How to Play Liar's Dice

Also known as pirate’s dice, liar’s dice is a fun game to play with 2 or more people. With a little bit of deception and a lot of luck, you’ll try your hand at being crowned the best liar of the bunch. Switch it up each time you play with one of the different variations.

EditSteps

EditCommon Hand Liar’s Dice with Multiple Players

1. Roll 2 dice to determine which player will go first. If you can’t decide who will start the game, have each player roll 2 dice. Whoever has the highest combined total between the 2 dice will start.
   
   • Traditionally, you’ll go clockwise around the table, meaning that the person on the starting player’s immediate left will go second.
2. Hand each player 5 dice along with a dice cup. They'll use the dice cup to shake the 5 dice and roll them at the beginning of each round. If you don't have a dice cup, you can use an opaque drinking cup.
   
   • Another alternative is to simply roll the dice with your hand.
3. Have everyone roll their 5 dice at the same time, keeping them hidden. While you can (and should) look at your own dice, you should make sure no one else can see yours. You can do this by flipping the dice cup on top of your dice and lifting it so that only you can see the dice.
   
   • If anyone sees someone else’s dice, have everyone roll again.^[1]
4. Let the first player guess how many total of one dice face were rolled. This is the total between all the dice on the table. They’ll make a bet out loud that includes a dice face along with the quantity they believe were rolled by the other players.
   
   • For example, they might say “7 3’s” which means they think there are 7 dice on the table with a “3” face up.
5. Allow the other players to challenge the bet or make a new one. Starting with the player to the left of the first player, each player can make a new bet. It has to be either a higher quantity of the same face (like 9 “3’s” instead of 7 “3’s”) or the same quantity with a higher face (like 7 “4’s” instead of 7 “3’s”).^[2]
   
   • There are many variations of betting rules. You can also allow betting a higher quantity of any face or any quantity of a higher face.
   • Some variations consider “1’s” to be wild, meaning it can be any value. However, if “1’s” get called in the first round, it is no longer wild and must only be a “1” for the rest of the game.^[3]
6. Continue around the table making new bets until there's a challenge. You can go around the table as many times as it takes for someone to challenge a bet. The only bet that matters is the last one spoken.
   
   • If you have a lot of players, you don't have to worry about writing down previous bets. You just need to keep track of the most recent bet.
7. Reveal all the players’ dice when a player challenges a bet. By challenging the player before them, they’re calling their bluff (essentially saying they don’t think the player’s bet was correct). Have all the players uncover their dice. If the player who challenged the bet was right, the player who made the bet has lost the round. They must remove one die from their cup and set it aside.^[4]
   
   • If the player who made the challenge was wrong and the player before them got their bet right, the challenger removes one die from their cup.
8. Begin the next round with the loser of the previous round. The loser will now make the initial bet and you’ll play clockwise around the table. Each time someone loses, they start the new round.
   
   • This means that the loser gets to make the first bet in the next round.
9. Repeat rounds until there’s only one player with dice left. This is the winner of the game. If, however, you get to the point where there are 2 players left, each with only 1 die, you bet on the sum of the 2 die instead of the quantity of faces.^[5]
   

EditIndividual Hand Liar’s Dice with 2 Players

1. Figure out who will start the game by each rolling 5 dice. The player with the largest sum of dice will begin the first round. Note that this variation of liar’s dice only takes 2 players.
   
   • For example, if one person rolls a 22 and other rolls an 18, the person who rolled the 22 will start.
2. Roll the 5 poker dice all at once, keeping them hidden. Only you should look at the results of your roll. Some sort of box or divider can come in handy here to make sure your opponent can’t see your dice.
   
   • You can also use a dice cup to shield your dice.
3. Announce the poker hand you rolled or are pretending to have rolled. This can be the truth or it can be a lie - it’s up to how you want to play it. There are 8 different poker dice hands you can choose from.^[6] Here they are, in order from highest-ranking to lowest-ranking:
   
   • 5 of a kind (ex. 55555)
   • 4 of a kind (ex. 33331)
   • Full house (3 of a kind plus a pair, like 44422)
   • High straight (23456)
   • Low straight (12345)
   • 3 of a kind (ex. 22241)
   • 2 pair (ex. 22114)
   • 1 pair (ex. 33541)
   • Highest single die (ex. 13456)
4. Allow the other player a chance to challenge your hand. If they challenge your hand, reveal your dice. If your opponent was correct (and your hand is lower than what you announced), you put a poker chip in the center of the table.
   
   • If your opponent was wrong (and you were not bluffing), they put in a poker chip.^[7]
5. Pass the dice to your opponent if no challenge is made. If the other player accepts your hand, pass the dice to them. They can roll however many they’d like. For example, they can keep 3 of the dice the way you rolled them and just reroll 2 if they want.^[8]
   
   • Regardless of the number of dice they choose to roll, they should keep them hidden from you.
   • The player cannot lie about how many dice are being rolled, however. If they roll 2 dice, they cannot say they are rolling 3.
6. Have the other player roll the dice and announce a higher poker hand. They can roll however many they’d like. For example, they can keep 3 of the dice the way you rolled them and just reroll 2 if they want.^[9]
   
   • Regardless of the number of dice they choose to roll, they should keep them hidden from you.
   • The player cannot lie about how many dice are being rolled, however. If they roll 2 dice, they cannot say they are rolling 3.
   • The new hand cannot be lower than what you announced.^[10] So if you had called a low straight, they could not call 3 of a kind since it’s lower.
7. Challenge or accept your opponent’s announcement. If you challenge it, they’ll reveal the dice, examine the results, and the loser of the challenge will toss in a poker chip again. If you accept it, the rounds continue until someone challenges the other’s hand.^[11]
   
8. Play until there are no poker chips left. The winner of the game will be whoever has the last poker chip. You can play with as little or as many poker chips as you’d like.
   
   • The more poker chips you play with, the longer the game will likely last.

EditThings You’ll Need

EditCommon Hand Liar’s Dice with Multiple Players

• 5 dice per player
• Table or smooth playing surface
• 1 dice cup per player

EditIndividual Hand Liar’s Dice with 2 Players

• 1 set of 5 poker dice
• 1 die cup
• Poker chips
• Table or smooth playing surface

EditVideo

EditTips

• In some cases, the losing player has to drink a shot of booze or remove an article of clothing. In "Dead Man's Chest," sailors wagered their years aboard the "Flying Dutchman."

EditRelated wikiHows

• Make Clay Dice
• Win at Dice
• Gamble With a Chance of Winning
• Play Yahtzee

EditSources and Citations

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