The Witcher dice poker



Dice poker is an addictive game played throughout the world of The Witcher, and it is very popular in Temeria. If you are good enough, it is a great way of making money.

After finding a starter box of dice, Geralt is given the quest A Game of Dice. Opponents can be found far and wide as it seems mercenaries took it with them to the farthest reaches of the the kingdoms as they scattered after the war. A clever witcher could finance many little extras with the proceeds of a few games.


 * For the specifics of dice poker in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, see this article.

Basics


Each player has a box of five traditional dice, and the amount of money bet depends on the experience of the players. The goal of the game is to roll the strongest hand and win two out of three hands.


 * Earn money by playing dice poker.
 * Place your bet and left-click "roll dice". Raise your bet and select the dice to roll again. The player with the best poker rank wins.
 * Tip: Some characters require you to play extra rounds.

Ranking of Hands
From the lowest to the highest:


 * [[Image:Poker rank0.png|32px|nothing]] Nothing — five mismatched dice forming no sequence longer than four.
 * [[Image:Poker rank1.png|32px|pair]] Pair — two dice showing the same value.
 * [[Image:Poker rank2.png|32px|2 pairs]] Two Pairs — two pairs of dice, each showing the same value.
 * [[Image:Poker rank3.png|32px|nothing]] Three-of-a-Kind — three dice showing the same value.
 * [[Image:Poker rank6.png|32px|5 high straight]] Five High Straight — dice showing values from 1 through 5, inclusive.
 * [[Image:Poker rank6.png|32px|6 high straight]] Six High Straight — dice showing values from 2 through 6, inclusive.
 * [[Image:Poker rank4.png|32px|full house]] Full House — one pair, plus three-of-a-kind.
 * [[Image:Poker rank5.png|32px|4 of a kind]] Four-of-a-Kind — four dice showing the same value.
 * [[Image:Poker rank7.png|32px|5 of a kind]] Five-of-a-Kind — all five dice showing the same value.

In the case of hands of the same kind, the highest dice face values in use prevail, e.g. if you have two threes and your opponent has two fours, he wins. Other dice can be counted when both players have the exactly the same base hand, e.g. you both have four sixes, but you have a three as your fifth dice and your opponent has a one — you win. Thus, draws only occur only in the rare event that both players have five identical dice. These situations force an additional round.

Playing Dice Poker
Each game has two rounds and each round has two rolls. Geralt is always the first to start the round and roll his five dice. Between rounds, based on the initial bet, and if you and your opponent can afford it, you can raise the bet. This effectively puts more money in the pot for the winner at the end of this game. After Geralt decides to raise or not, the opponent can surrender, accept or raise (re-raise) as well. The rules for raising are the same as Poker betting rounds. Surrendering this betting is effectively giving up the round. Draws are possible and have no consequence except as an occasion to raise the bet. The Winner is the player with a better hand of two rounds and is awarded the pot.

Playing the Odds
Start your first match with the lowest ante and bet conservatively. If you win, quit here. Otherwise, up the ante and play again, betting more aggressively. Repeat once more if needed. If you still haven't won after three tries, you need to study the odds! By this method, assuming you can win half your matches, you will usually come away with at least a small monetary gain. The chance of losing three matches in a row is 12.5% if you are evenly matched.

Here are the odds rolling five fair six-sided dice:
 * Five of a Kind = 0.08%
 * Four of a Kind = 1.92%
 * Full House = 3.87%
 * Straight = 3.08%
 * Three of a Kind = 15.4%
 * Two Pairs = 23.1%
 * A Pair = 46.3%
 * Nothing = 6.15%

If your hand is worse than your opponent's, call. If it is much worse and the opponent raises, fold unless it's the third hand; by that time the pot is usually rich enough that it's worth your while to call unless your opponent has an unbeatable hand. If your hand is better than the opponent's, raise. If it's much better, raise the limit... it's always possible to see a good hand fall to a better one, but usually you will win if you're starting with a straight or better, so you should make your opponent pay for his chance to beat you. A smart opponent will often fold to you if you make him pay too much to stay in with his bad hand.

Below are the odds for improving your hand:
 * Rolling four or five dice is not normally recommended because your best chance with "nothing" comes from rolling for the straight (16.7%)
 * Rolling three dice: Your most common situation - you have a pair and end up with
 * Five of a Kind = 0.46%
 * Four of a Kind = 6.95%
 * Full House = 9.29%
 * Three of a Kind = 27.7%
 * Two Pairs = 27.8%
 * One Pair = 27.8%

Rolling two dice: You have three of a kind and end up with:
 * Five of a Kind = 2.76%
 * Four of a Kind = 27.8%
 * Full House = 13.9%
 * Three of a Kind = 55.5%

Rolling one die: You have four of a kind, in which case your game is won, or you are rolling for a straight (16.7%) or trying to improve two pairs (33.3%). If you instead throw away the lower of your two pairs and roll three dice, your odds are worse.

Associated quests
Dice poker-related quests (all technically optional):
 * A Game of Dice
 * Dice Poker: The Novice
 * Dice Poker: The Professional
 * Dice Poker: The Sharper
 * Dice Poker: The Legend (not technically a quest, but the goal)

Non-quest Players

 * Gambler at the Inn in the Outskirts.
 * Gambler at The Hairy Bear.
 * Gambling woman in the Country Inn in Murky Waters.

Novices

 * Zoltan Chivay, at the Outskirts Inn, possibly a special case.
 * Odo, can be found at his house, south of the Inn in the Outskirts.
 * Mikul, can be found guarding either the Merchants' Gate or the Miller's Gate.
 * Haren Brogg, can be found at his house in the fishing village in the Outskirts.
 * Elven prisoner in the Dungeon.
 * Carmen, can be found usually outside the Eager Thighs brothel, or just inside.
 * Gardener, can be found in the garden of St. Lebioda's Hospital.
 * Vaska, can be found in or near her house in the Brickmakers' village in the swamp.

Professionals

 * Thaler, only plays at his house in the Temple Quarter in Chapter II.
 * Munro Bruys, can be found at The Hairy Bear.
 * Roderick de Wett, can be found upstairs in the guard tower in the Trade Quarter.
 * Velerad, can be found downstairs in the guard tower in the Trade Quarter.
 * The Hierophant, can be found in the Druids' grove in the swamp.
 * The Hermit, can be found at his compound in the Fields.
 * Julian, in permanent residence at the Country Inn.
 * Tobias Hoffman, can be found at his house in the village of Murky Waters during the day.

Sharpers

 * Koster, can be found at the Gamblers' den in the Trade Quarter, he typically arrives around 13h30.
 * Gambling Ghost, can be found near the fairytale ruins outside Murky Waters village.
 * Dandelion, shows up here and there from Chapter II onward but is only counted as a sharper in Chapter IV.
 * Chireadan, can be found in the elven cave by the Lakeside.

Legend

 * King Foltest, you do not find him, he finds you!

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