1. Liar's Dice Poker Hands
2. Poker Dice Winning Hands

This is a dice version of the card game of the same name. It is usually played with a special set of five poker dice, each has the playing cards Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 and 9 printed on its six faces, but it can just as easily be played with a set of five standard dice. In poker, players construct hands of five cards according to predetermined rules, which vary according to the precise variant of poker being played. These hands are compared using a standard ranking system, and the player with the highest-ranking hand wins that particular deal. Although used primarily in poker, these hand rankings are also used in other card games, and with poker dice.

Poker dice are dice which, instead of having number pips, have representations of playing cards upon them. Poker dice have six sides, one each of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, and 9, and are used to form a poker hand.

Each variety of poker dice varies slightly in regard to suits, though the ace of spades is almost universally represented. 9♣ and 10♦ are frequently found, while face cards are traditionally represented not by suit, but instead by color: red for kings, green for queens and blue for jacks. Manufacturers have not standardized the colors of the face sides. The game can also be played with ordinary dice.

As a game[edit]

The classic poker dice game is played with 5 dice and two or more players. Each player has a total of 3 rolls and the ability to hold dice in between rolls. After the three rolls, the best hand wins.

In most variations, a straight only counts as a Bust (high-card). A Straight is less probable than a Full House, so, if counted, it should rank above a Full House, though tradition usually ranks it below Full House, as in card poker. Neither a 'flush' nor a 'straight flush' is a possible hand, due to the lack of suits on the dice.

In some rules, only a straight to a King is called a Straight, while a straight to an Ace is called (somewhat incorrectly) a Flush. Each one has an exact probability of 120 / 7776. Under these rules, a Straight beats a Full House (unlike in card poker, but correctly reflecting its probability) but does not beat a Four of a Kind (incorrectly reflecting its lower probability). A Flush beats a Four of a Kind (as in card poker, and correctly reflecting its lower probability).

Probabilities[edit]

The poker dice hand rankings and the corresponding probabilities of rolling that hand are as follows^[1][2](not sorted by probability but from highest to lowest ranking):

^*Busts have much lower probability than in card poker, because there are only 6 values instead of 13, making pairs and straights much more likely than with cards. In poker dice there are in fact only four possible bust hands: [A K Q J 9], [A K Q 10 9], [A K J 10 9], and [A Q J 10 9]; both other no-pair hands (i.e., in which either the A or the 9 are missing) are straights. Consequently, in some variants of the rules, straights are counted as busts.^[3]

Variants[edit]

Marlboro once marketed a set of octahedral poker dice that included suits; each die had slightly different numberings, ranging from 7 up to ace. A similar set is currently manufactured by Koplow Games.^[4][5]

In 1974, Aurora produced a set of 12-sided poker dice called 'Jimmy the Greek Odds Maker Poker Dice'^[6] and in 2000, Aurora/Rex Games produced a similar set under the name 'Royal Poker Dice'.^[7] The sets featured five 12-sided dice allowing for all 52 playing cards to be represented. The remaining 8 faces featured stars and acted as wild cards allowing for every possible poker hand to be rolled.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Deep, Ronald (2006), Probability and statistics with integrated software routines, Elsevier Inc., ISBN0-12-369463-9Chapter 1 p 42
2. ^Bărboianu, Cătălin (2006), Probability Guide to Gambling: The Mathematics of Dice, Slots, Roulette, Baccarat, Blackjack, Poker, Lottery and Sport Bets, INFAROM Publishing, p. 224, ISBN973-87520-3-5Extract of page 224
3. ^Arneson, Erik (2012). 'The Complete Rules for the Dice Game Poker Dice'. About.com. New York Times Company. 'Board / Card Games' subsite. Archived from the original on 2014-04-12.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
4. ^Koplow Games
5. ^8-sided poker dice on BoardGameGeek.com
6. ^Jimmy the Greek Odds Maker Poker Dice on BoardGameGeek.com
7. ^Royal Poker Dice on BoardGameGeek.com

Liar's Dice Poker Hands

External links[edit]

• Rules for Dice Poker at BrainKing.com (similar to Yahtzee)
• Arneson, Erik (2012). 'The Complete Rules for the Dice Game Poker Dice'. About.com. New York Times Company. 'Board / Card Games' subsite. Archived from the original on 2014-04-12.CS1 maint: unfit url (link) (no straights)
• Poker dice at Britannica.com

Poker Dice

This is a dice version of the card game of the same name. It is usually played with a special set of five poker dice, each has the playing cards Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 and 9 printed on its six faces, but it can just as easily be played with a set of five standard dice.

Play:

Poker Dice Winning Hands

The aim is to build the best possible poker hand (hands are ranked as below). Each player in turn has up to three throws of the dice. After each throw they put aside any dice they wish to use for their hand, rolling the remainder. Players may stop after the first or second throw if they wish. The player with the highest ranking hand, after everyone has had a turn, wins the game.

Poker hands ranked high to low:

1 Five-of-a-Kind Aces ranking highest; 9s lowest.
2 Four-of-a-Kind Aces ranking highest; 9s lowest.
3 Full House Three-of-a-kind and a pair. A, A, A, 9, 9 beats K, K, K, 10, 10.
4 Straight Five consecutive values. A, K, Q, J, 10 beats K, Q, J, 10, 9.
5 Three-of-a-Kind Aces ranking highest; 9s lowest.
6 Two Pairs A, A, 10, 10, 9 beats K, K, Q, Q, 10
7 One Pair Aces ranking highest; 9s lowest.
8 Highest Die Ranking according to highest backers. A, K, J, 10, 9. beats A, Q, J, 10, 9.

Variations:

You could use standard dice by simply playing 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1 corresponding to A, K, Q, J, 10, 9.

A standard dice version is sometimes called Indian Dice. In Indian Dice the 1 corresponds to an Ace and is ranked high, or in yet other versions 1s are wild, in which case they count as any value.

Other versions of both Poker and Indian Dice allow subsequent players only as many throws of the dice as the first.