Atlassino Academy · Craps · Lesson 6 of 12

Don't pass, don't come and laying odds

The don’t pass line is the pass line turned round, with one roll held back. Here is how the don’t side is settled, what laying odds pays, and what the don’t side costs.

About 17 minutes
Illustrated hosts: Leo and Maya
Last checked 3 October 2026

On the come-out roll the shooter throws two sixes. You have $10 on the Don’t Pass Bar. Is the bet paid?

The short answer

No, and the bet is not lost either. A 12 on the come-out roll is a push for the don’t pass bet: the $10 stays where it is, and the next roll is another come-out roll. Every other roll treats the don’t pass bet as the pass line turned round. The 12 is the one roll held back, and that one roll held back is the whole of the house’s price on the bet.

What each total on the come-out roll does to a pass line bet and to a don’t pass bet
Come-out roll	Ways out of 36	Pass line	Don’t pass
2	1	lost	paid
3	2	lost	paid
4	3	becomes the point	becomes the point
5	4	becomes the point	becomes the point
6	5	becomes the point	becomes the point
7	6	paid	lost
8	5	becomes the point	becomes the point
9	4	becomes the point	becomes the point
10	3	becomes the point	becomes the point
11	2	paid	lost
12	1	lost	push: the bar

Leo touches the outline of a small empty square at the end of the narrower strip inside the line of a craps layout, where one chip lies, while Maya, arms folded, follows his finger from the rail; the line itself is bare.

Leo smiling, explaining with an open hand.

Leoformer dealer · rules and maths

People talk about the don’t side as if it were a different game. It is the same line bet with the answers swapped, and one roll held back. Learn which roll, and you can settle every don’t pass and don’t come bet on the table yourself before the dealer reaches it.

Laying odds sounds like the hard part, and it is only one division: the ways the dice roll a 7 against the ways they roll the point.

The don’t pass line is the pass line turned round

A bet on the don’t pass line is a bet against the dice. On the come-out roll a 2 or a 3 pays the don’t pass bet even money, and a 12 is a push. A 7 or an 11 on the come-out roll takes the bet. Once a point is set, the don’t pass bet waits for a 7 before the point — the opposite of what a pass line bet waits for. That is the rule in the rules BCLC publishes for its casinos, which this lesson uses throughout.

A don’t come bet is the same bet started in the middle of a hand: on its own first roll it is settled exactly like a don’t pass bet on the come-out roll. Everything on this page about the don’t pass bet holds for a don’t come bet on its own number; following a bet that travels to a number of its own is lesson 5.5.

The 12 is a push: the bar

The word Bar printed on the felt is that rule in one word: on the come-out roll the 12 is barred from paying the don’t pass bet. Every document we could read for these tables names the 12 as the barred number.

Why hold back a 12, instead of leaving the don’t side an exact mirror of the pass line? Without the push, the don’t pass bet would be paid on every roll the pass line loses, the 12 included, and the bet would lean the other way. One roll in 36 of the come-out is all it takes to put the price back on the player’s side of the table.

A pass line bet, once the point is setstays on the felt until a 7 or the point settles it
A don’t pass bet, once the point is setmay be taken down
What taking the don’t pass bet down gives upthe part the dice now favour: on a point of 4, a 7 comes first in 6 in 9 of the rolls that settle the bet

Laying odds: more down than it brings back, at a fair price

Once a point is set, a don’t pass bet may be backed with a second bet beside it. On the pass line that is called taking odds; on the don’t side it is called laying odds. Laid odds are paid at the true price of a 7 coming before the point, so the second bet carries no price of its own. Because the 7 is the more likely roll, the amount laid is always bigger than the amount it brings back.

Lay odds on each point: the ways the dice roll a 7 and the point, how often the 7 comes first, the payout, and two ways the payout is written
Point	Ways: 7 against the point	The 7 comes first in	Lay odds pay	The rulebook’s way	One teaching page’s way	An example $60 laid brings back
4 or 10	6 against 3	6 in 9	1 to 2	2 laid, 1 back	1 to 2 against	$30
5 or 9	6 against 4	6 in 10	2 to 3	3 laid, 2 back	3 to 2 against	$40
6 or 8	6 against 5	6 in 11	5 to 6	6 laid, 5 back	6 to 5 against	$50

The closer the point is to the 7 in the ways the dice roll it, the more of the amount laid comes back: half on the 4 or 10, nearly all on the 6 or 8. Taking odds on the pass side uses the same three prices turned upside down, which is lesson 5.4.

The rulebook’s column is the amount laid and the amount it brings back; the teaching page writes the same payouts as odds against the point. One set of payouts in two kinds of words: on a point of 5, three laid brings back two either way.

6 ways to roll a 7$180each pays $30 to $60 laid against the 4
3 ways to roll a 4$180each takes the $60 laid

Spread lay odds of $60 on the 4 over the rolls that settle them, each way of rolling coming up once: both sums are the same. That is what no price means — over the rolls that settle the bet, in the proportions the dice give them, lay odds hand back exactly what they take.

How much may go beside a don’t pass bet is a rule of the table rather than arithmetic. Under the rules this lesson uses the cap is the same multiple on every point; the different caps by point that some people remember belong to taking odds, and the table in front of you posts its own.

How much may be laid beside a don’t pass bet, by document
Document	The most that may be laid
The rules BCLC publishes for its casinos, which this lesson uses	6 times the don’t pass bet, on every point

What the don’t side costs

The don’t pass bet costs 1.36% of every bet placed, on average over many bets. The pass line costs 1.41%. So the don’t pass bet is the cheaper of the two line bets, by a little.

Pass line

1.41% of every bet, placed or decided: the pass line never pushes

Don’t pass, counting every bet placed

1.36% of every bet placed, the pushes on the 12 included

Don’t pass with the full 6 times laid beside it

0.273% of all the money put down, both bets together

Why two figures for one bet? The pushes on the 12 can be counted as bets placed, or left out because nothing was paid or taken. Counted in, the price is the smaller figure; left out, it is 1.40% of every bet decided. Both are correct, and the second is the one to set beside the pass line only if the pass line is counted the same way — which, never pushing, it already is.

Laying odds lowers the share and leaves the loss where it was: the money lost on average stays what the don’t pass bet alone loses, now divided by more money. What lay odds do add is swing, and what an evening of that costs is lesson 5.11.

Betting against the shooter

The rulebook calls the don’t side what it is: players on it are betting against the dice. It is a bet the table offers like any other, and nothing in the rules asks anyone to explain the side they bet.

With the point on 6, what the same roll does to a pass line bet and to a don’t pass bet
The point is 6; the roll is	Pass line	Don’t pass
7	lost	paid even money
6	paid even money	lost
12	nothing happens	nothing happens
11	nothing happens	nothing happens

That is why the don’t side is the quieter end of the table. A 7 that pays a don’t pass bet takes every pass line bet on the same roll, so a quiet reaction to that 7 is simple courtesy to the players around you. It is manners, not a rule.

Maya with a hand on her chest, speaking gently and seriously.

Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks

Betting against the shooter is legal and cheap; the price is still there. A cheaper bet does not make a longer evening safe: every roll still charges its share, and laying odds only puts more money in front of the same share.

Decide what the evening gets before the first chip goes down, and stop when that amount is gone. Laying more to get back what is already gone only buys more of the same price, faster. If the money on the rail starts to feel like money you need, the lines below are there for exactly that.

If it stops being fun

If gambling stops being entertainment, help is available. 19+ in most of Canada; 18+ in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. More on responsible gaming.

1-866-531-2600Ontario · ConnexOntario · 24 hours

1-800-461-0140Quebec · Jeu: aide et référence · 24 hours

1-888-795-6111British Columbia · Gambling Support BC · 24 hours

1-866-332-2322Alberta · Addiction Helpline (Recovery Alberta) · 24 hours

1-800-463-1554Manitoba · Problem Gambling Helpline · 24 hours

1-800-306-6789Saskatchewan · Problem Gambling Help Line · 24 hours

1-888-429-8167Nova Scotia · Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line · 24 hours

1-800-461-1234New Brunswick · Gambling Information Line

1-855-255-4255Prince Edward Island · PEI Gambling Support Line · 24 hours

811Newfoundland and Labrador · Gambling Help Line · 24 hours

1-844-533-3030Yukon · Reach Out Support Line (CMHA Yukon)

If you are thinking about suicide, call or text 9-8-8

Practice: the other side

Level 1 puts a bet on the Don’t Pass Bar and throws one roll at a time: say what the roll does to the bet — paid, lost, a push, or nothing yet. Level 2 sets a point and puts lay odds beside the don’t pass bet: say what the lay odds pay, what both bets come to together, and how much may be laid under the rules this lesson uses.

Nothing is bet here, and nothing is random. Each roll is a set picture of a point, the dice and the bets, and every answer is settled by the same dice engine as the rest of this page.

The practice table needs JavaScript. Here is one roll from it, with the answer.

Level 1 · The don’t pass bet

Come-out roll · no point set · the dice show 6 and 6

Don’t Pass Bar$10

What happens to the $10 on the Don’t Pass Bar?

Paid $10, even money Even money comes to the don’t pass bet on a 2 or 3 of the come-out roll, or on a 7 once a point is set. On the come-out roll the 12 is the bar: the don’t pass bet is a push, and the next roll is another come-out roll.
Lost: the dealer takes the $10 The don’t pass bet is lost to a 7 or 11 on the come-out roll, or to the point coming again before a 7. On the come-out roll the 12 is the bar: the don’t pass bet is a push, and the next roll is another come-out roll.
A push: the bet stands, nothing paid and nothing taken On the come-out roll the 12 is the bar: the don’t pass bet is a push, and the next roll is another come-out roll.
Not settled yet: the bet waits for the next roll The don’t pass bet waits only while a point is set and neither the 7 nor the point has come. On the come-out roll the 12 is the bar: the don’t pass bet is a push, and the next roll is another come-out roll.

The don’t pass bet has two halves. On the come-out roll the 2 and the 3 pay it, the 7 and the 11 take it, and the 12 is a push. Once a point is set, a 7 before the point pays it and the point before a 7 takes it; every other roll settles nothing on the line.

Level 2 · Laying odds

The point is 4 · the dice show 3 and 4

Don’t Pass Bar$10
Lay odds beside the don’t pass bet$40

The shooter throws a 7. What do the $40 of lay odds pay?

Paid $80 That is taking odds, 2 to 1, the price the pass side is paid on the 4. Laying odds is the same price turned round, because the 7 is the roll more likely to come first.
Paid $40 That is even money, what the don’t pass bet itself is paid. Lay odds are paid at the true price of a 7 before the 4, and that price is 1 to 2.
Nothing: the lay odds are lost Lay odds are lost to the point, not to the 7. A 7 before the point is the roll lay odds are waiting for.
Paid $20 Lay odds on the 4 are paid 1 to 2: $40 laid brings back $20, and the amount laid comes back beside the payout.

Lay odds sit beside a don’t pass bet once the point is set. A 7 before the point pays them at the true price of that 7 — 1 to 2 on the 4 or 10, 2 to 3 on the 5 or 9, 5 to 6 on the 6 or 8 — and the point before a 7 takes them. Nothing else settles them, and they carry no price of their own.

Every roll in the practice run is worked out the same way: the bets on the felt are settled by the dice engine against the roll shown, and each wrong answer is one named mistake.

How the practice run works

Where the rolls come from. Every bet in the practice run is settled against the roll shown by the dice engine this site uses, worked out when the page is built rather than written down anywhere by hand. The wrong answers are worked out from the same bets, and each wrong answer is one named mistake: the 12 read as paying the don’t side, an 11 read as settling the line once the point is set, lay odds paid at the price of taking odds or at even money, lay odds handed back when the point comes, a 6 made with two 3s read as a push, or the cap on taking odds put in place of the cap on laying.

One strip, and no rounds. Every square on the strip is one roll of this lesson, and all of the squares are there from the start. Your first answer fills the square it belongs to; when the squares of one level are full, the next level begins by itself, with no button in between. Practising a roll you got wrong turns its cross into “fixed in practice” and does not change the count, because only first answers count.

Your progress stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Where to check this, and further reading

House edge of every bet The price of each craps bet, the line bets among them, with the sum written out underneath. For working out at home. Craps in Canada The rooms we list that have a craps table, and what each of them says about the game in its own words.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB, QC) · Play responsibly · the helplines are further up this page

How it’s worked out

Rules, numbers, sources and hosts

Where this happens. Every table on this page is a craps table standing in a room you can walk into. The rules are the rules BCLC publishes for its casinos, used here as a set of table rules for working things out, not as a statement about any one room: the bar, the cap on laying odds and the lay odds table all come from that set, and the table in front of you posts its own.

Numbers. Every chance on this page is an exact fraction from our dice engine, counted over the 36 ways two dice fall; every percentage comes from our house edge maths; and the two are checked against each other when the page is built. Lay odds are paid at the true price of the 7 against the point, worked out from the ways the dice roll each, and that price is checked against the lay odds table of the rules this lesson uses. The cap on taking odds, used only in one wrong answer of the practice run, comes from the same set of rules. Every amount is an example bet, only an example and not a suggested bet. Amounts are in Canadian dollars.

What is deliberately absent. There is no figure here for what an hour or an evening on the don’t side costs; that is lesson 5.11. The craps table and its crew are lesson 5.1, the come-out roll and the point as a subject of their own lesson 5.2, the pass line lesson 5.3, taking odds and its caps lesson 5.4, and come bets — including whether odds on a come bet work on a come-out roll — lesson 5.5. The separate lay bet with its five per cent commission, which is not the same thing as laying odds, belongs with place and buy bets in lesson 5.7; the field, Big 6 and Big 8 are lesson 5.8, the centre of the table and the Fire Bet lesson 5.9, shooting the dice and table manners lesson 5.10, and hot shooters lesson 5.12. In the practice run lay odds always stand beside a don’t pass bet with the point set, so no bet is settled on a come-out roll: the rules this lesson uses print whether a bet works on a come-out roll for place bets (off), hardways (on) and odds on a come bet (only on request), and print nothing for lay odds behind a don’t come bet on a come-out roll, so that case is not shown.

Sources. Every rule and every claim on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it. Where two documents write the same payout in different words, both are named.

Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.

No promise. Craps is played against the house, on the don’t side as on the pass line. Knowing how the don’t side is settled lets you check every payment at the table; nothing on this page makes any bet free of cost, and nothing here says how an evening at the table would end.

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