Requires: 1 standard deck of 52 playing cards and three dice for each player.
Each player rolls the dice at the beginning of hand and leaves them visible to all players. A round of betting begins.
Then each player is dealt three cards and another round of betting continues. This can be done one time after all three cards are dealt or one at a time after each card is dealt.
The dice are used either as face value for extra cards (sixes, fives, fours, threes, twos, ones). A player may also combine two or three dice to generate a higher value card. Face card values are: 14 = Ace, 13 = King, 12 = Queen, 11 = Jack.
For example, if a player rolls three sixes, he may opt to use them as three cards (three sixes) or two cards (a King and a six). If a character rolls 6,5,3, he may opt to use them as three cards (a six, a five, a three), two cards (Queen and three, eight and six, nine and five) or as one card (Ace).
Note: Ones as lower than twos and ones are not Aces. It is therefore possible to have a pair of ones.
This, of course, makes six of a kind sixes the highest hand.
The hand rankings are as follows: (lowest to highest)
- High card - six different cards - no combination of dice and cards permit any higher hand.
- One pair - same as traditional poker.
- Bobtail - Four Card Straight that does not start with a one or an Ace. There are no wrap-around straights allowed.
- Two Pair - same as traditional poker.
- Three of a Kind (Barrel) - same as traditional poker.
- Three Pair - Just what it sounds like
- Odds or Evens - five or six cards in alternate sequence like A, Q, 10, 8, 6 or J, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1
- Full house - same as traditional poker.
- Straight - Five card straight, same as traditional poker. No wrap-around straights are allowed.
- Four of a Kind - Same as in normal poker
- Longtom - A 'Four of a Kind' plus a 'Pair'
- Double Barrel - Two barrels (two sets of 'Three of a Kind')
- Five of a Kind - same as traditional poker.
- Major Straight - six card straight
- Six of a Kind - just what it says
There are no flushes in Dice Poker, the dice are not wild, they are their own suit called by various names (half-suit, monkey suit, crazy suit, etc) but usually referred to as Dice. Referring to values used to create hands, you would say that you have an Ace of Dice or a two of dice.