odds bet matters far more than which side you're on.
Lay odds: the math backwards
On the pass side you take odds and get paid more than you bet, because you're the underdog. On the don't side you lay odds: you bet more than you'll win, because you're the favorite. The payout is still at true odds, so the house edge on the lay odds is zero, same as the pass side.
| Point | Ways to roll it | Ways to roll 7 | You lay | To win |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | 3 | 6 | $2 | $1 |
| 5 or 9 | 4 | 6 | $3 | $2 |
| 6 or 8 | 5 | 6 | $6 | $5 |
In dollars: against a 6 or 8, lay $30 to win $25, or $60 to win $50. Against a 5 or 9, lay $30 to win $20. Against a 4 or 10, lay $40 to win $20. To keep payouts clean, lay in multiples of $6 against the 6 and 8, multiples of $3 against the 5 and 9, and even amounts against the 4 and 10. Payouts floor to the whole dollar, so $5 laid against an 8 wins $4, not $4.17.
Lay odds go beside or on top of your don't pass chip, offset so the dealer can tell them apart, and like pass line odds they can be added, reduced, or removed any time. The flat don't pass bet is also one you can take down after the point is set. The casino will happily let you, because you're the favorite at that moment and removing the bet is a gift to the house. Don't.
How much can you lay?
Under the standard 3-4-5x rule, a pass line player can win up to 6 times the flat bet on odds. The don't side mirrors that: you may lay enough to win up to 6 times your flat bet, which works out to laying 6 times the flat bet against any point. With a $10 don't pass bet:
| Point | Flat bet | Max lay | Lay pays | Total win | Total risked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 or 10 | $10 | $60 | $30 | $40 | $70 |
| 5 or 9 | $10 | $60 | $40 | $50 | $70 |
| 6 or 8 | $10 | $60 | $50 | $60 | $70 |
Notice the shape of this table compared with the pass side. You always risk $70 and win between $40 and $60. A pass line player with full odds risks $40 to $60 and always wins $70. Same coin, viewed from the other side. With full 3-4-5x lay odds, the combined house edge on the don't pass drops to about 0.27%, a shade better than the pass line's 0.37% with full odds. On PointPuck the hover tip on the don't pass spot shows the exact cap for your bet.
Why wrong bettors are unpopular, and why it doesn't matter
Players on the don't are called wrong bettors, and pass line players are right bettors. The names are old and nobody means them literally, but they tell you something about the culture. A craps table is a group of strangers cheering for the same number. When the shooter hits a point, the whole rail wins together. If you're on the don't, you just lost while everyone else is high-fiving, and when the shooter sevens out and the table groans, you're the one quietly stacking chips. Some players find that awkward. A few superstitious ones will actually blame you, as if your chip on the don't pass made the 7 come.
None of it changes the dice. Two cubes don't know where your chip is, and the house edge on the don't is 1.36% whether the table loves you or not. If the social side bothers you, that's a fair reason to play the pass line, but it's a reason about you, not the math. At a play-money table it doesn't come up at all, which makes it a good place to get comfortable with the don't before you try it in a crowd.
One etiquette note: don't cheer when the shooter sevens out. Collect your chips quietly. More on that in table etiquette.
Common mistakes on the don't
Hedging with props. Some don't players throw a dollar on any craps or the 11 to cover the comeout loss. Those bets carry 11% to 17% house edges. You're paying a huge premium to insure against a small, already-priced-in risk. The don't pass is a good bet on its own.
Forgetting the 12 pushes. New don't players see a 12 on the comeout and reach for their winnings. Nothing happened. Your chip is still there.
When the don't is actually the better play
Strictly by house edge, the don't pass is always the better play, by that one-twentieth of a percent, and with full odds on both sides it stays a hair better.
There's a second, subtler reason some experienced players prefer it. Because you lay more to win less, your results swing less per dollar at risk. A don't player with full odds risks $70 to win $40 to $60, and wins that bet most of the time. A pass player risks $40 to $60 to win $70, and loses most of the time. Over a session, the don't player's bankroll moves in smaller, more frequent steps. If you're managing a small bankroll and want to stretch your time at the table, that smoother ride has value. See bankroll management for how to think about it.
What the don't is not is a way to beat the game. The 7 doesn't come more often for you. The house still gets its 1.36%, and its zero on your lay odds. You're just taking the best flat bet on the layout and putting the most zero-edge money you can behind it. That's the entire strategy, and it's the same on both sides of the line.
Try the don't pass free on the tableKeep learning
- Place bets: the everyday way to bet a number — Pick a number and get paid when it hits. Payouts, unit sizes, press and same-bet, and $32 across decoded.
- Buy and lay: when true odds are worth the commission — True odds for a 5% fee: which numbers to buy, why $20 units, and how to lay against a number.
- Come bets: your own pass line, mid-hand — A come bet is a fresh pass line you start mid-hand. Follow the chip, the odds, and a full worked sequence.
- All articles in the Learn Craps library →