Introduction
Poker Dice is a meld-making dice game in which Players attempt to use their special dice to form the familiar hands of poker.
Is an early take on what later became Yahtzee’s game mechanics. However, there are significant enough differences between the two to distinguish them as discrete games.
Poker Dice was popular in World War II. Dice’s naturally more rigid and waterproof construction compared to cards made them the superior choice for soldiers stationed in wet and muddy climates.
How to Play Poker Dice?
Materials Needed
Poker Dice can be played using a standard set of five 6-sided die, assigning each numeral on the die to a different card.
However, it is much easier to keep track of dice rolls when one uses a proprietary set of dice. These special dice have six sides, each representing a different card.
One copy of the following card can be found on each side of a Poker Die:
- 9
- 10
- Jack
- Queen
- King
- Ace
Generally, the cards are not represented by suit, but instead by color. This does vary, with some Poker Dice opting to give the numbered cards suits, while the face cards remain simple colors.
Most often, for aesthetic choices, the Ace will be represented by the A♠.
The other components of the game are fairly easy to come by.
- Optionally, Players could include a cup to hold and roll the dice. This might make rolling five dice at once easier.
- Also optionally, Players could use a pen and paper to keep track of each Player’s exact hand.
Unlike cards, which will always be laid out on the table, Poker Dice will need to be re-rolled for the next Player to take their turn, effectively wiping the board of the previous Player’s roll.
Ante and Betting
Poker Dice typically lacks bluffing mechanics, unlike traditional poker. However, in a special two-player variation, players roll their dice secretly, then bluff and raise.
In the classic Poker Dice ruleset, Players each make an Ante wager at the start of betting. As many Players can participate in a game as are feasible for the Play Area.
The Ante paid by each Player should be equal, at which point the Players should decide who will be allowed to go first. There is no advantage to going first, so Players can determine this with whatever random means they choose.
Rolling
Once a Player has been given the chance to go first, they collect their five dice and take their first roll.
All dice rolls made by a Player are public, rolled out in the open in front of all other Players.
Players inspect all five dice of their first roll, and may “Hold” any dice they desire.
- Held Dice will remain in the Player’s “hand” and will not be re-rolled.
- Any un-held dice should be rolled once more.
Re-rolling
Players are allowed to make two re-rolls, for a total of three rolls on a Player’s turn. Players roll until they achieve a desired roll, or they have made three rolls in total. After a Player’s turn has ended, their final roll is locked in and cannot be altered.
The dice and cup, if being used, shall then be passed to the next clockwise Player. They will roll, and re-roll, and then pass the dice, and so on.
Showdown
Each Player will take their turn, at which point the rolls of each Player will be compared in the final Showdown. The Player who forms the highest meld is the winner and takes the whole pot value.
In the case of a tie, in which two or more Players have the exact same meld to win the game, they shall split the pot evenly between them.
Hands and Scoring
Poker Dice is scored in the meta-game, like most gambling games, by the amount of money won or lost during the game.
- If a Player leaves the game with more money than they started with, they can be considered winners.
- The inverse, leaving with less than starting with, would be considered losing.
Within the game itself, it is scored using the hand rankings one might be familiar with from the classic game of poker. These hands are given below in a table for quick reference, ranked from highest to lowest:
| Hand | Example |
|---|---|
| Five of a Kind | 9-9-9-9-9 |
| Four of a Kind | K-K-K-K-10 |
| Full House | Q-Q-Q-9-9 |
| Straight | 9-10-J-Q-K |
| Three of a Kind | A-A-A-9-10 |
| Two Pair | K-K-A-A-9 |
| Pair | Q-Q-9-10-J |
Bust
If a Player does not achieve a Pair or greater, they have received a roll known as a “Bust”.
The Bust can only beat another Bust of lower value, such as a Bust in which the highest die was an Ace. This would beat another Bust in which the highest die was a Queen.
Poker Dice Rules Summary
In short, the key takeaways with regard to the rules are:
- Players use 5 dice with poker symbols instead of numbers.
- Players ante up and take turns rolling 3 times, holding dice between rolls.
- The goal is to make the best poker hand: 5 of a Kind, Straight, Full House etc.
- The player with the best hand wins the pot. Ties split the pot.
- You win by ending with more money. You lose by ending with less.
Example Scenario
Suppose that it is your turn, and the highest outstanding hand at the table is a Three-Kind of Queens.
You take your first roll:
9–9–J–K–Q
This is a difficult position to be in. Players here essentially have two viable paths that they can take. They could either:
- Keep the pair of 9s, re-rolling the remaining three dice in the hopes of a Full House or better.
- Keep the 9, J, Q, K, and re-roll the second 9 in the hopes of achieving a straight.
Both of these strategies have drawbacks and benefits:
Rolling a Straight not only beats the previously highest Three-Kind, but will protect a Player against any higher Three-Kinds than the set of Queens. However, in this situation, Players will only be rolling a single die, twice. This means the odds of rolling the exact 10 are very low.
Keeping the Pair of 9s however, is not a completely unreasonable strategy. Although a Player would need a Full-House, they will be able to roll three of their dice potentially twice.
This gives the Player many more opportunities to achieve the necessary roll to win. However, if a Player only rolls a single 9, then they will lose to the outstanding Three-Kind of Queens.
Strategy Tips
As demonstrated above, every round of Poker Dice is a situational game of probability. Players will need to weigh the probability of a better roll versus keeping the one that they have.
Knowing which dice to keep and which dice to hold will largely depend on the currently highest meld in the game. There is no reason to risk your Pair of Queens when it is already beating all previous players.
Similarly, you have nothing to lose if the highest roll is a Four Kind. Roll all three times to try and achieve a superior meld.
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