Basic Don’t Come Strategy: Temporary Odds Hedge Explained

Don’t Pass · Don’t Come · Temporary lay Odds · Hedge audit

The Basic Don’t Come method combines a Don’t Pass contract with a new Don’t Come bet and temporarily lays enough Odds to make a next-roll 7 profitable. It is a short hedge-management rule, not insurance against every result and not a player advantage.

The original used $5 as lay Odds behind a $5 Don’t Pass on 6. True Odds against 6 pay 5 to 6, so a clean single-Odds example lays $6 to win $5. A house may accept other amounts and round; ask the dealer to state “lay X to win Y.”

Next-roll outcomes before Don’t Come travels

Next-roll outcomes before Don’t Come travels: Next roll; Don’t Come; Existing DP on 6; Immediate effect.

Next roll	Don’t Come	Existing DP on 6	Immediate effect
7	Loses $5	Wins $5 flat + $5 Odds	Net +$5
2 or 3	Wins $5	Remains	+$5; DP unresolved
11	Loses $5	Remains	−$5; DP unresolved
12, bar 12	Pushes	Remains	No change
4/5/6/8/9/10	Travels to that number	May resolve if 6	Two contracts may remain

What happens after Don’t Come travels

If 10 rolls, the $5 Don’t Come travels behind 10. The method then removes the temporary Odds from Don’t Pass, leaving a $5 Don’t Pass against 6 and $5 Don’t Come against 10. A later 7 wins both flat bets. A 6 loses the Don’t Pass while the 10 contract remains; a 10 loses Don’t Come while the 6 contract remains.

If 6 rolls while it is the table point, the Don’t Pass and its Odds lose immediately. The new Don’t Come also travels behind 6, but the point being made ends that table game; its contract continues into the next come-out. This is why “insured” is too broad a description.

What the hedge changes

• The temporary lay Odds makes the immediate 7 net positive instead of roughly breaking even.
• True Odds adds no house edge, but the $6 can still be lost if point 6 repeats.
• Removing Odds after the DC travels reduces future dollar exposure.
• The two flat contracts retain their normal house edges.
• No recent roll makes 7 more likely.

This contributor method was originally credited to Larry Edell. Its opening lay amount depends on the established point; the same dollar stake cannot win the same Odds profit on every number. Review Don’t Come, Don’t Pass, and lay Odds.

Use a three-line state card

Before the next roll, record three lines: the table point, each contract number, and every dollar currently at risk. In the opening example those lines read “point 6,” “$5 Don’t Pass plus $5 Don’t Come,” and “$6 temporary Odds; $16 total exposed.”

After a box number sends the Don’t Come wager behind that number, cross out the temporary Odds only when they are actually returned to the rack. Then rewrite the two contract numbers and the remaining exposure. This prevents a removed hedge, a traveling contract, or a new come-out from being counted as though the previous layout still existed.

Scale the lay amount to the desired profit

To repeat the opening example with $30 Don’t Pass and a new $30 Don’t Come, choose temporary Odds to win $30: lay $60 against 4/10, $45 against 5/9, or $36 against 6/8. An immediate 7 then gives $30 flat profit plus $30 Odds profit minus the $30 DC loss, for a $30 net gain. The total exposed amounts are $120, $105 and $96 respectively.

At point 6, a repeat of 6 instead loses the $30 Don’t Pass and $36 Odds: $66 is gone, while the new $30 DC travels behind 6. It does not repay that loss simply by traveling. On the next come-out it still wins on 7 and loses on 6. Check the house’s allowed Odds limit before requesting these amounts, and keep returned stake separate from winning profit.