dice-play

Standard Dice

O rdinary dice, the standard dotted cubes we all know, are not as simple
as they first seem.

An ordinary standard die is a regular cube with its six sides numbered with dots
from 1 to 6 with all opposing sides adding up to 7.

The ordinary dice commonly available are not as precisely made as the perfect
What's new... dice casinos use and are imperfect dice, known as drugstore or candy-store dice
in the US and shop dice in the UK. They usually have recessed spots and often
have rounded corners so they roll easier. Unless you are a serious gambler
Register and become these are perfectly adequate for social games.
a member
Plastic is the most common material commercially used but they can be found in
many other materials; wood, stone, glass, metals, any material imaginable.
Home
Craps The standard Western size is just over half an inch
Games square, but miniature dice of one-quarter inch
square and oversize or giant dice from three-
Odds quarters up to an inch across are also commonly
Shooting/Rolling available.
Magic/Psychic Dice
The dots on the faces of a die are called spots in
Types of Dice the USA but are sometimes referred to by the more
History British term, pips.
Collecting
The standard factory made plastic shop or
Links & More drugstore dice commonly available will favour the
high numbers (6 then 5 then 4) because these sides are lighter than the
opposite low number sides due to the indentations of the spots. This bias will
only become apparent after a very considerable number of throws. If this is a
problem then you need casino precision dice.

There are tactile/brail dice available with recessed faces and raised
spots that can be read by touch.

Opposite faces of a die should add up to 7. However there are two ways of
arranging the faces, one a mirror image of the other, so there are left and right
handed dice.

Today Western dice all have the same face arrangement. If the 1-spot is face
up and the 2-spot is turned to face the left then the 3-spot is to the right of it.
Chinese dice will have the faces the opposite way round. Japanese dice are
arranged like Western dice but like other Asian dice they will have a very large
and deep 1-spot painted red. Chinese and Korean dice will have a red 4-spot as
well as the 1.

The Chinese custom of painting the 4-spot red is said to have originated when
an Emperor playing sugoruku with his queen was about to lose and desperately
needed fours to win the game. He cried out, threw the dice and they came up
accordingly. He was so glad that he ordered that fours be painted red from then
on. The emperor is said to have been Lo Ling Wong who
reigned under the title Chong Tsung (AD 684 - 701) during
the Ming dynasty. Whether this story is true is questionable
and it has been suggested that the 4-spot is painted red
because dice were imported from India where red fours are
also traditional. The reason why the 1-spot is large and
painted red is not clear. It is said the stark combination of
black and white would be unlucky, red being considered very
lucky in China. Another possibility is that it counters and balances the die,
compensating for the opposite 6-spot indentations.

Chinese dice come in various sizes and customarily certain sizes are preferred
for particular games. (Chinese dice games include: Cockfighting, Grasping Eight,
Strung Flowers, Heaven and Nine, Pursuing Sheep and Sic-Bo) Generally the
traditional size ranges between 2/10ths and 7/10ths of an inch.

Indian dice are also traditionally said to be spotted black and red. Why isn't
known but Indian dice traditionally have the 3 and 4-spots painted red. The
ancient Hindu Sanskrit, Mahabbarata, refers to "dice, dotted black and red."

Dice from Pakistan are right handed like Western dice and are traditionally
marked with a red 6-spot as well as a standard size red 1-spot.

Another feature of Asian dice is the orientation of the 2 and 3-spots. You may
find the spots on either the 2-spot or both the 2 and 3-spot faces arranged
vertically/horizontally rather than diagonally as on Western dice.

Now learn about Casino Perfect or Precision Dice

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