How to play Chuck-a-Luck

Chuck-a-Luck is played with three dice, chips or points to bet with, and a simple layout showing the numbers 1 to 6. Drawing the layout on a sheet of paper works fine. Two to eight players is a good number, and one of you acts as banker. Let the role rotate.

In casinos and at fairs the dice tumble inside an hourglass-shaped wire cage that is spun around, which earned the game its nickname Bird Cage. At home a cup does the job just as well. The game is traditionally played for stakes, but chips keep it friendly.

Each round is quick and simple:

1. The players place their bets on one or more numbers from 1 to 6.
2. The banker shakes or spins the three dice and shows the result.
3. The bets are settled: if no die shows your number, the bank takes your stake. Otherwise you are paid for every die that matches.

Then a new round begins. Leave the dice alone until every bet has been placed.

When you win, you keep your stake and receive on top of it:

• One match: the same as your stake.
• Two matches: twice your stake.
• Three matches: three times your stake.

Some tables pay better for triples, for example ten times the stake. Agree on the payout table before you start, and stick to it.

Chuck-a-Luck has no natural end point, so agree beforehand how many rounds you play. The bank comes out ahead in the long run, so swap bankers often, ideally every round. Whoever holds the most chips at the end is the winner.

As mentioned, the game is also known as Bird Cage after the spinning cage. Grand Hazard is a close relative with more ways to bet, and if you want a full layout with totals and triples, Sic Bo is the natural next step.

Crown and Anchor is the same game with symbol dice instead of numbers: crown, anchor, hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs. It was long a favourite among British sailors and is still played in the Channel Islands and Bermuda. The Chinese relative Hoo-Hey-How builds on the same idea, with fish, prawn and crab among the symbols.

If you bet on a single number, at least one of the three dice shows it in 91 of the 216 possible rolls, so a little more often than four rounds in ten. The payouts are still set so that the bank profits over time, which is why the banker role should rotate when you play at home.

Yes. The cage belongs in casinos and at fairs, but three dice in a cup give you exactly the same game. What matters is that the dice get a proper shake, and that every bet is down before the cup is lifted.