What is Poker Dice How to Play, Rules, and Hand Order

Although poker dice is not a very popular game around the world, those who play the game consider it to be very unique and exciting. The following article is a comprehensive guide to poker dice.

We have included detailed information in this article to help those who have never played poker dice get acquainted with this game.

Read about the game rules and hand ranking below.

What is Poker Dice?

Poker Dice is the name given to a dice game with poker rules. It is a way of playing poker with five poker dice. The game can accommodate two or more players.

The five dice simulate the top six cards of a standard deck of playing cards—Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, and Nine. The game challenges players to toss a winning poker hand. The hand rankings are similar to those in poker, except that Poker Dice has no flushes and the highest hand is Five of a Kind.

This unique game originated in the late nineteenth century. Today, we have several variants to choose from. For example, Spanish Poker Dice has different rules and uses dice with eight faces, simulating the top eight cards of a standard deck of playing cards.

If you want to try and play the game but cannot access a poker dice, don’t worry! You can play Poker Dice with regular dice too. The face with one pip assumes the value of the ace, and the other faces retain their value.

Have you observed that you get five regular dice with many poker sets? Nobody knows why this is so. The reason is shrouded in mystery. But some players think that poker sets include dice so that one can play other games like Craps and Poker Dice.

History of the Game

Poker Dice is an old game that originated in the US in the nineteenth century. An unknown person patented the game in 1881. However, the game did not become as popular as regular poker.

Since the modern version of poker appeared in the US around the same time, you still get a set of regular dice when you purchase a set of poker chips. You can use the dice to play Craps or Poker Dice. Some poker chipsets come with real poker dice.

What You Need Before Playing Poker Dice

All of us have seen regular dice. A die has six faces with pips ranging from one to six. Poker dice are slightly different. They have playing card symbols instead of pips on their faces.

Since a dice has only six faces, it cannot simulate the other cards in the deck. Also, poker dice cannot simulate suits.

Since the dice is small, each face is colored to enable easy identification.

We recommend shooting the dice with a dice cup to ensure random results for each roll.

Objective and Rules

The game objective is to get a poker hand with the highest rank by rolling the dice three times. Each round in the game comprises three rolls of the dice.

Explaining the rules of Poker Dice to friends at a home poker game is easy.

To start playing the game, you need a set of five poker dice and a dice cup. A minimum of two players are required to play a round of the game, but you can play with many more friends. You can also place bets to spice up the game and add an element of excitement.

You have the option of playing with poker chips and placing real money bets. Each player can make an ante bet at the beginning of a round to create a pot. The player who wins the round gets the pot.

Rolling the dice thrice is not mandatory. If you are satisfied with the hand you have created, you can stop after the first roll. You do not have to roll the dice again.

Variants of the Dice and the Game

You can choose from several types of poker dice and play the game in many different ways. Here are some of your options:

• Marlboro used to market a set of eight-faced dice. Each dice simulated the player cards from seven to ace. Koplow Games manufactures similar dice today.
• Aurora manufactured 12-faced dice in 1974 and called them Jimmy the Greek Odds Maker Poker Dice.
• Aurora and Rex Games manufactured a set of dice called Royal Poker Dice. Each 12-faced die simulated all the 52 cards in a standard deck of playing cards. The extra eight faces had stars and served as wild cards. Players can roll all types of poker hands using these dice.
• Poker Dice gave birth to another game called Yahtzee, a dice game that uses a scoreboard.
• Horses is another variant, in which you will lose the game if you get a hand with five Aces.
• Liar Dice is a variant that permits bluffing. Players can hide their rolls and announce their hands, but there is no way for their opponents to know whether they are bluffing or not. The opponents can either call the bluff or try creating another hand.

Hands and Odds

The five dice used in the game can represent only a part of the traditional deck of 52 playing cards—Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Nine, and Ten. Instead of playing with 13 card values, you play with only six.

Many variants of the game do not have straights because the dice do not represent most of the cards. But getting a hand with five of a kind is easier. Since the dice do not have suits, you cannot create flushes or straight flushes.

Placing a bet is not mandatory while playing the game. You can play poker dice just for the fun of playing. But there is nothing to stop you from making an ante bet to create a pot and spice up the gaming environment.

Here are the differences between traditional poker and Poker Dice:

• A deck of standard playing cards has 12 face cards, while a set of poker dice has 15 face cards.
• Poker dice simulate only 30 cards, while poker uses a deck of 52 playing cards.
• Creating a Straight is difficult in Poker Dice, but you can create all possible hands while playing poker.
• The highest hand in Poker Dice is Five of a Kind. The top hand in the poker hand ranking system is the Royal Flush.
• In the absence of suits, you cannot create straight flushes and flushes while playing Poker Dice.

Final Thoughts

Playing poker can be exhausting because it requires skills and focus. On the contrary, Poker Dice is a relaxing game of chance that even a child can learn to play. So now that you know that rolling a dice is not just used to play Yahtzee or board games, the next time you get together with some friends or family, why not try out a game of poker dice!