How to play Cee-lo

Cee-lo is played with three dice and chips or points to bet with. Two to six players works well. It is a classic street game, traditionally played for stakes and often thrown against a wall so the dice bounce before they land. At home a table and a cup to roll from is all you need, with chips instead of money.

On your turn you roll all three dice, rerolling if needed, until you get a valid result:

• 4-5-6: the best roll. You win outright.
• Triples: second best. Higher triples beat lower ones, and 6-6-6 beats everything except 4-5-6.
• A pair plus a single die: the odd die becomes your point, from 6 (best) down to 1 (weakest).
• 1-2-3: the worst roll. You lose immediately.
• Anything else: no result, roll all three again.

So the ranking runs: 4-5-6 on top, then triples from 6-6-6 downwards, then points from 6 to 1, with 1-2-3 at the bottom.

In the most common version one player acts as banker. The others place their bets in front of them, and the banker has to cover them. The banker then rolls first:

• If the banker rolls 4-5-6 or triples, the bank wins every bet straight away.
• If the banker rolls 1-2-3, the bank loses everything straight away.
• If the banker gets a point, the players roll in turn and compare: a higher point than the bank wins, a lower one loses, and an equal point is a push, so the bet goes back.

A player who rolls 4-5-6 or triples wins against the bank, and one who rolls 1-2-3 loses. Many groups also play that whoever beats the bank with 4-5-6 takes over as banker.

Cee-lo also works as a round robin game with no bank. Everyone puts an equal bet into a pot before the round. The players roll in turn until each has a valid result, and the best result takes the pot. If two or more tie for the top spot, they roll a decider between themselves.

Agree in advance how many rounds you play, or for how long. Whoever holds the most chips when you stop is the winner. If you play with a banker, let the role rotate or pass to whoever beats the bank with 4-5-6, so nobody keeps the advantage all evening.

The game goes by several names: Four-Five-Six and 4-5-6 after the winning roll, and some simply call it the Three Dice Game. The name cee-lo comes from the Chinese si-wu-liu, meaning four-five-six. The game reached the United States with Chinese immigrants and later became a fixture of street play in the big American cities.

House rules vary a lot. Some pay double for 4-5-6 and for triples, others let 6-6-6 beat 4-5-6. As long as you agree before the first roll, most versions work fine. If the betting is what appeals to you, have a look at Craps or Sic Bo as well.

Yes, the game works fine head to head. Either take turns being the banker from round to round, or drop the bank entirely: both put an equal bet in the pot, roll until each of you has a valid result, and the best result wins.

By default you simply roll until a valid result turns up, and that usually happens quickly. Some groups still play with a cap of three rolls: if you have no valid result by then, it counts as a loss or as the lowest possible point. Agree beforehand which rule applies at your table.