The Don’t Come bet in Craps is one of the most mathematically sound bets, along with the Don’t Pass line. In fact, they have exactly the same odds mathematically because they are basically the same bet. The only difference between Don’t Pass and Don’t Come is that Don’t Come is played after a point has been established.
To bet on the Don’t Come line, you have to be in the point stage of Craps, after the come out roll is done. You place your bet, and then the next roll counts as the come out roll for your bet. That means you can win or lose instantly. Just as with the Don’t Pass bet, if the next roll is a 2 or a 3, you win. If it’s a 7 or an 11 you lose. If it’s a 12, you push.
If it is any other roll, you advance in exactly the same way as if a point had been established on a come out roll if you were betting on Don’t Pass. At this point the dealer will move your bet out of the Don’t Come area and into the square for that number. The point has now been established for your bet. If the shooter rolls a seven before they roll the number that was rolled after your Don’t Come bet, you win.
The Don’t Come bet pays even money, just like the Don’t Pass, and the Pass and Come for that matter.
Just as with a Don’t Pass bet, you are hoping for the shooter to roll a seven most of the time. This is going to be the opposite to what most players at the table are hoping for. You will win when they lose, which is why psychologically the Don’t Come isn’t a very enticing bet.
Mathematically, however, it’s an extremely enticing bet. The house edge is only 1.4%, making it, along with the Don’t Pass bet, the wisest bet in craps. If you’re at the casino to make money rather than to make friends, then Don’t bets are what you should play.
This is opposed to 1.41% house edge for the Come and Pass bets. That 0.01% difference might not seem like a lot, and if you don’t play much Craps it won’t be significant, but if you are planning on making Craps a regular hobby then eventually it will make a difference to your win rate. Any wise gambler will narrow the house edge as much as he or she possibly can, and that’s why you’ll see the shrewdest customers at the casino playing the Don’t Come and Don’t Pass bet, and why only the most foolhardy gamblers will play the big red 7, which has a staggering 16.67% edge for the house.
Strategically it’s wise to also lay odds after your Don’t Come bet. You should be laying as much as you can afford. Of course because you are laying odds rather than taking them you will need to bet more to win less (so you should make sure that you have an adequately sized bankroll), but the edge is exactly the same. When you win with your odds bet you will be paid at the true odds, minus a commission of about 5% depending on the casino.
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