Bank Dice Game: Rules, Odds and When to Bank

Bank is a fast push-your-luck dice game for a whole group. Everyone shares one pot of points that grows with every roll. At any moment you can shout “Bank!” and keep what is in the pot, but if a 7 is rolled before you do, everyone still in the round loses it. It needs only two dice and a score sheet, and it works just as well with 4 players as with 30.

What You Need

• Two six-sided dice, or our Dice Roller set to two dice and shown on a screen.
• A score sheet with a column for each player, or a whiteboard for a class.
• Two or more players. There is no upper limit.

Who Rolls First

Have everyone roll one die with the Dice Roller and let the highest roll start. With a big class it is quicker to spin our Random Name Picker once. The dice then pass to the left after every roll, so everyone gets a turn at rolling during a round.

How to Play

These are the most common rules. Groups often change the numbers, so agree on them before you start.

1. Play a set number of rounds, usually 10, 15 or 20. Each round starts with an empty pot.
2. The first three rolls are safe. Add the sum of the dice to the pot, but a 7 adds 70 points instead.
3. From the fourth roll on, it gets risky. A 7 ends the round and the pot is lost. Doubles double the pot. Any other roll adds its sum.
4. Bank at any time. Any player still in the round can call “Bank!” between rolls. Write the current pot next to their name. They sit out the rest of the round, and the pot keeps growing for the others.
5. The round ends when a 7 is rolled after the safe rolls or when everyone has banked.
6. Most points after the last round wins.

The Chance of a 7

Six of the 36 results with two dice add up to 7, so every risky roll has a 1 in 6 chance of ending the round. That chance is the same every time: the dice do not know how long the round has lasted. What changes is how likely it is that you have already been caught. For more on how sums of two dice work, see our dice probability guide.

We simulated 200,000 rounds with these rules. In the table, “Risky rolls” is how many rolls have happened after the three safe ones, “Pot alive” is the exact chance that no 7 has come up yet, “Pot if alive” is the average pot at that point when the round is still going, and “Value” is the average number of points you would get if you always waited that long before banking, counting the zeros. The pot and value columns are simulated estimates.

The pot grows fast because doubles double it, so waiting longer does raise your average score a little. But the risk grows much faster: after 4 risky rolls the round has already ended more than half of the time. Waiting is a gamble with a big spread, not a safe plan.

When to Bank

• Watch the scoreboard, not just the pot. If you are ahead, bank early and safely. If you are behind near the end, you need to wait for a big pot.
• Watch the others. Once most players have banked, the ones still in are racing each other. One more roll can give the last player a big lead, or nothing.
• A 70 in the safe rolls changes things. About 42% of rounds have at least one 7 in the first three rolls, which starts the pot at 70 or more and makes an early bank worth it.
• Doubles are the reason to stay. Each risky roll has a 1 in 6 chance of a double and a 1 in 6 chance of a 7, so a big jump and the end of the round are equally likely.
• Last round: if you cannot win by banking now, stay in. A small safe score does not help when you are behind.

Bank in the Classroom

Bank is popular with teachers because the whole class plays at once and nobody waits for a turn. Everyone stands up at the start of a round and sits down when they bank. It practises adding larger numbers and doubling, and it leads to good talks about risk: why did some people bank at 40 and others wait for 300? After a few rounds, ask the class to work out the chance of a 7 and check it with a tally of rolls.

Variations

• Shorter game: play 5 or 10 rounds for a quick lesson starter.
• No doubling: doubles just add their sum. The pot grows more slowly and the game is calmer for young players.
• Safe rolls: make the first two or four rolls safe instead of three to change how big the pot gets before the risk starts.
• Teams: tables or groups bank together and must agree before calling it.
• Only one bank: the first player to call “Bank!” takes the pot and ends the round for everyone. It becomes a game of nerves.

If you like this kind of risk, try Skunk, where everyone decides together whether to stay standing, or Pig, the classic two-player push-your-luck game.

Where Does the Game Come From?

Bank is played widely in classrooms and at family tables, and rule sets differ in the number of safe rolls and the value of a 7. We found no reliable record of where the game first came from, and it shares its basic idea with older push-your-luck games such as Skunk.

FAQ

How do you play the Bank dice game?

Each round, the group rolls two dice and adds to a shared pot. The first three rolls are safe, and a 7 adds 70. After that, a 7 ends the round and anyone who has not banked loses the pot. Doubles double the pot. Call Bank to keep the pot.

What is the chance of rolling a 7 with two dice?

6 of the 36 results add up to 7, so the chance is 1 in 6 on every roll.

When should you bank in Bank?

It depends on the score. Leaders should bank early, players who are behind should wait longer. After 4 risky rolls, the round has already ended more than half the time.

What do doubles do in Bank?

In the first three rolls they add their sum like any other roll. After that, doubles double the whole pot.

How many rounds are there in Bank?

Most groups play 10, 15 or 20 rounds. Pick a number that fits the time you have.

Can you play Bank with an online dice roller?

Yes. Set our free Dice Roller to two dice and show it on a screen so the whole group can see each roll.