Come Bet in Craps: What Happens After You Place It

A come bet is a craps wager placed after a point is already set on the table. It wins on the next roll with a 7 or 11 (8 of 36 outcomes), loses on 2, 3 or 12, and carries a 1.41% house edge, the same as the pass line. The bet does not guarantee a profit, and the numbers depend on the table rules.

Think of it as starting a separate line bet while the table’s existing game continues. Your come bet has its own first roll and may establish its own point. That point does not have to match the table’s point.

The headline 1.41% applies to the base bet over its full resolution. The biggest variables when considering the total stake are the size of the free odds and the table maximum. With no odds, the edge is 1.41%, and free odds lower that share of the total stake (table below).

What It Is and Where It Sits on the Table

You place a new come bet in the Come area after the table has established a point. The layout guide explains where the come bet sits on the table, so you can distinguish this area from the pass line and the numbered betting areas.

The Come area starts the wager; it does not let you select a number. Once the bet gets a point, the dealer moves its chips to that number, and free odds go behind it on the same number. The next roll determines whether the bet wins immediately, loses immediately or establishes a point.

This distinction matters when several bets are active. Knowing the table’s point is not enough to evaluate a come bet. You also need to know whether that particular bet is new or already waiting for its own number.

How It Works, Step by Step

A come bet first has an initial roll, then establishes a point if needed, and finally waits for that point to repeat before a seven. Track these stages separately from the pass line.

1. Watch the first roll after placing the bet

The first roll can settle the come bet immediately or give it a point. Casino.org describes the immediate results as a win on 7 or 11 and a loss on 2, 3 or 12.

The middle column counts outcomes from rolling two dice. It is not a schedule of results you should expect in a short session.

Also, 8 of 36 describes an immediate win only. It does not include bets that establish a point and win later. That is why the first-roll win probability differs from the probability of winning a fully resolved come bet.

2. Identify the bet’s own point

If the roll is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, that number becomes the come bet’s point. From then on, the wager depends on that number rather than the table point that was active when you placed it.

The role of seven changes at this stage. It wins a new come bet on its first roll, but loses an established come bet if it arrives before that bet’s point. A statement such as “come bets lose on seven” is incomplete unless it identifies the stage.

3. Wait for the point before a seven

An established come bet wins if its point repeats before a seven and loses if seven comes first. Other totals leave that particular bet unresolved.

These are conditional probabilities after a particular point has been established. They do not replace the full-resolution probability for a new bet.

Free odds require a separate check when the table returns to a come-out roll. Under New Jersey’s rule, come odds are inactive on that roll unless the player requests that they work and the dealer confirms it. This concerns the supplemental odds, not an automatic suspension of the base bet. Confirm their status before the roll rather than assuming that chips left on the table must be active.

How the Payout Is Calculated

The base come bet pays 1 to 1, while free odds pay true odds according to the established point. You add free odds only after the base bet has its own point.

The Wizard of Odds craps appendix lists the true-odds payouts below and a 0% house edge on the odds. It also gives the 1.41% pass-line edge used in the comparison later in this guide.

Casino.org describes these as common limits, not a universal requirement, and reports that some casinos allow up to 100x. Check the actual limit before committing additional money.

The payout ratios describe profit on winning free odds. They do not include the return of the winning stake, and they do not change the base bet’s 1-to-1 payout. The same distinction is covered in free odds and true odds in Bubble Craps.

Short example: You have a $10 come bet established on 6 and $50 in free odds, or 5x. If 6 appears before a seven, your profit is $70: $10 from the base bet plus $60 from the free odds. Your winning stakes are returned separately. If seven comes first, you lose $60.

This example assumes both portions are active and the table permits 5x odds on 6. The amounts are round, so no rounding is required. It illustrates the remaining outcomes of an established point, not the average result of a newly placed come bet.

House Edge and Free Odds

The 1.41% house edge applies to the resolved base come bet, not to every individual roll. Adding zero-edge free odds reduces the expected loss as a percentage of the total stake when comparing bets on the same calculation basis.

Card: house edge share of a come bet by free odds multiplierEducational calculation: house edge as a share of the total stake for different free odds multipliers.

In the denominator, the expected total stake counts odds only when the come bet has a point. The odds size and the table’s permitted maximum drive the differences in this table. The 3x/4x/5x row means different limits for different points, not a choice of any of those multipliers on every number.

Casino.org gives approximately 0.65% for double odds, while this article uses its own calculation’s 0.61% at 2x.

A lower percentage does not mean less money is exposed. If the base stake stays unchanged, taking odds adds money that can lose. The percentage falls because the total includes a supplemental wager with no mathematical house advantage, not because the base bet becomes profitable.

There is also a different calculation basis: an already established point. Conditional on point 6 with 5x odds, the base bet loses 9.09% of itself on average. Under these assumptions, that is 1.52% of the $60 total stake in the example.

This conditional calculation starts after the initial roll. The new bet’s opportunity to win immediately has already passed, and only the remaining race between 6 and 7 is being considered.

The 1.52% therefore does not contradict either the headline 1.41% or the 0.37% row. The starting stage and the amount used as the denominator differ. Before comparing percentages, identify whether each figure concerns a new bet or an established point, and whether it is measured against the base stake or the total.

How It Differs From the Pass Line

The pass line is placed before the table’s come-out roll; a come bet is placed after a table point is established. The come bet then has its own initial roll and, if needed, its own point. Both base bets have a 1.41% house edge when fully resolved.

For a refresher on the pass line’s come-out roll and point sequence, see how to play craps from the first roll. The main difference here is when the wager starts and which point you must track, not the base payout.

Both bets win with probability 244/495, or 49.29%, when fully resolved. That includes immediate first-roll results and later results after a point is established. It does not mean the chance remains unchanged after every possible roll.

Identical overall figures do not make the bets interchangeable during play. A seven can lose an established come bet while winning a new one on its initial roll. Keep a separate record of each wager’s stage instead of assigning the table’s overall status to every bet.

Limits and Common Mistakes

An established base come bet is not freely removable under New Jersey’s rules. Pass and come bets cannot be removed or reduced after their respective points are set; Don't Come bets may be removed or reduced but cannot then be replaced or increased. This is a jurisdiction-specific rule, as set out in the N.J.A.C. 13:69F-1.3 text.

The practical consequence is that you commit the base stake before learning its point. Several come bets can stand at once, each with its own point, and a seven loses every one that is already established. Do not assume you can take it back simply because the resulting number is not the one you wanted.

Common mistakes include:

• Confusing a come bet with a place bet. A come bet does not start with a number you select. Its initial roll can settle it before any point is established.
• Placing it “before a seven” without understanding the stage. You do not know the next roll in advance. The effect of seven depends on whether this particular wager is new or established.
• Ignoring available free odds. True-odds payouts matter if you are comparing the house edge on the total stake. They are still optional if the extra exposure does not fit your budget.
• Comparing percentages with different starting assumptions. A base-bet percentage, a total-stake percentage and a conditional established-point percentage answer different questions.

No bet guarantees a win. A larger odds multiplier does not compensate for misunderstanding the rules or make an unaffordable loss acceptable.

How to Check the Bet in the Calculator

The craps payout calculator computes payout and house edge for a given bet and its odds. It does not calculate the share of the total stake shown in this article’s table; those figures come from the author’s calculation and must be reproduced by hand. It treats the come bet as a line bet with supplemental odds; it does not move a come bet from point to point or simulate its full journey around the table.

Use the available controls to check your setup:

1. Find the “Come” row and enter the base amount in the general “Stake” field, which sits outside the odds block.
2. In the free odds block, set “Point” to the established number.
3. Set “Odds multiple” to choose the supplemental odds; the “Odds wager” tile shows the resulting amount.
4. Review the calculated payout and the result labeled “House edge”.

Enter parameters that your actual table allows. A multiplier available for calculation does not establish that a casino accepts it.

When comparing the result with the worked example, check the bet’s stage and what the displayed amount includes. In the calculator, “Payout” shows profit, while “Total back on a win” includes the returned stake. Establish that distinction before comparing totals, and do not apply an established-point result to a new come bet that has not yet had its first roll.