Lesson Three

Playing Wrong! The Dice Don't Pass

Playing “Wrong” is not a judgment it is just another way to play the game. Put on your thinking caps here, playing Wrong or playing the Don't Pass is opposite to playing Right or playing the Pass Line. When playing the Don't Pass, you are betting that the dice won't or Don't Pass. You are betting that the result of the hand will be a loser for the Right better. The house advantage is about the same as the Pass Line, 1.36%.

Quick Review of a Don't Pass Line Bet

For the Don't Pass better, 7 or 11 on the Come Out is a losing roll while 2 or 3, craps is a natural winner and 12 barred or a push. After a point is established, the Don't Pass bet wins when a 7 rolls before the point,  4 ,5, 6, 8, 9, 10.

That Seems Odd

We already know that the Don't Pass Line bet is made during a Come Out roll. The Don't Pass Line bet is not a contract bet. You may pick up the bet anytime you want. Of course, the bet holds a player's advantage with the odds favoring it to win, you would never want to remove the don't bet. The bet is paid even money when it wins. It wins when either a  2 or 3, craps rolls on a Come Out,  and when a 7 rolls once the Don't Pass bet is behind the established point. It loses to 7 or 11 on a Come Out or after repeating the point number, 4 ,5, 6, 8, 9, 10.

Let’s move on to Laying odds with a Don't Pass Line bet. Still have the thinking cap on? When the dice are not Passing, not winning for the Right or Pass Line player, playing the Don't Pass could make “cents”. Just like a Pass Line, the player can make an addition odds bet along with the Don't Pass Line bet. The tricky part is inverting the pay off for the odds paid. In other words, you Lay more money to win less money… Yes, that does seem odd. However, it is correct because the bet is favored to win. It has no house advantage other than the original Don't Pass bet which is paid flat. When playing the Don't Pass Line and behind a point, you are favored to win by

 2:1 for the 4/10, 3:2 for the 5/9 and 6:5 for the 6/8.

That is why you must lay bet $15 with a $5 Don't Pass Line bet when the point is 5 or 9. You lay three units to win two units. Get it? It is exactly the opposite of the Pass Line. Watch this…

The Pass Line bet of $5 with $10 double odds and a point of 5 or 9 wins a total of $20.

The Pass Line is paid even money, $5 and the odds are paid 3:2 $15, total $20.

The Don't Pass bet of $5 with $15 double odds wins a total of $15. The risk is $20

So, how does the casino stay in business? Let’s let them worry about that.

They seem to be doing okay.

  Example of a Don't Pass bet paid on a 4 or 10

The amount you may Lay in odds varies from casino to casino. It is recommended that until you have a command of the game that you stick with double odds in the beginning.  You will have to learn your math odds so you can make the correct Lay bet for the established point. The house advantage on a Don't Pass Line bet with double odds is about .45%

If you are having difficulty with the math odds of the Don't Pass, then go back and re-study lesson three for the Pass Line.  

Lets Review

When the Don't Pass Line bet wins, along with a Lay bet, you are paid even money for the Don't Pass Line bet and true odds for the Lay portion of the wager. The true odds paid is determined by the point number. Odds are express by the number of ways a point has of winning verses the number of ways of losing to the 7.

Lets look at the 4/10 for example. Referring back to the table below if needed. (see below) the 4 or

10 have three combinations of rolling.

The 4 has 1/3, 3/1, and 2//2.

The 10 has 4/6, 6/4, and 5/5.

Those are the three ways of rolling 4 or 10.

The 7 has six combinations of rolling.

1/6, 6/1, 2/5, 5/2, 3/4, 4/3.

So, with the 4/10, we have 3 ways to win and with the 7, we have six ways to lose. Thus the odds

for the 4 or the 10 are 6:3 or reduced to 2:1.

A $5 Line bet with double odds, $20, is paid a total of $15. $5 is paid for the Don't Pass Line bet

at even money and $10 is paid for every two units ($20) bet in odds. You have two times in lay action to win one unit of $10.

 The Lay bet pays true odds for each of the box numbers, 4,5,6,8,9,10. See the table below for more clarity.

Some casinos offer raiser odds, and or multiple odds greater than raiser odds. Again, when you are just learning, double odds will be plenty for you to play, win or lose.

For you convenience we repeat the table for true odds so you can figure the odds for your self when making a free odds bet.

TRUE ODDS

There are six sides to a die and with two dice; there are thirty-six combinations possible. Below is a table of the thirty-six possibilities for rolling the eleven numbers.

The 36 Possible Combinations of Two Dice

 The odds are expressed as a ratio of the number of ways of rolling a certain number, divided by the total possible combinations. Examples: There is one possible combination of rolling 12, 6/6. Thus the odds of 12 rolling is one in thirty-six or 1/36. There are six possible combinations for 7 to roll, thus the odds of a 7 rolling are 6/36 or 1/6.

True odds are an expression of the number of possible winning combinations to the number of losing combinations of the seven. Example: For the 6 or 8 the true odds are 6 to 5. Six ways of losing to five ways of winning, 6:5

This concludes your Lesson 3 on playing the Don't Pass Line.

To review, the Don't Pass Line bet is an opposite play to the Pass Line bet. The bet is made against the dice, that is, the dice will not Pass and the 7 will roll before the point. The odds portion of the bet are paid true odds and thus reduces the house advantage over the Don't Pass Line bet with double odds to about .45%.

In lesson 4, you will learn how to make a Come bet. Till then, may all your Come Outs be Craps 2 or 3, for the Don't Pass Line player!

Lesson 4

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The Do's and Don't of Dice