What is don't pass?

On the come-out, don't pass wins even money on a 2 or 3 and loses to a 7 or 11 - the reverse of the pass line. A 12 is 'bar 12': a push, returning your chips, which is precisely where the house keeps its tiny edge. Once a point is set, you win if a seven-out comes before the point. Since the 7 is the most common total, a don't bet that survives the come-out becomes the favorite.

Like the pass line, don't pass can be backed with a zero-edge odds bet - but you lay odds, staking more to win less because your side is now favored: 1:2 against the 4 or 10, 2:3 against the 5 or 9, 5:6 against the 6 or 8. Laying odds carries no house edge at all, the same free deal that taking odds gives right bettors.

Don't pass edges out the pass line, 1.36% versus 1.41%, because after the come-out the odds tilt your way. The trade-off is social: you win when everyone else loses. It's also a piece of history - John H. Winn added the don't pass option around 1907, and letting players bet both sides is what killed crooked dice and shaped the modern layout. On a free-chip table, nobody minds a wrong bettor.