Rules of Boss Dice

Boss Dice is a version of Poker Dice in which each player tries to get the highest possible poker hand in just two throws of the dice. A unique feature of the game is that one player in each round is the Boss, with the privilege of making the second throw in the round before all other players, and deciding based on that throw whether to continue the round or call it off. Boss Dice is a banking game in which each player begins with the same number of points in their bank. Players are eliminated when their bank drops to zero; the winner is the last player remaining in the game.

The Dice Hand

Each player uses five dice.

The Play

A game consists of a series of rounds in which each player tries to throw the highest poker hand. Players begin by agreeing on a set wager for the round (when playing against the computer the player sets the wager). Each player then makes a throw, and the player with the highest poker hand is the Boss for the round. All players make their first throw in the open, allowing all other players to see the poker hand they hold.

Only certain poker hands are considered when deciding who is Boss. These hands (ranked from highest to lowest) are:

1. Five-of-a-Kind
2. Four-of-a-Kind
3. Three-of-a-Kind
4. One Pair

Full House and Two Pair do not count for determining the Boss; a Full House is treated as Three-of-a-Kind; in a hand holding Two Pair only the higher pair is considered when determining the Boss. If two or more players are tied for the highest ranking hand, the player with the higher face value on the dice making the hand is Boss (e.g., Three-of-a-Kind in fives beats Three-of-a-Kind in twos). If players are still tied, the round is a push and a new round is started (in other words, the other dice in the hand are not counted for breaking ties).

The Boss has the privilege of making a second throw before all other players. The Boss keeps the dice that are part of the high ranking poker hand, and throws the remainder in secret. After this second throw, the Boss compares the new poker hand to the poker hands held by all other players, and either decides to call the other players up (continue the round), or call it off (end the round). The Boss conceals the rerolled dice from all other players but is entitled to see all the dice rolled so far by other players.

If the Boss calls it off, all players pick up their dice and a new round begins. If the Boss calls the other players up, then the players must decide which dice to keep and which dice to throw in order to beat the Boss' hand. While the Boss is required to keep the dice that were part of the high ranking hand, the other players are not required to keep any dice, and may even reroll all five dice.

After the players complete their second throw, the Boss reveals the concealed dice, and compares the Boss hand to each other player hand to determine whether the Boss hand or the player hand wins (in a single round, the Boss hand may beat some player hands and lose to others). Full House and Two Pair count when determining whether the Boss hand wins or the player hand wins. For determining the winner, legal poker hands (ranked from highest to lowest) are:

1. Five-of-a-Kind
2. Four-of-a-Kind
3. Full House
4. Three-of-a-Kind
5. Two Pair
6. One Pair

Note that a Straight is never a legal poker hand in Boss Dice.

Scoring

Boss Dice is a banking game, and each player begins with the same size bank (agreed on before the game begins). At the beginning of each round players agree what the wager for the round will be. At the end of each round, players who lost to the Boss pay the wager to the Boss; players who beat the Boss receive payment from the Boss. In the case of a tie, neither the player nor the Boss makes a payment.

Since the Boss may beat some players and lose to other players in a particular round, it is not unusual for the Boss to be receiving payment from some players while paying out to other players in the same round.

Over the course of the game, some players' banks will drop to zero. A player whose bank drops to zero is eliminated from the game, and the game continues with the remaining players. The last player remaining in the game is the winner (and should have a bank four times as large as the starting bank).

At-Home Play

The Bank

To simplify at-home play, use poker chips or pennies to represent each player's bank. Before beginning the game, players should agree on what the maximum wager per round will be. At start each player's bank should contain two to four times the maximum wager for each other player in the game (for example, in a 6 player game with a maximum wager of 5 chips, a player's bank should contain between 50 and 100 chips at start).

When all players are of equal skill, they should begin with the same size banks. if some players are more or less skilled, the size of their starting banks may be adjusted to balance the game.

Order of Settling Wagers

When settling with the Boss at the end of a round, all players who lost to the Boss must pay the Boss before any players who beat the Boss collect from the Boss (in other words, players cannot empty the Boss' bank and force the Boss out of the game by making the Boss pay out to winning players before collecting from losing players).

For a Shorter Game

There are two options for shorter games.

Players may begin with a smaller bank, or may agree to a larger wager in each round. This will eliminate players from the game more quickly, but takes some of the skill out of the game as a player may be eliminated through a run of bad luck over several rounds.

Players may also agree beforehand that the first player whose bank reaches a certain total wins.

What to do When The Boss' Bank is Too Small to Pay Winners

Sometimes the Boss' bank will not be large enough to pay all the winners at the end of a round. In that case no winners collect from the Boss. The Boss player is eliminated from the game as normal, but player's bank is placed in a kitty and is awarded to the next Boss player who calls up the other players.

Example: John, Barbara, Tom, and Irene are playing a game in which the wager is 10 chips per round. John is Boss and has 20 chips left in his bank. After rolling 4 sixes he calls up the other players. By ill fortune, the other players all manage to roll Five-of-a-Kind. John does not have enough chips in his bank to pay all the winners. He is eliminated from the game and his bank (20 chips) is placed into the kitty.

After the first throw of the next round, Irene is the Boss. She takes her second throw, doesn't like it, and calls it off. She, Barbara, and Tom pick up their dice and throw again to begin another new round. At the beginning of this round, Tom has the highest hand and is Boss. He makes his second throw in secret, likes the result, and calls the other players up. He immediately adds the kitty to his bank.