Boss is played between two players, each having a cup with five dice. the object of the game is to win two out of three hands (horses). A hand consists of two rolls. The player with the higher poker hand after the second roll wins the hand.
Here's how Boss is played. Both players roll their dice simultaneously. The player who rolls the higher poker hand is the Boss. He must leave out of his second roll those dice that made him the Boss. Therefore, the Boss picks up his unmatched dice and rolls them being careful to conceal this second roll from his opponent. Now the Boss evaluates his entire hand (all five dice) and reviews his opponent's first roll.
Based upon the results of his two rolls and his opponent's first roll, the Boss makes a decision as to whether or not he wants the hand to continue. If he thinks that his opponenet has a good chance of beating him with his second roll, then the Boss calls the hand off by saying "Pick em up." they both would start all over again rolling all five dice to once again determine who will be Boss.
If the Boss believes he can beat his opponent, then he calls "Come up" His opponent then decides what his best opportunity is for rolling a better hand than the Boss's. (remember, you only get to see the first dice he kept from the first roll) The opponent may decide to keep some of the dice from his first roll or re-roll all five of them.
At the end of the second roll, both players show their hands and thehigher poker hand wins. If there's a tie, then it's a push, no winner, and they replay the hand aain.
The advantage of being boss is obvious. Both players have two rolls per hand, but the Boss gets to see the results of both of his rolls before continuing the hand. In addition, when the boss calls his opponent "up," the opponenet does not know what the Boss's second roll was and can only guess at the strength of the Boss's hand. Consequently, the opponent could make a strategic error when deciding how many and which dice to roll on his second flop.
RULES
1. Boss is won by the high poker hand. However, nothing is wild and straights do not count.
2. To be Boss, a player must roll at least one pair. If neither player rolls at least one pair on the first roll then the roll doesn't count. There is no Boss. They both re-roll all five dice and start the hand fresh.
3. On the very first flop of each hand, there is an exception made to the normal ranking of poker hands. Two pair do not count. Only the higher pair of a two pair roll is counted. Acconrdingly, on the first roll, one pair will beat any two pairs of lower denominations (i.e. a pair of 5's beats a two pair of 4's and 3's). If both players show two pairs, and the higher pair is the same, there is a tie. Also, it is not permissible to keep two pair from the first roll and roll the remaining die to try to get a Full House. You can only keep one of the two pairs.
4. Two pair do count on the second roll!! It is possible to win a hand with just two pair.
5. If there is a tie on the first roll, there is no Boss. Both players re-roll all five dice and start the hand fresh.
6. If there is a tie on the second roll, there is no winner and the hand is replyed.
You are the Boss, you had three 4's and failed to improve your hand. Your opponent has two fives. Should you call him up? The odds say yes, but they are only slightly in you favor<1.25-1). You should also consider whether your opponent playes "perfectly" or not. Your opportunities to win will be much greater against an opponent who consistently plays poorly. So, in some close odds situations, you may want to call off the hand to try for a more favorable situation.
Let's say you are the Boss with a pair of 6's and you roll a pair of 4's. Your opponent has a pair of 3's. Should you call him up with just two pair?(call it 64, it's actually 6644, but for notation sakes....) Your opponent keeps two 3's and also keeps a six and places the other two dice in the cup. He's telling you that he is undecided about keeping just the six or the two 3's. He would only keep the 6 if he were sure that you had three 6's. A quick, confident "Come up!" would probably lead him to believe that you had at least thee 6's, and since he was leaning towards that direction, he could very well pick up the pair of 3's and try to bet you by matching up with his lone 6. It's a bad move on his part but you bluffed him into it. Your odds of winning are much better now. You caused your opponent to make a strategic error. The odds against him beating your 64 by keeping one 6 and rolling four dice are 3-1. If he keeps his pair of 3's, the odds against winning are only 1.25-1.
In this example, it was possible to get your opponent to make a choice in which the odds were 2.4 times as great against his winning. Now you can see the importance of not revealing your hand when you are the Boss.
Now, let's assume that you had rolled the third 6. By hesitating in your call, you could lead your opponent to believe that you only had two pair, in which case, he would have kept his pair of 3's and rolled the other three dice. However, once again, a quick and confident "come up!" could lead him to believe that you had three 6's, or better. This might cause him to try to win by keeping his one 6 and rolling four dice. There is a significant difference in the odds against the opponent winning depending upon his choice.
If he keeps the pair of 3's, his odds of winning are 5-1 against him.
If he keeps the 6, his odds of winning are 16-1 against him!!
Obviously, your best strategy would be to try to get your opponent to keep the six and roll the other four dice. It's not that unusual to see players make this choice.
the above examples indicate the significance of having a good playing strategy. The more you know about the odds of making certain poker hands the better your strategy can become.
Enjoy playing!!!!