Whether you just found Craps Rules and Table Layout: A Beginner's Starting Point or you landed mid-article on What Is a Come Bet in Craps? The Beginner Answer, the same problem keeps coming up: the vocabulary. Craps has its own language. A single missed definition can make an entire mechanic confusing. This glossary covers every key term tied to the come bet, in plain English, with no filler.
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What does "come bet" actually mean?
A come bet is a wager placed in the COME area of the layout after a point is established. It acts as its own personal pass line bet, resolving on an independent timeline. Drop chips in the COME area; no dealer assistance is required for the flat bet itself. To understand the full two-phase resolution, see How the Come Bet Works: Two Rolls, Two Phases.
What is the core come bet glossary?
- Come bet
- A wager placed in the COME area after a point is established. Wins on 7 or 11 on its first roll, loses on 2, 3, or 12, and travels to a box number on any other result.
- Come point
- The number — 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10 — that a come bet travels to after the first roll lands on a box number. That number must repeat before a 7 for the bet to win.
- Flat bet
- The even-money base come bet amount before any odds are added behind it. It pays 1:1. This is the portion affected by the 1.41% house edge.
- Puck (ON/OFF marker)
- The white disc the dealer places on a box number to signal a point is established and come bets may now be made. When it reads OFF, no come bet is permitted.
- Natural
- Rolling a 7 or 11 on the come bet's very first roll. The bet wins immediately; no travel to a box number occurs.
- Seven-out
- When a 7 is rolled during the point phase, ending the shooter's turn. Pass line bets and any traveling come bets lose.
- Free odds / Odds bet
- A supplemental wager placed behind the come bet after it travels to a box number. It pays at true odds with zero house edge: 2:1 on 4 or 10, 3:2 on 5 or 9, and 6:5 on 6 or 8. Unlike pass line odds, come bet odds must be verbally requested from the dealer each time.
- Don't Come bet
- The mirror opposite of the come bet. It wins when a 7 is rolled before the come point repeats, and loses on 7 or 11 on the first roll.
- Come-out roll
- The opening roll of a new round that establishes the main point. Come bets may not be placed until after this roll.
- Pass line bet
- The foundational craps wager placed before the come-out roll. Mechanically identical to the come bet, but placed at a different phase of the game.
- House edge
- The casino's built-in mathematical advantage on each wager. The flat come bet carries a 1.41% house edge — one of the lowest on the table. Taking maximum odds reduces the combined effective house edge further.
- Three Point Molly
- A strategy combining a pass line bet with two active come bets, each backed with maximum odds, covering three box numbers at once at a low combined house edge.
Where does the COME area sit on the table?
Placement matters. If you drop chips in the wrong section, the bet resolves differently than you intend. For a visual breakdown, see Craps Table Layout — Where the COME Area Sits and Why It Matters. The COME box runs across the center of the layout, clearly labeled, between the pass line and the numbered box numbers above it.
What trips beginners up most?
The most common confusion: a come bet already traveling on a number loses when a 7 is rolled, even at the start of a new shooter's come-out. Only a brand-new come bet placed before that roll would have won on the 7. That distinction alone resolves most of the frustration new players bring to the table. No wager here guarantees a win — house edge is real, and results vary on every roll.