Trade-In Craps Strategy: Don’t Pass, DC, and Lay Odds

Don’t Pass · Don’t Come · Lay Odds · Trade out of 6/8

The Trade-In strategy is a contributor method that starts on Don’t Pass but prefers to lay Odds against 4, 5, 9, or 10 rather than 6 or 8. If the line point is 6 or 8, it uses a Don’t Come bet to try to “trade” into another number.

Reconstructed rules

1. Make one fixed-unit Don’t Pass bet on the come-out.
2. If the point is 4, 5, 9, or 10, keep the Don’t Pass and optionally lay a predetermined amount of Odds.
3. If the point is 6 or 8, leave the Don’t Pass flat and make one Don’t Come bet after the point.
4. If the DC travels to 4, 5, 9, or 10, remove or reduce the Don’t Pass only if house rules permit, then lay the written Odds amount behind the DC.
5. If the DC travels to 6 or 8, stop adding wagers. Adding a Lay bet does not “bet off” the DC; it adds more action on the same side.
6. If the line point is made while a traveled DC remains, make no new bet and let the DC resolve.

A $10 trade can stop before it starts

Suppose $10 Don’t Pass has traveled behind point 6. Put $10 on Don’t Come. If the very next roll is 7, the existing Don’t Pass wins $10 profit but the new Don’t Come loses its $10 stake on its own come-out. Before other wagers, that roll nets zero dollars; the new DC did not travel to a preferred point. If 11 rolls, the new DC also loses while the Don’t Pass against 6 remains unresolved.

If instead the DC travels to 4 and the table permits the $10 Don’t Pass flat bet to come down, the player can retrieve that stake and lay, for example, $20 Odds behind the $10 DC. From that point, 7 before 4 wins $10 flat profit plus $10 Odds profit; 4 before 7 loses the $10 flat stake and $20 Odds. The Odds portion is fair at risk $2 to win $1, but the $10 DC flat bet still carries its house edge. Confirm the table’s Don’t Pass removal and Odds limits before treating that sequence as an available trade.

Don’t-side point math

Don’t-side point math: Number behind; Chance 7 arrives first; Lay Odds ratio.

Number behind	Chance 7 arrives first	Lay Odds ratio
4 or 10	6/9 = 66.67%	Risk $2 to win $1
5 or 9	6/10 = 60%	Risk $3 to win $2
6 or 8	6/11 = 54.55%	Risk $6 to win $5

The higher win probability on 4/10 is fully reflected in the smaller payoff. No number supplies an advantage over the casino once the flat Don’t contract and bar rule are included.

Where the trade can fail

• A new DC loses immediately to 7 or 11 even though an older traveled Don’t bet may win on 7.
• A DC can travel to the same 6/8 pair the system was trying to avoid.
• The original “maximum Odds” instruction leaves total exposure undefined.
• Removing one Don’t contract does not recover losses already taken.
• A cold-looking table does not improve the next Don’t bet.

A usable staking rule

Choose the maximum amount you are willing to lose on one traveled position, then convert that liability into the correct Odds amount for its number. Do not use the table maximum as the bankroll plan. Record the flat bet and Odds separately because only the Odds portion has zero house edge.

Review the complete Don’t Pass, Don’t Come, and lay Odds rules. Contract handling was checked against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission rules.