Poker Dice Rules: Hand Rankings, Odds and How to Play
Poker dice turns the hands of the card game into a fast dice game. Each player rolls five dice up to three times and tries to make the best poker hand: a pair, a full house, a straight or even five of a kind. You need no cards, no chips and almost no table space. Here are the rules, the hand rankings, the exact odds of every hand and a few tips.
What You Need
- Five dice. Special poker dice show 9, 10, J, Q, K and A, but normal six-sided dice work exactly the same way.
- Two or more players.
- Paper to keep score, if you play several rounds.
No dice? Set the Dice Roller to five dice for your first roll, then to however many dice you are rerolling.
How to Play
- Roll all five dice. Each player gets up to three rolls per turn.
- Keep or reroll. After each roll, set aside the dice you like and reroll the rest. You can stop after the first or second roll if you are happy.
- Show your hand. After your last roll, your five dice are your poker hand.
- Best hand wins. When everyone has rolled, the best hand wins the round. Many groups play best of five rounds.
A common house rule: the first player decides how many rolls everyone gets. If they stop after two rolls, the others may only use two rolls too.
Hand Rankings and Odds
Hands rank like in card poker, but there are no suits, so there are no flushes. We counted all 7,776 possible rolls of five dice to get the chance of each hand on a single roll:
| Hand (best first) | Example | Chance on one roll |
|---|---|---|
| Five of a kind | 6 6 6 6 6 | 0.08% (6 in 7,776) |
| Four of a kind | 4 4 4 4 2 | 1.9% |
| Full house | 5 5 5 2 2 | 3.9% |
| Straight | 1 2 3 4 5 or 2 3 4 5 6 | 3.1% |
| Three of a kind | 3 3 3 6 1 | 15.4% |
| Two pair | 6 6 2 2 5 | 23.1% |
| One pair | 5 5 1 3 6 | 46.3% |
| Nothing (bust) | 1 2 3 4 6 | 6.2% |
Look closely and you will see something odd: with dice, a straight is actually rarer than a full house, and a bust is rarer than two pair. Most groups still keep the card-game order shown above. Some rank the straight above the full house instead. Agree on the order before you start.
Breaking Ties
- Two hands of the same kind are compared by the value of the dice that make them: three 6s beat three 4s.
- For a full house or two pair, compare the bigger group or the higher pair first.
- If those are equal, compare the leftover dice, highest first.
- With normal dice, 6 is high. On poker dice, the ace is high. A straight to 6 beats a straight to 5.
- If hands are exactly equal, the tied players roll off.
How Rerolls Change the Odds
Three rolls make good hands far more common. If you always keep your biggest group of matching dice and reroll the rest, this is what you end up with:
| After three rolls, keeping your biggest group | Chance |
|---|---|
| At least three of a kind | about 74% |
| At least four of a kind | about 29% |
| Five of a kind | about 4.6% |
| Still only a pair or worse | about 26% |
So a pair at the end of your turn usually loses. Three of a kind is about average, and four of a kind wins most rounds. For the maths behind these numbers, see our guide to dice probability.
Simple Tips
- Keep your biggest group. Rerolling the other dice gives you the best chance of three or four of a kind.
- Two pair: keep both pairs and roll one die for a full house. You have a 1 in 3 chance each roll.
- Go for a straight only when you have four in a row, like 2 3 4 5. Then 1 or 6 completes it, a 1 in 3 chance per roll.
- Know what to beat. If an earlier player has four of a kind, three of a kind is not enough, so keep rolling.
Where Poker Dice Comes From
Poker dice grew out of the card game poker, which spread across the United States in the 19th century. Dice marked with card faces from 9 to ace have been sold for a long time, but nobody recorded who made the first set or when. Dice games with five dice and hands, such as Generala and Yahtzee, belong to the same family.
For another quick five-dice game, try Ship, Captain and Crew or Liar's Dice. More quick games are in our list of easy dice games.
FAQ
What beats what in poker dice?
From best to worst: five of a kind, four of a kind, full house, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and nothing. There are no flushes because dice have no suits.
How many rolls do you get in poker dice?
Usually up to three. After each roll you keep the dice you want and reroll the rest.
Is a straight or a full house better in poker dice?
Most groups follow the card-game order, so a full house beats a straight. With dice, though, a straight is slightly rarer (3.1% against 3.9% on one roll), so some groups swap them. Agree before you play.
Can you play poker dice with normal dice?
Yes. Normal dice give exactly the same odds as poker dice. Just treat 6 as the highest value and 1 as the lowest.
What are the odds of five of a kind in poker dice?
On a single roll, 6 in 7,776, about 0.08%. With three rolls, keeping your biggest group each time, it rises to about 4.6%.