4–2 Doey-Don’t Craps System: Rules and Math

Pass and Don’t Pass schedule · 4–2 rotation · Independent outcomes

The “4–2 Doey-Don’t” system is an old CrapsPit contributor method that alternates between runs of Pass Line and Don’t Pass bets. Despite the name, it is not the usual doey-don’t hedge of betting both sides at once. Its defining rule is a schedule: seek two Pass wins or four Don’t Pass wins, then switch sides.

Reconstructed 4–2 rules

1. Wait for the current Pass Line contract to resolve before starting.
2. Choose the Pass phase or Don’t phase. The original contributor switched according to the previous result.
3. During a Pass phase, continue until two Pass contracts have won.
4. During a Don’t phase, continue until four Don’t Pass contracts have won.
5. If the opposite side wins before the phase target is complete, switch and begin that side’s target.
6. After two Pass wins or four Don’t Pass wins complete the current target, switch sides and start the new phase count at zero. A Don’t Pass push neither advances the target nor triggers a switch.
7. Keep the flat wager constant unless a separate staking rule has been written in advance.

This version resets a phase count when the opposite side wins before the target. A different reset rule would produce a different sequence of wagers. The count is only a schedule, never a claim that an unfinished streak is “due.”

What each contract costs

Flat Pass Line and Don’t Pass contract rules and standard house edges.

Bet	Come-out treatment	Standard flat-bet edge
Pass Line	7 or 11 wins; 2, 3, or 12 loses	About 1.414%
Don’t Pass, bar 12	2 or 3 wins; 7 or 11 loses; 12 pushes	About 1.364%

Those percentages apply to each flat contract. Taking or laying true Odds after a point adds a zero-edge wager, but it also adds dollars at risk. Odds cannot retroactively make the flat bet free.

Why “up half, down half” is misleading

Line bets are close to even, not exactly even. The bar number, come-out rules, and point probabilities create the casino edge. A stop-win or stop-loss can limit a session, but leaving while ahead does not change the expectation of the contracts already played.

A trackable way to test it

• Use one fixed flat unit for both phases.
• Record completed contracts, not individual rolls.
• Record pushes separately on the Don’t Pass side.
• Keep Odds results separate from flat-bet results.
• Compare the schedule with simply making the same line bet every time.
• Stop at the predetermined money or time limit—not after a pattern “changes.”

A push and a switch in five contracts

Use $10 flat bets, bar 12 on Don’t Pass, and the reset rule above. First Pass wins $10, so the Pass count is one of two. The next Pass loses $10: switch to Don’t Pass and reset that count to zero of four. A come-out 12 on Don’t Pass pushes, returning the $10 stake without profit or loss and leaving the count at zero. A Don’t Pass win then adds $10 and makes its count one of four. The next Don’t Pass loss removes $10, switches back to Pass, and resets its count. The five settled contracts leave the rack exactly even before any other wagers.

The push is not a win toward the four-win target, and switching does not reimburse either losing contract. Keep the dollar ledger beside the phase count; a $10 result and a count of one answer different questions. A casino using a different barred number needs that rule substituted before following this example.

Worked phase-tracking example

Assume $10 flat bets and the reset rule described above. A Pass win moves the Pass count to one of two. If the next Pass contract loses, the schedule switches to Don’t Pass and starts that count at zero of four. A Don’t Pass win then moves its count to one; a come-out 12 push leaves both the wager result and the phase count unchanged under bar-12 rules.

Keep two columns in the ledger: the phase count and the actual dollars won or lost. The count tells you which contract the schedule calls for next; it does not erase the $10 result of a losing contract or make the next side more likely to win.

Review the underlying Pass Line and Don’t Pass rules before trying any alternating schedule. Standard contract rules were checked against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s Craps and Mini-Craps rules.

Finish a target without confusing the count with cash

Begin a fresh Pass phase with $10 flat bets and no Odds. Two consecutive Pass wins produce $20 profit and complete the two-win target. Switch to Don’t Pass with its count at zero. If the first Don’t contract pushes on a come-out 12, the profit remains $20 and its count remains zero. Four Don’t wins after that, with no intervening loss, add $40 and complete the four-win target; switch back to Pass. This deliberately favourable illustration finishes $60 ahead, but does not predict the next six contracts.

The target counts wins in a phase; it is not a recovery balance. In the mixed five-contract example above, switches occur before either target is met and the dollar result is zero. Those are different paths through the same written rules. Reset the count when required, but carry the actual accumulated dollar result forward until the session ends.