Chuck-a-luck is played with three standard six-sided, numbered
dice that are kept in a device shaped somewhat like an
hourglass which resembles a wire-frame bird cage and pivots about its centre. The dealer rotates the cage end over end, with the dice landing on the bottom. Wagers are placed based on possible combinations that can appear on the three dice. The possible wagers are usually fewer than the wagers that are possible in
sic bo and, in that sense, chuck-a-luck can be considered to be a simpler game. In the simplest variant, bettors place stakes on a board with six numbered spaces, labelled 1 through 6, inclusive. They receive a 1:1 payout if the number bet on appears once, a 2:1 payout if the number appears twice, and a 3:1 payout if the number is rolled all 3 times. In this respect, the basic game is identical to
Crown and Anchor, but with numbered dice instead of symbols. Additional wagers that are commonly seen, and their associated odds, are set out in the table below. ;Notes
House advantage or edge Chuck-a-luck is a
game of chance. On average, the players are expected to lose more than they win. The casino's advantage (
house advantage or house edge) is greater than most other
casino games and can be much greater for certain wagers. According to
John Scarne, "habitual gamblers stay away from Chuck-a-Luck because they know how little chance they have against such a high [house edge]. They call Chuck-a-Luck 'the champ chump's game. For the single die bet, there are 216 (6 × 6 × 6) possible outcomes for a throw of three dice. For a specific number: • there are 75 possible outcomes where only one die will match the number; • there are 15 possible outcomes where two dice will match; and • there is one possible outcome where all three dice will match; and so • there are 125 possible outcomes where no die will match the number. At payouts of 1 to 1, 2 to 1 and 10 to 1 respectively for each of these types of outcome, the expected loss as a percentage of the stake wagered is: 1 - ((75/216) × 2 + (15/216) × 3 + (1/216) × 11) = 4.6% At more disadvantageous payouts of 1 to 1, 2 to 1 and 3 to 1, the expected loss as a percentage of the stake wagered is: 1 - ((75/216) × 2 + (15/216) × 3 + (1/216) × 4) = 7.9% If the payouts are adjusted to 1 to 1, 3 to 1 and 5 to 1 respectively, the expected loss as a percentage is: 1 - ((75/216) × 2 + (15/216) × 4 + (1/216) × 6) = 0% Commercially organised gambling games almost always have a house advantage which acts as a fee for the privilege of being allowed to play the game, so the last scenario would represent a payout system used for a home game, where players take turns being the role of banker/casino. ==Variants==