The Don't Pass Bet — The Dark Side Guide

What Is the Don't Pass Bet?

The Don't Pass bet is the mirror image of the Pass Line — you're betting against the shooter instead of with them. It carries the lowest house edge of any line bet at 1.36%, and combined with Lay Odds it drops to 0.27%. Mathematically, it's the sharpest bet at the table. Socially, you're the villain.

How It Works

Don't Pass is the opposite of Pass Line in almost every way:

Come-Out Roll: Roll 2 or 3 → win (1:1). Roll 12 → push (your bet is returned — this is how the house maintains its edge). Roll 7 or 11 → lose. Roll 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 → that becomes the point.

Point Phase: Now you want the 7 to come before the point. Shooter seven-outs → you win. Shooter makes the point → you lose.

The 12 push on the come-out is the key mechanism — without it, Don't Pass would actually have a player edge. That push is where the 1.36% house edge lives.

50,000-Roll Simulation

Run the simulation below to see how the Don't Pass Bet performs across 50,000 dice rolls. Every run uses a fresh random seed — notice how individual sessions vary due to variance, while the long-run trend converges toward the theoretical house edge of 1.36%.

Strategy & Tips

Back Don't Pass with Lay Odds after the point is set. Like Free Odds on the Pass Line, Lay Odds pay true mathematical odds with zero house edge. With max Lay Odds, the combined edge drops to approximately 0.27% — the lowest of any craps bet.

With Lay Odds you put up more to win less (since a 7 is more likely than most point numbers), but the math is clean. On a point of 6 or 8, you lay $6 to win $5. On 4 or 10, you lay $2 to win $1.

The Doey-Don't strategy uses Don't Pass creatively — combining it with the Pass Line to get money onto the Odds bets at near-zero edge. Worth understanding if you want to play mathematically optimal craps.

How It Compares

FAQ

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