There is both luck and skill involved in playing poker dice. Which dice to keep and which to roll is but one set of tough decisions. Where to record your score another!

Probabilities
It’s always useful to know a thing or two about probabilities. For example, the chance of rolling a straight in your first roll is just over 3% whilst the chance of aiming to roll 4 of a kind in one roll is just over 2% (a 5 of a kind in 1 roll is less than 0.1%). This would generally suggest that a straight is easier to tick off than a 4 of a kind. However, when you miss a straight the score you record is likely to be lower than if you miss a 4 of a kind (where you can end up at least with 3 of one number).

Similarly, at the end of the game you may have just these two categories straight and four of a kind to fill. If you should fail after your rolls, you should probably record your score against the four of a kind as you have a greater chance of making the straight with your last set of rolls. Note that both types of combination score 4 points.

If at the final roll you only need a straight and are thrown initially K, K, A, A, A, which should you keep? The Ace and King together, an A on its own, or a K on its own? It's marginal but you have a 1% better chance of successfully rolling a straight in your second throw if you only keep the King. This is because keeping a King allows you to roll into the low (9,T,J,Q,K) and the high (T,J,Q,K,A) straights.

Here are a few more: the chance in your second roll of converting a pair to 5 of a kind is 1 in 216. The chance of converting a 3 of a Kind to a 5 of a kind in your second roll is 1 in 36. (1/6 x 1/6)

If you need a straight and have 9, T, J, K, A, the chance of you rolling the ace again, hoping for a queen is 1 in 6 or 16.66%. If, however, you have rolled T, J, Q, K, Q and decide to go for a straight, your chances are improved to 2 in 6 or 33.33% (as any 9 or A will complete your straight).

Maximum score
The maximum score you can achieve in this game is 56 (having completed all the top section with five of each number etc.). Note, however, that it is not all about maximizing your score but instead about beating your opponent. There are times when your opponent is so far ahead that you have to 'go for broke', i.e. you are looking to maximize your score whilst at other times, playing it safe is the best decision.

In the final few rolls, for example, you are 2 points ahead and with T, T, J, J, K you can go for either the full-house, kings (which are available) or the straight. Your opponent has the five of a kind, J’s and straight available. What should you choose to do? If you go for either the straight or full house and fail, you would have to mark a zero in one of those categories. If you played it safe and threw all again except the king, you would at least score one point….

An average score in this game is around 29 points and a good score is 30 or more. You would be unlucky to lose a game having scored 35 points. If you do score a genuine maximum score in a cash-game we will pay you out £10,000 - email us with the game and table details!

The value of the bonus
The bonus for exceeding 15 points in the upper section can decide a game. Always try to record at least three in each of these categories to ensure yourself of the bonus. If you have to record a zero in one of them, you will need to be more aggressive in getting fours of a number thereafter. If after a few rounds you have little chance of making the bonus, then you will want to concentrate on completing the lower section, whilst recording any rolls which do not deliver results in the top section.

Skill vs Luck
You will play some games where you can do no wrong and all the dice combinations favour you. There will be other games, in which even if you have played them perfectly, the dice just haven’t favoured you! However, stick to some of the basic strategies, pay some attention to probabilities and over time you should fare well. Good luck (or should we say ‘Good Skill!’).