The Game of 10,000

This dice game is sometimes known as "Oh Shit" or just "Shits". It has 2 or more players taking turns at throwing the dice to accumulate points. When a player reaches 10,000, the other players get one more turn to try to beat his score. The player with the highest score wins, and takes the pot.

The Play

Each turn begins with the player rolling all six dice and ends when the player fails to roll any scoring dice, thus "zeroing out", or when he choose to not test his luck any further. Each roll must add to the turn's score or the turn is over and the score for the turn is zero. There may be several choices of which dice to keep after a roll but, to continue rolling, you must keep one or more dice that add to the turn's score. If you are able to keep all remaining dice, and choose to, you may roll all six dice again and continue to accumulate more points.

The scoring

When a roll is made, these are the possible combinations of dice that may be kept and their corresponding point value:

Dice kept Point value
Ace 100
Five 50
3 of a kind 100 times face value
4 of a kind 200 times face value
5 of a kind 300 times face value
6 of a kind 400 times face value
3 Aces 1000
4 Aces 2000
5 Aces 3000
6 Aces 4000
3 pair 500
1,2,3,4,5,6 1500

Dice kept	Point value
Ace	100
Five	50
3 of a kind	100 times face value
4 of a kind	200 times face value
5 of a kind	300 times face value
6 of a kind	400 times face value
3 Aces	1000
4 Aces	2000
5 Aces	3000
6 Aces	4000
3 pair	500
1,2,3,4,5,6	1500

Note that dice kept from one roll do not combine in any way with dice from another roll. For this reason, the 3 pair, and the straight are only possible when throwing all six dice and use all six dice so that, if the player wants to continue, he will throw all six dice again.

For example, here are all of the choices a player would have if he was rolling six dice and got 1,2,2,2,4,5:

Keeps Scores Next Action
1,2,2,2,5 350 Stop now and keep the 350 points. Next players turn.
1,2,2,2,5 350 Throws the one remaining die, risking a zero but possibly getting an ace or a five which adds to their score and allows them to continue by rolling all six dice again.
1,2,2,2 300 Roll two remaining dice, a fairly dangerous move
5,2,2,2 250 Roll two remaining dice, a dumb move
2,2,2 200 Roll three remaining dice
1 100 Roll five remaining dice, my personal choice
5 50 Roll five remaining dice, a dumb move

Keeps	Scores	Next Action
1,2,2,2,5	350	Stop now and keep the 350 points. Next players turn.
1,2,2,2,5	350	Throws the one remaining die, risking a zero but possibly getting an ace or a five which adds to their score and allows them to continue by rolling all six dice again.
1,2,2,2	300	Roll two remaining dice, a fairly dangerous move
5,2,2,2	250	Roll two remaining dice, a dumb move
2,2,2	200	Roll three remaining dice
1	100	Roll five remaining dice, my personal choice
5	50	Roll five remaining dice, a dumb move

Complicating rules

At the beginning of the game, you are not allowed to stop unless you have 1000 points or more.

The Money

Before beginning the game each player puts 25 cents in the pot. Everytime someone gets a zero (after they get the initial 1000 points) they must add a nickel to the pot. At the end, the player with the most points gets the pot.

Paul Chamberlain
tif@tifster.com