Tell me about poker dice

[johnsemlak]

So I got this birthday present from a student of mine--a really nice boxed set of cards for poker, chips, and a set of poker dice. Or at least I think they're poker dice.

THey have the letters K, Q, and J on them, a single dot (I presume an Ace), and the numbers 7 and 8 (in numbers of pips).

Why would they have the numbers 7 and 8?

How do you play poker dice?

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

Are you sure there aren't 9 and 10 pips instead of 7 and 8?

Here's a page I found. It's basically like yathzee. You throw the dice once, then get a chance to re-roll twice, making the best hand possible (the hands are the same as in poker). Best hand wins.

AR

 

[johnsemlak]

Are you sure there aren't 9 and 10 pips instead of 7 and 8?

Yup, counted the pips. Strange. GUess it doesn't make a difference.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

It's probably to make straights impossible. The odds of getting a straight maybe wouldn't fall along the same spectrum as in real poker -- i.e., between trips and a flush -- so maybe it would throw the game out of whack to have them.

Just a guess ... I've crunched no numbers. I do know the poker dice I've seen had 9s and Ts, but I had no idea it was a real game.