How to play Cho-Han

Cho-Han is played with two dice, a cup, and chips or points to bet with. Two or more players can join, and you also need a dealer to shake the dice. The game comes from Japan and was traditionally played for money. At home you use chips and let the dealer role rotate.

A round is over in less than a minute:

1. The dealer shakes the two dice in the cup and turns it upside down on the table, hiding the dice underneath.
2. The players bet on cho, meaning even, or han, meaning odd. It is the total of the two dice that counts.
3. Once every bet is placed, the dealer lifts the cup and reveals the dice.

Those who guessed right win the same amount as their stake. Those who guessed wrong lose their stake.

Agree on a number of rounds, and let the dealer role travel around the table so everyone holds it equally often. Whoever has the most chips after the final round wins. Since even and odd totals are exactly equally likely, the game stays completely fair as long as nobody takes a share of the pot.

The full name is Cho-Han Bakuchi, where bakuchi simply means gambling. The game was big in Japan during the Edo period, from the 1600s to the mid 1800s, and the scene is familiar from countless films: the dealer kneels on the mat, shakes a bamboo cup and slams it to the floor while the bets are called in.

In the traditional form the bets on cho and han had to balance each other before the cup was lifted, and the host kept a small share of the pot. At home it is simpler to let the dealer act as the bank, cover all bets and pay even money. If you enjoy simple dice betting, try Hoo-Hey-How as well, or move on to Craps when you want more to chew on.

Neither. Of the 36 possible combinations of two dice, 18 give an even total and 18 an odd one, so the chances are identical. With no fee and no bank edge, Cho-Han is one of the most even betting games there is, which is probably part of why it stayed popular for so long.

In the traditional version the dealer does not place bets, and at home it is tidiest to do the same. Rotate the role instead, every round or every fifth round, so everyone gets to shake the cup and bet roughly the same amount over the evening.