Poker Dice

Poker dice feature the card symbols ace, king, queen, jack, ten and nine on their six sides. Although there are different versions of poker dice, the rules always take their cue from the card game of the same name. Two people play with one or two sets of five poker dice. The dice are shaken in a cup and cast. The dice can be rolled three times every round. Whoever achieves the higher poker combination wins. In concealed poker dice games, the players can bluff like in the card game.    

History

Like the card game, poker dice also hails from the USA. The first patent for poker dice was issued in 1881.

Mathematics

Calculating the number of combinations after the first throw is a nice combinatorics problem. The probability of the individual combinations can be worked out directly. The question of how to factor in the possibilities of a second and third throw is trickier. Here, describing an optimum strategy is also mathematically complex.