Pssst...! Wanna know a secret?

How about the secret of Betting From the Dont side?

Besides being an unpopular bet, the Dont Pass is a dangerous bet to make. Before the point is established the casino clearly holds the advantage. You will win your bet if a 2 or 3 rolls, but lose your bet if a 7 or 11 rolls - just the opposite from the pass line. (On the dont pass the 12 is a push). The 2/3 combination rolls 3 times (in 36 sample rolls) while the 7/11 combination rolls 8 times. So, with your bet in the dont pass box, you are favored to lose by an 8 to 3 margin.

To make matters worse, if the point does get established, you might want to make three dont come bets. This 8 to 3 casino advantage, is present not only for the initial dont pass bet, but the three additional dont come bets as well.

However, once you get past the come-outs, you hold the advantage on any number - either for the dont pass or the dont come. So your dont pass plus three dont comes could be highly profitable, if only there was some way of protecting your initial bets.

Wanna know the secrets that Craps pros use to protect their dont bets?

Lets find out!

The easiest way to protect your dont come bet is to temporarily add odds to your dont pass bet. If your dont pass is $10, you should back it up with $10 odds for one roll only, while you place a $10 dont come bet. If the seven hits, you lose your dont come bet but win on the dont pass (plus odds), so you come out ahead. After your first dont come is established, you can remove the odds on the dont pass, which was there to protect the first dont come bet from a losing on a possible seven.

Now, youre home free. Your second dont come can be placed without a money loss. If the seven rolls now, you will win your first dont come, lose the second, and win your dont pass. If another point number rolls you can make a third dont come bet also.

If you dont like adding odds to your dont pass bet, you can just reduce your second dont come bet to protect the first one. For example, if your first dont come is $10, make your second only $5. This way if the seven rolls you are still ahead by $5.

For an easy hedge bet on the dont pass bet itself, you could try a $2 bet on the hardway number if the point is 4, 6, 8 or 10. If the point rolled is 4 or 10, you would lose your $10 dont pass but win $14 ($2 at 7:1). If the point rolled is 6 or 8, you would lose your $10 dont pass but win $18 ($2 at 9:1).

So when you play on the dont side, use the dont pass odds only as a hedge for your first dont come bet. Why not give this a try the next time you play on the dark side.

Pssst...! Now you know the secrets of protecting your dont bets!

(c) 2005 by Larry Edell

Larry Edell

Larry Edell has been the editor of The Crapshooter Newsletter since 1994. He has published nine books and over two hundred different articles in magazines such as Casino Player, Gaming Today, Mid West Players and Gambling Times.

He is also the Craps Editor at casino.com

His site, TheCrapshooter.com launched in September 2000, as the internet property of Larry Edell and Leaf Publishing. Larry is the world-renowned expert on the casino game of craps, and his award-winning newsletter, The Crapshooter, has been in publication for more than seven years.

This site is designed for both the beginner and expert players. You can learn the basics of the game in our "Learn to Play" section, then try out your luck in our "Play for Free" games. Expert players in the know subscribe to The Crapshooter Newsletter to get solid advice offline that they can take with them to their next casino outing. Even the best players will sharpen their skills by reading up on advice from Larry and other contributing writers, gambling experts in their own right like Frank Scoblete, Henry Tamburin, John Patrick and Jerry Patterson.