View Full Version : Can people practise rolling dices for boardgames like RISK?
Troodon
Nov 1st, 2009, 01:40 AM
Some of my friends seem to roll many more 6s than "statiscally" probable.
Are they practising or are they just lucky?
goJays
Nov 1st, 2009, 01:48 AM
while there are many moves and things you can do to manipulate dice rolls.. answering your question will be impossible. you can't catch someone cheating when you have no idea about anything. need evidence with such accusations.
Rometiklan
Nov 1st, 2009, 10:32 PM
Not sure how you can manipulate the dice while rolling to make them come up 6's. 6-6 has the same statistical probability as snake-eyes. So given a large enough sample size or attempts, you will come up with 6-6 about as often as your friend does (provided the dice aren't loaded).
sweetmikem
Nov 1st, 2009, 10:50 PM
Unless the dice are loaded, it is all up to chance. Even if your mates get lucky and get a few 6s in a row, over the long run it will all out.
super5d
Nov 2nd, 2009, 12:44 AM
Saw a tv show where some Craps players were able to roll certains numbers at will. So it is possible but cheating in board games is so FMLish
bkustra
Nov 2nd, 2009, 04:29 AM
Another thing to keep in mind is that human beings are notoriously horrible at 'sensing' odds and probability. By that I mean people aren't good at determining how many 6s people 'should' be rolled based unless they write it down and run the math.
(I'm not saying your friends aren't fudging their rolls, I'm just offering another perspective.)
MtX
Nov 2nd, 2009, 12:26 PM
I disagree. Sometimes you can "cheat" and drop a 6 without rolling it. It's legal as long as no one sees it no?
SuckaB
Nov 2nd, 2009, 12:34 PM
I disagree. Sometimes you can "cheat" and drop a 6 without rolling it. It's legal as long as no one sees it no?
true, some of my friends who roll dice...well the dice hardly roll (this was monopoly)... they just "drop" the dice.
gambit_360
Nov 2nd, 2009, 12:41 PM
If you can do consistent rolls then of course it's possible to have skewed results.
It's almost the same as flipping a coin. If you flip it heads up always with consistent power and rotation, you'll probably land on a face higher than if it was truly random. Although rolling a dice is probably a lot more harder to be consistent.
angekfire
Nov 2nd, 2009, 01:12 PM
If you always roll the die the same way to get a 6, then I guess it is possibly to increase the chances. You'd have to make it as close to identical as possible every time though to actually have an increased chance, since even a slight variation will change how it flips when it hits the table.
Also, plural of "Die" is "Dice"
SuckaB
Nov 2nd, 2009, 01:42 PM
Also, plural of "Die" is "Dice"
corrected.
Lone_Prodigy
Nov 2nd, 2009, 01:49 PM
If you always roll the die the same way to get a 6, then I guess it is possibly to increase the chances. You'd have to make it as close to identical as possible every time though to actually have an increased chance, since even a slight variation will change how it flips when it hits the table.
Also, plural of "Dice" is "Die"
I thought "die" was singular and "dice" was plural?
If you want "statistically possible", you'll need to roll thousands upon thousands of dice before you get close to 1/12 odds of double 6's. That's of course assuming an unbiased roll.
angekfire
Nov 2nd, 2009, 02:36 PM
corrected.
I thought "die" was singular and "dice" was plural?
Duuuh, I was having a ****** moment. I fixed it, but it shall forever live in infamy!
akira1971
Nov 2nd, 2009, 04:55 PM
If you want "statistically possible", you'll need to roll thousands upon thousands of dice before you get close to 1/12 odds of double 6's. That's of course assuming an unbiased roll.
The odds of double 6's is 1/36...
Some of my friends seem to roll many more 6s than "statiscally" probable.
Are they practising or are they just lucky?
With practice, you can probably reduce the probability of rolling a 6 from 1/6 to 1/4 by limiting spin to only one axis. If you're really good, you might bring that odds down to 1/3 if you have a short "drop" distance to the table and limit the spin to 2-3 full rotations (so it looks like a roll and no one calls shananigans on you). Think of it like a 2 foot golf putt - it takes only 5 full rotations of the golf ball to sink it. All you need is practice and touch. Of course, this can't be done on the craps table where the throw is longer and you have to hit the back wall (which is made to change the direction & spin of the original roll.)
Lone_Prodigy
Nov 2nd, 2009, 07:55 PM
The odds of double 6's is 1/36...
Oops, I just thought 1-12. Fail. :o
Tornado F2
Nov 9th, 2009, 11:07 PM
If you're concerned about cheating, have them roll the dice from a small cup, not their hand.