Poker Dice Rules

‘Poker Dice is a simple, straight-forward dice game that's best if played by 2 to 5 players. All it takes is five 6-sided dice as the players compete to roll the best Poker hand.’

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Object of the Game

To be the player with the best hand to win the pot.

Items you need to play Poker Dice

You will need a set of 5 poker dice and one of the following; matches, poker chips, money or pen and paper, whatever is your preferred method of scoring.

Playing Poker Dice

Poker Dice can be played with any number of players. Poker Dice are dice but instead of the traditional spots, each side represents a playing card. The values in order of rank are;

Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine.

The object is to make the best poker hand from rolls of the poker dice. Each player puts an equal stake into the pot before rolling the poker dice or any pre agreed method of scoring.

Players are entitled to three rolls of the dice, and may save any dice from a previous roll. Once any die has been set aside, it may not be rolled again for that players turn.

After the final throw the value of the hand is noted, and the dice passes to the next player.

The highest hand wins the pot.

Poker Dice Rankings

Poker Dice hand values are the same as that of a Poker Card Game. The hands are ranked as follows;

Five of a Kind

Beats

Four of a Kind

Beats

A Full House (Three of a Kind and one pair)

Beats

A Straight (9-10-J-Q-K or 10-J-Q-K-A)

Beats

Three of a Kind

Beats

Two Pairs

Beats

One Pair

Higher numbers outrank lower numbers. If there is a tie the players involved play an extra round to decide the winner.

A more popular variation in the event of ties is to use 'kickers'. This is the value of the poker dice that do not contribute to a made hand. For Example, lets say two players both roll 4 of a kind. Player 1 has 4 Queens and a King. Player 2 has 4 Queens and a 9. The spare dice is his kicker so in this example Player one has a King kicker and player 2 has a 9 kicker. Therefore player 1 wins the pot.

Of course, there are other scoring combinations that beat similar hands. 5 Aces beats 5 Kings, a high Straight (Ace High) beats a low straight (King High), A full house consisting of 3 queens and 2 nines beats a full house consisting of 2 nines and 2 queens and so on.

In the event of a dead tie where two or more players make hands of equal strength, traditionally another round would be played between these players to determine the winner. If you prefer, the winning players may split the pot i.e. divide the pot equally between the winning players. This rule should be agreed prior to playing.

Gambling Variations

Poker Dice is played where each player makes his three rolls and notes his final score or the value of the five dice and the hand he has made.

A personal preference is to introduce 'betting rounds' and it works like in a similar way to Poker.

If you only have one set of poker dice, one player will need to be the designated scorer and his job is to accurately keep a note of each players current hand value.

Ideally, each player will have one set of Poker Dice each.

How much that can be bet at each round should be determined by the players before play begins and usually there is a limit each player can wager but limits are up to the players involved. The player going first is the winner of the previous round and he can decide the initial wager (anything up to the agreed limit) and places his bet. Player one, as the winner of the previous round MUST make a bet of some description (like the blinds in Poker) and this can be any amount from the smallest denomination of your chosen stake up to the agreed limit.

He places his bet in front of him and ALL players must follow suit and match his bet. Once done, the pot is created in the centre with all players opening wagers.

Player one then throws all his dice ONCE. All players then throw their dice ONCE on their turn. (provided each player has a set of poker dice each. If not, this is where one player has to note ONLY the value and number of the dice each player wants to KEEP to the next round).

Given the information of the opening throws, player one may bet again or check (opt not to bet). Each player in turn may then also check or make a bet. If any player makes a bet, all players who want to continue to round 2 must match this bet.

Any players who don't fancy their chances of making the best Poker Dice hand may fold and not participate any further in the hand. That player will lose any wagers he has made to that point.

Raising is optional but if you play with the ability to raise, we would recommend allowing only ONE raise per round but again, each player must match the bets of the other players in order to continue.

Once each player has acted, round two begins where, in turn, each player left in play throws their remaining dice to try and improve their hand.

The betting process begins again after the second throw and once complete, remaining players may make their third throw with any of their remaining dice (if any). There is no betting after the final throw and the best Poker Dice hand wins the pot.

If all players fold before the 3 throws have taken place, the remaining player wins the pot.

There are only TWO betting rounds in a game. The first after the initial throw and the second after the second throw.