“C” is for Come Bets

A lot of players love come bets because they provide fast action - and profits! They work the same way as a pass line bet, except that you can bet come on every roll of the dice - and with maximum odds, of course! Many experienced crapshooters plan on betting one pass line and two come bets when they play. The advantage to this way of betting is that you can really clean up on hot shooter!

However, one of the disadvantages of come betting is that you will sometimes have one or more “leftover” bets. Since you betting on NEW points in the same manner as the pass line, you are looking for each of your personal points to repeat before the seven shows. But when the shooter makes his point, you may be left with your come points (with odds) still on the layout. On the new come-out, everyone else is rooting for a come out seven. But if that seven rolls, you lose the flat portions of your come bets. The house will generously let you call your odds bets “on” or “off” - but how do you decide which is best?

Let’s find out!

Say you make a $10 pass line bet and the shooter rolls a six so you put $25 in odds behind the line. Then you make a $10 come bet and he rolls a four, and you add $20 in odds to that also. Finally, you make a second come bet and he rolls a nine so you add $20 to that bet also.

Now, the shooter makes his point, the six, so you win on the pass line. Now you have $10 bets on the four and nine, each with $20 in odds. If the same shooter now rolls a seven you could lose both bets, but if he rolls a four or nine you win. The dealer looks at you and asks “on or off?” If you don’t say anything, or, if the dealer forgets to ask, the odds are set on “off.”

But if that is what the casino wants, is it what you want also?

Let’s take a closer look. The seven will roll six times in 36 sample rolls. The 4 (or 10) will roll three times, and the 9 (or 5) four times, and the 6 (or 8) five times. If you have come bets on both the four and ten, they will roll the same amount of times as the 7 (three plus three or six times). If you have bets on any other two numbers they will roll more times than the 7.

If for example, you have come bets on the 6 and 8, they will roll ten times (five plus five) giving you the good odds of 10:6 or 5:3 that either will roll before the 7, so you should have both odds bets working. If you have come bets on the 4 and 10, it’s a tossup - go by your instinct about the shooter.

In the above example, you have bets on the four and nine. These numbers will roll together 9 times (four plus five) so the odds are 9:6 that one will roll before the seven, so call the odds “on” - the opposite of what the casino would normally do.

A simple rule to remember is that if you have two or more come bets up (with odds) on the new come-out, always call them on. If you have only one come bet up, call it off.

Now you don’t have to worry about calling your leftover come bet odds “on” or “off” - You know exactly what to do!

And, as always, good luck at the tables!

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