How to play
Under Over Seven is the two-dice game you find at church fêtes and charity casino nights, sometimes called 7 Up 7 Down. The whole thing turns on one number. Will the two dice add up to less than seven, more than seven, or seven on the nose?
The felt has two rows. The top row holds the three main bets, Under 7, Seven and Over 7. The bottom row adds three side bets: Any double in the middle, flanked by a pair of ones (Two) on the left and a pair of sixes (Twelve) on the right, drawn as dice faces.
- Choose a chip: 10, 50, 100 or 500.
- Tap any bet area to put the chip there. Tap again to add more. You can spread chips over as many areas as you like.
- Press Roll. Two dice tumble across the table, the total appears, and each bet is paid or swept.
Undo takes back the last chip, Clear removes them all and Rebet repeats the previous roll’s layout. Stakes go in steps of 10, with a ceiling of 1,000 on one area and 5,000 on the whole table. A row above the felt keeps the last eight rolls in view.
Bets and payouts
| Bet | Wins on | Pays | Ways out of 36 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 7 | totals 2 to 6 | 1 to 1 | 15 |
| Seven | a total of 7 | 4 to 1 | 6 |
| Over 7 | totals 8 to 12 | 1 to 1 | 15 |
| Any double | 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 or 6-6 | 4 to 1 | 6 |
| Two | 1-1 only | 30 to 1 | 1 |
| Twelve | 6-6 only | 30 to 1 | 1 |
Rolling a 7 is the moment of truth: it beats both Under and Over, which is where the game earns its edge.
The odds
Two six-sided dice give 36 equally likely combinations. Seven can be made six ways (1-6, 2-5, 3-4 and their reverses), which is more than any other total, while 2 and 12 can each be made only one way. The rest follows from counting.
- Under 7 and Over 7. A win returns twice the stake 15 times out of 36: 30 ÷ 36, so the house keeps one sixth, 16.67%.
- Seven. Wins 6 times in 36 and returns five times the stake: again 30 ÷ 36, 16.67%. A fair price would be 5 to 1.
- Any double. Also 6 ways in 36, also paid 4 to 1, so the same 16.67%.
- Two and Twelve. Each wins once in 36 and returns 31 times the stake: 31 ÷ 36, an edge of 13.89%. A fair price would be 35 to 1.
Four of the six bets cost exactly the same over time. The two long shots are the cheapest on the board, though they also swing the hardest. For comparison, the Small and Big bets in Sic Bo carry 2.78%, and the pass line in Craps about 1.4%. This table is fast and simple, and it’s expensive to play for long.
Combining bets
Bets are settled independently, and several can win on one roll. A pair of ones pays Under 7, Any double and Two all at once. Double sixes pays Over 7, Any double and Twelve. Any other double collects on Any double plus Under or Over.
Some players cover Under and Over together, hoping to dodge the seven. With 10 on each, every non-seven total returns exactly the 20 staked, and a seven loses both, so it’s a slow way to give away one sixth of the stake. Adding 10 on Seven to that spread doesn’t help either: the seven now returns 50 out of 30 staked, but every other total loses the 10 on Seven. Every combination still averages a return of 30 ÷ 36 on the main bets.
Strategy
There is no clever layout here. What you can choose:
- The size of the swings. Under or Over win close to half the time and pay even money. Seven and Any double hit one roll in six and pay four to one. Two and Twelve hit one roll in 36.
- The pace of the loss. Long-shot bets lose a bit less per credit staked (13.89% against 16.67%), so a session of only Two and Twelve bets drains more slowly on average, with long dry spells in between.
- Ignoring the history row. Each roll is independent. Five low totals in a row don’t make a high one more likely.
If you enjoy Under Over Seven, try Video Poker (Jacks or Better) or Vingt-et-un next.
