Liars

The aim of the game is to not lose the rounds by raising the auction every round. It is a game of bidding and bluffing, each round ends with a loser (liar) who takes 1 point or 1 life. Players who lose their 3 lives are eliminated.

Each player forms a hand with combinations identical to the game of poker .

In each round of play, the player (receiver) receives the board of the previous player (bettor) with the dice under the cup (hidden) and others uncovered. The bettor announces his hand by passing the board to his neighbor. The number of dice uncovered and hidden is at the convenience of the bettor and has a great influence on the bluff. The player who receives the hand (receiver), must accept or reject it.

• If he refuses, he declares himself a "liar" and uncovers the entire hand.
  • If the hand is higher than or equal to the announcement, the receiver has lost and takes 1 point.
  • If the hand is weaker than the announcement, it is the bettor who takes 1 point. The loser resumes the game by choosing the direction of play.
• If he accepts the hand, he must pass it to his neighbor with a higher bid. To do this, he can replay each die once, in any order he wants, and keep the dice that interest him to increase the hand received.
• If the receiver accepts the hand and does not look at the hidden dice, he can pass the hand to his neighbor without replaying anything but still announcing a higher hand. On the other hand, if he looks at the hidden dice, he must replay at least 1 die before making his announcement.

When playing one or more dice, they can be played uncovered (on the mat) or hidden (under the cup). The dice can be thrown 1 by 1 or several at the same time, depending on the strategy adopted. The fundamental rule is that each die can only be thrown once. Dice can be taken out from under the cup to be played uncovered. Dice that have been uncovered can also be hidden before the ^1st thrown. To avoid cheating, dice played uncovered cannot be placed back under the cup, they remain uncovered.

Once the hand is formed, the player (bettor) passes the board to his neighbor (receiver) by announcing higher than the previous hand and so on until a player refuses the hand.

When a straight of 6 (or Aces) is announced, it is impossible to make a higher hand. If the player accepts the hand, he must make another straight of 6 (by rolling all the dice again) in 5 moves. If he succeeds, the game is stopped and resumes without anyone losing a life. If he fails, he loses a life. There is a variation that makes it easier to play straights (see below).

A weaker hand can be announced than the one made, in which case if the next player refuses the hand, it is he who loses.

First round [ edit | [edit code ]

During the first round of play (and after each round ends), the losing player resumes the game by replaying all the dice (with hidden and uncovered dice at his convenience). He also chooses the direction of the game by passing his hand to his neighbor on the right or left. At this time, he is the only one who can announce "nothing" as the starting hand.

Hands (combinations) [ edit | [edit code ]

From weakest to strongest:

Combination	Description	Noticed	Example
Nothing (or nil)	no combination	very rare, only possible in 1st player
Pair (or doubled)	2 identical dice
Double pair (or double double)	2 pairs
Three of a Kind (or Triplet)	3 identical dice
Small suite	(1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)	some don't play them
Large suite	(2, 3, 4, 5 and 6)	some don't play them
Full	a three of a kind and a pair
Square (or Diamond)	4 identical dice
Straight (or Quintessence or Poker)	5 identical dice

The announcement is very important (only the bettor's oral announcement counts, not the dice), if a player announces a three of a kind for example without further details. The next player can announce a three of a kind of 2 since the announcement did not specify the nature or what accompanied the three of a kind. Without a specific announcement, it is always the lowest (i.e. a three of a kind of 1, accompanied by a 2 and a 3). Similarly, a three of a kind of 2 with a 5 is superior to a three of a kind of 2 with a 4 or a three of a kind of 2 without details.

Examples:

• to announce a pair, means:       (1 1 2 3 4)
• to announce a three of a kind of 2, means:        (2 2 2 1 3)
• announcing a three of a kind of 2 with a 5 means:   (2 2 2 5 1)
• to announce a full house means:       (1 1 1 2 2)
• announcing a full house of 4 by 2 means:        (4 4 4 2 2)

Bluff [ edit ] | [edit code ]

Liar's Poker is a game of bluffing and quickly becomes exciting when players understand how to bluff.

You can announce a completely different hand (but weaker to avoid taking any risks) from the one you made. If the next player plays the game, his neighbor is likely to be surprised.

Due to the announcement scale systems, we can encourage the acceptance of the next player by announcing a hand that is easier to beat. Thus, if the player has accepted a three of a kind of 4, he can pass to his neighbor a square (without specifying the value) which will give him more chance and therefore encourage acceptance. Indeed, if the receiver accepts a simple square, he can at worst, by replaying 1 die, announce a square of 4.

The game quickly induces a certain "collaboration" of bluffing with one's neighbors. Placement at the table therefore has a certain importance.

Example [ edit | [edit code ]

Note: The dice hidden under the cup are indicated in parentheses.

So : (    )   indicates that under the cup there is a pair of 2s and a 3 and uncovered a pair of 1s.

• The first player (A) rolls the dice (2 uncovered and 3 under the cup) and does: (    )  
  • he announces “a pair” (without precision).
• The next player (B) accepts and decides to simply replay the uncovered 1, he obtains: (    )   
  • He then decides to replay the hidden 2 uncovered (to keep the others hidden), he obtains: (   )   
  • He announces "a pair of 5s" (he announces less than his real hand to bluff the player according to his neighbor)
• The next player (C) accepts and logically decides to replay the 3 discovered, he obtains: (   )    
  • He announces "2 pairs with a 2"
• The next player (D) accepts and logically decides to replay the uncovered 2, he obtains: (   )    
  • He announces a "Full of 5 by 4"
• The next player (E) refuses and says "liar" and discovers the game: full house there is indeed, and the receiver loses 1 life. It is up to him to restart a game.

Variants [ edit | [edit code ]

There is a variant that introduces a special rule for the straight. Once the straight is announced, the player who accepts it must make a superior straight: very difficult in one move. The player is then allowed to try this in 5 times (and keeping the interesting dice), the first 3 moves uncovered and the last 2 hidden. Similarly, a straight successful in 4 moves is considered stronger than a straight in 5 moves.

Some players don't use suites. Suites "break" the game, because to follow you have to announce a straight: very difficult. At the same time it is a bluffing announcement when it occurs.

Some players stop the game as soon as a player is eliminated. Indeed, the more there are of you, the more interesting the game is. With 2 players, bluffing is no longer an option.

If a player is absent when it is his turn, he is supposed to accept the hand and bid the next higher hand. If he 'accepts' a pair of 3s, the bid will be a pair of 3s with a 2 (since a pair of 3s by default means a pair of 3s with a 1).

In some games, "better" type announcements are accepted, which implies that one moves up to the next higher hand. This type of announcement requires more attention from the players because one is of course forbidden from repeating the initial announcement, which can put an inattentive player in difficulty.

There is a variation that prohibits lying in the first round.