Come Bet in Craps: The Complete Beginner's Guide

There's a good reason why the Come bet in Craps is so common among beginners, despite the wide variety of wagers available at the craps table.

In this guide, professional dice influencer Bill Collins will teach you the ins and outs of the Come and Don't Come bet, including:

• The Come Bet definition
• How the bet works
• The odds and payouts of the come bet
• Betting sequence example
• Come bet strategy
• Don't come bet strategy
• Pro tip for playing the bet right

So, without further ado, let's dive right in!

What is the Come Bet in Craps?

The Come Bet is a craps contract bet that is made after the point is established by putting chips in the giant space marked “Come” right in the middle of the table at both ends.

It can’t be removed, with it having to stay in place until a decision on the bet is reached. 

The Pass Line and Come Bets are vig-free bets that pay even money when they win. Adding odds to these bets lowers the casino’s house’s advantage even more. 

How Does the Come / Don't Come Bet Work: Quick Guide

Here are the key things that you should know about the Come and the Don't Come bet in craps:

You can see how Come and Don't Come bets works in the video below.

The Come/Don’t Come Bet Odds & Payouts

You make your odds bets on Come Bets and Don’t Come Bets by putting your odds bets in the Come area on the table and telling the dealer that they are your Come odds. 

They are placed off-center on top of your Come Bet, so that the two can be distinguished from each other since the odds Craps Come bet pay more money than the even money Come bet does.

Some online casinos limit the number of odds you can bet behind your Pass Line, Don’t Pass, Come, and Don’t Come bets more than other casinos do.

There will be a plaque on the inside wall of the table telling you the current minimum bet you can make, and the maximum odds they offer. You can check out our craps bonus codes page to find a casino that suits your needs.

Come Bet Sequence Example

Round 1	Win: 7 or 11 | Lose: 2, 3, 12 | Point: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10
Dice Roll: 11	You win.
Round 2	Win: 7 or 11 | Lose: 2, 3, 12 | Point: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10
Dice Roll: 3	You Lose.
Round 3	Win: 7 or 11 | Lose: 2, 3, 12 | Point: 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10
Dice Roll: 5	The point is set. You will win if you roll a 5 again before a 7. Nothing happens when you roll any other numbers
Dice Roll: 8	Nothing happens.
Dice Roll: 3	Nothing happens.
Dice Roll: 5	You win.

Come Bet Craps Strategy 

One of the most popular betting strategies that use Come bets or Don’t Come bets is the Three Point Molly, where a Pass Line bet is followed up with Come bets on first and second rolls after a Pass Line point has been established. 

Come bet odds can be added anytime, but smart players wait until all three bets are established before adding odds to all three bets. Waiting to add your odds allows the second and third rolls after the point is established to be hedged or partially hedged by the newest Come bet should a 7 roll then.

The danger point is immediately after the Pass Line bet and two Come bets have been established and odds have been added to all three because if 7 rolls before any of the numbers covered by those three bets, all the money wagered is lost. 

At that point in the play, you are hoping for two or three wins before that 7 rolls. Unlike place bets, which can win for you over and over just by sitting there and being hit, Winning Come bets and their odds come down and are returned to you when they win. 

You have to go through the Come bet box again to get a replacement bet up on a number, to always have three bets up while playing the Three Point Molly. You can win a lot of money in a hurry when the shooter keeps hitting your Pass Line and Come bets repeatedly.

The Three Point Molly can be played using the Don’t Pass Line bet and Don’t Come bets if you are a dark-side bettor, who enjoys winning money when the 7 rolls. It’s wins and just the opposite of the Three Point Molly that uses the Pass Line bet and two Come bets for right-side betting. 

Don’t Come Bet Strategy

The hard part about winning Three Point Molly dark-side bets is successfully getting your new dark-side bets past the losing 7 and 11 rolling on come out rolls. 

You can always make a small “C & E” (craps & 11) hedge bet on come out rolls to help protect against losing the bets you are trying to get up successfully on those come out rolls. 

The main difference between Don’t Come and Come bets is that all your Don’t Come bets can be won on the same roll, when 7 rolls; but, the Come bets can only be won one at a time, as each number is rolled.

With Don’t Come bets, you can get bigger payoffs by making a bigger Don’t Come bet and skip adding the odds because the odds pay less than even money while the Don’t Come bet pays even money. 

Of course, you are facing having to get past the 7 and 11 on come-out rolls with more money on the table to get that bigger win.

You can make as many Come bets and Don’t Come bets as you like. I’ve seen players make them on every roll. If the Don’t Come bettor can get his bets up on all six box numbers and then a 7 rolls, he wins all those bets on a single roll. I’ve seen that happen. 

The bad thing is that until it does, your Don’t Come bets can be picked off one by one and all you can do is hope it doesn’t happen.

Some players even add a field bet with their Don’t Come bets to give themselves more chances to win on each roll.

Pro Tip for Winning the Come Bet in Online Craps

One of the best things you have going for you when betting on the Come, Don't Come, Pass Line, Don’t Pass is that the casino’s house advantage over you is as smallest of any bet offered in the casino, 1.41 % on Pass and Come bets and even less with odds added to your bets. 

You have more ways to win on come out rolls than you have to lose. But after the point is established the chances of winning the bet shift in favor of the casino, because there are more ways to roll a losing 7 than there are ways to roll your winning number.

Conclusion

Once you master making the basic Pass, Come, Don’t Pass, and Don’t Come craps bets and adding odds, the game becomes easy to play, while giving you multiple ways to win with different numbers rolling. It’s one of the simplest strategies for someone new to the game to play. 

It doesn’t require a lot of attention as the gameplay progresses on each shooter. When you win, the dealer pays you. When you lose he takes your chips. All you have to do is root for your numbers to roll and enjoy the game. Feel free to try craps in demo mode on Chipy before investing any real money.

If you see that nobody is currently getting monster rolls, don’t come bets will probably win more often. If everyone seems to be getting good rolls, then Come bets will probably work better because with Come bet in craps you are looking for shooters who repeat their numbers.

Most pro players avoid playing the Come and Don’t Come bets because they are contract bets that must remain in play until a decision is reached on each bet, without any player control over them once they are made. Learn more about playing the game like the pros from our Craps Academy guides.