How to play
Chuck-a-luck is one of the oldest casino dice games. It was traditionally played with three dice tumbling in a wire “birdcage”. You bet on a number, the three dice are rolled, and you’re paid for every die that shows your number.
- Pick a chip (10, 50, 100 or 500), then tap a number (1 to 6) or one of the bets at the bottom. Tap again to add more. Undo takes back your last placement, and Clear removes all your bets.
- Press Roll. The three dice are rolled and the total is shown.
- Winning bets are paid; the others are lost. Rebet places the same bets again.
Bets and payouts.
| Bet | Wins when | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Number (1 to 6) | your number shows on one die | 1 to 1 |
| on two dice | 2 to 1 | |
| on all three dice | 3 to 1 | |
| Low | total is 4 to 10, but not a triple | 1 to 1 |
| High | total is 11 to 17, but not a triple | 1 to 1 |
| Any triple | all three dice match | 30 to 1 |
Each bet is from 10 to 1,000 credits in steps of 10, with up to 5,000 on the table per roll.
Strategy
The number bet looks like a fair game: three dice, six numbers, so each number should come up about half the time, right? It doesn’t. Your number appears on at least one die in only 91 of the 216 possible rolls (42%). The extra pay for two or three matches doesn’t make up the difference. Calculated exactly:
| Bet | House edge |
|---|---|
| Low / High | 2.78% |
| Number | 7.87% |
| Any triple | 13.89% |
- Low and High are the best bets. Without triples they would be a fair coin flip; their whole house edge comes from the six triples, which make both lose.
- Numbers cost almost three times as much. Over 216 rolls you’d expect to lose 17 bets’ worth on a number, against 6 on Low or High.
- Betting on all six numbers doesn’t beat the game. When the three dice all show different numbers, you get exactly your six bets back. Whenever two or three dice match, you get back only five or four. You can never come out ahead that way.
- Past rolls don’t matter. The dice have no memory.
A bigger version of this game. Sic Bo uses the same three dice with many more bets, including exact totals and triples. For a card game with a low house edge, try Baccarat.
If you enjoy Chuck-a-luck, try Classic Slots or Claw Machine next.
