3 Dice Games

3 Dice Games

May 14 2021

3 Dice Games

Introduction

Dice are necessary to play in matches. They allow the player to have more dice control and special abilities from the effects of the chosen dice. The first dice you're given is the White Dice,. For this game, scratch paper or whiteboard will be needed, as well as three dice per partners or small groups. Each person rolls the 3 dice and makes an improper fraction by placing two of the dice side by side as the numerator and the other dice as the denominator, and then simplifies to make a whole number or a mixed number.

3 Dice Game With Left Center Right

3 Dice Football is a new game I noticed at O'Shea's on April 2, 2011. The game attempts to simulate the game of American football using three dice. The player may bet that a given possession will result in a touchdown or turnover, as well as lots of prop bets on each roll. It is certainly a new concept and I have to give the inventor points for trying something different, as opposed to the usual blackjack and poker variants.

Rules

  1. At the beginning of a possession, the ball shall start at the defensive 20-yard line. In other words, 20 yards from scoring a touchdown.
  2. The shooter shall have three rolls (or downs) to advance 10 yards. All rolls, including the neutral and bad ones, count as a down.
  3. The roll of three dice (two green and one red) shall determine the outcome of each play. Here are the possible outcomes. If more than one are applicable, use the one that appears first.
    • If the shooter rolls a three of a kind, then it is an automatic touchdown.
    • If the shooter rolls a red 6, and the sum of the green dice is 2 or 3, then it shall result in a turnover, which is a failed attempt at a touchdown.
    • If the red die is greater than the sum of the two green dice, then it is considered a penalty, and results in a loss of one yard.
    • If the red die is equal to the sum of the two green dice, then no yards are gained.
    • If the red die is less than the sum of the two green dice, then the ball shall advance the difference in points. For example, if the green dice were 5 and 6, and the red die was a 3, then the ball would advance 11-3=8 yards.

  4. If the player advances 10 yards in the first three downs, then he shall get another three downs to advance the rest of the way to a touchdown.
  5. There are also several prop bets, which win or lose each on each roll.

If that was not clear, here is a scan of the rule cards. As with most images on this site, click on them for a larger version.


3 Dice Games

Analysis

The primary bet is on a Touchdown. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 3.62%.

Touchdown

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win148,943,108,116,2360.4819130.481913
Lose-152,616,848,552,1800.518087-0.518087
Total101,559,956,668,4161.000000-0.036173

Much like in craps, you can be a contrarian. In this case, you can bet on a turnover, which pays 4 to 5. The table below shows a house edge of 6.74%.

Defense

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win0.852,616,848,552,1800.5180870.414469
Lose-148,943,108,116,2360.481913-0.481913
Total101,559,956,668,4161.000000-0.067444

Trips Touchdown is a single-roll bet that the next roll will be a touchdown (three of a kind). Wins pay 33 to 1. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 5.56%.

Trips Touchdown

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win3360.0277780.916667
Lose-12100.972222-0.972222
Total2161.000000-0.055556

Penalty is a single-roll bet that the next roll will be a penalty (see rules above). Wins pay 11 to 1. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 5.56%.

Penalty

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win11170.0787040.865741
Lose-11990.921296-0.921296
Total2161.000000-0.055556

Turnover is a single-roll bet that the next roll will be a turnover (see rules above). Wins pay 66 to 1. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 6.94%.

Turnover

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win6630.0138890.916667
Lose-12130.986111-0.986111
Total2161.000000-0.069444

Cover 3 is a single-roll bet that the next roll will be a penalty, turnover, or single-roll touchdown. Wins pay 7 to 1. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 3.70%.

Cover 3

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win7260.1203700.842593
Lose-11900.879630-0.879630
Total2161.000000-0.037037

No Gain is a single-roll bet that the next roll will be a zero gain (see above rules). Wins pay 5 to 1. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.78%.

No Gain

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win5350.1620370.810185
Lose-11810.837963-0.837963
Total2161.000000-0.027778

Big Play is a single-roll bet that the next roll will result in 7 or more yards or a trips touchdown. Wins pay 4 to 1. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 5.09%.

Big Play

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win4410.1898150.759259
Lose-11750.810185-0.810185
Total2161.000000-0.050926

Over 4 Yards is a single-roll bet that the next roll will result in 5 or more yards or a trips touchdown. Wins pay 1 to 1, except a trips touchdown pays 7 to 1. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 4.63%.

Over 4 Yards

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Trips TD760.0277780.194444
Over 4 yards1790.3657410.365741
Lose-11310.606481-0.606481
Total2161.000000-0.046296

Under 4 Yards is a single-roll bet that the next roll will result in 3 or less yards, a penalty, or a turnover. Wins pay 1 to 1. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.78%.

Under 4 Yards

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win11050.4861110.486111
Lose-11110.513889-0.513889
Total2161.000000-0.027778

The final table summarizes the house edge for each bet.

House Edge Summary

BetHouse Edge
Touchdown3.62%
Defense6.74%
Trips Touchdown5.56%
Penalty5.56%
Turnover6.94%
Cover 33.70%
No Gain2.78%
Big Play5.09%
Over 4 Yards4.63%
Under 4 Yards2.78%

Strategy

Much like craps, the only decision making in 3 Dice Football is what to bet on. The above table shows the lowest house edge, at 2.78%, is on No Gain and Under 4 Yards. However, the Touchdown bet will last over multiple rolls most of the time. So my advice is to bet on a Touchdown and if you must bet the props, stick to No Gain and Under 4 Yards, which will also hedge against a Touchdown.

It deserves to be noted the single-roll prop bets in this game carry a much lower house edge than those in craps.

Acknowledgements

I was lazy with the analysis of this game, and got the probability of a Touchdown and Turnover from the TCS John Huxley web site, which deserve proper attribution for those figures. I did the rest of the math myself, which agrees with the figures at the John Huxley web site.

Two standard six-sided pipped dice with rounded corners
18th-century dice players

Dice games are games that use or incorporate one or more dice as their sole or central component, usually as a random device.

The following are games which largely, if not entirely, depend on dice:

  • Liar's Dice[1]

Collectible dice games[edit]

Patterned after the success of collectible card games, a number of collectible dice games have been published. Although most of these collectible dice games are long out-of-print, there is still a small following for many of them.

Some collectible dice games include:

References[edit]

  1. ^Raghaven, T. E. S.; Ferguson, Thomas S.; Parthasarathy, T.; Vrieze, O. J. (2012). Stochastic Games And Related Topics: In Honor of Professor L. S. Shapley. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 19. ISBN978-94-011-3760-7.

Threes Are Free Dice Game

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3 Dice Games

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