10-2high or low
2 dice add up to 10 and the remaining 3 dice are either high or low.
What to keep
There’s nothing to keep until you have it: 10-2 has to come in one roll, so roll all five each time. Once you have it, keep the two dice that make 10 (they can’t be re-rolled) and re-roll the kicker whole (all three dice at once), or stand. With a three-dice kicker, totals near the top or bottom of the range are very hard to beat.
A question from the table
10-2 High, tied at a kicker of 12 on your last roll: take the tie, or re-roll the kicker?
10-2High kicker 12Take the tie (stand). A sure tie (a replay) · keep 5-5, roll 3: (+11.6% ties).
Why take the tie?
Taking the tie means a replay: a fresh start, an even chance when it's the two of you, so it counts as half a win (50.0%).
Re-roll the kicker and its three dice need 13 or more to beat 12: 25.9%. Another 11.6% lands on 12 again, a tie after all. Anything lower takes the pencil. That's worth 31.7%, well short of the tie.
With two rolls left it tips the other way: rolling is worth 51.5%, since a miss on the first roll gets a second try, and a tie after it can still be taken. So roll then, and take the tie on your last roll.
Where it flips: in 10-2 High, take a tie at 11 or more on your last roll, 13 or more with two rolls left, and roll below that. 10-2 Low is the mirror image: take a tie at 10 or less on your last roll, 8 or less with two left.
How good is a 10-2 kicker? Three dice spread wider than two, so the same total means less. A Low kicker of 6 or less comes up 9.3% of the time, about as rarely as a Monterey Low kicker of 3 or less (8.3%). In High, 15 or more (9.3%) matches a Monterey High 11 or 12 (8.3%).
10-2 High, tied: take the tie or roll, and what rolling the kicker is worth (the chance to beat it, plus half the chance of tying again), against 50% for the tie.
| Tied at | Last roll | Two rolls left |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Roll · 68.3% | Roll · 88.1% |
| 10 | Roll · 56.3% | Roll · 78.1% |
| 11 | Take the tie · 43.8% | Roll · 65.6% |
| 12 | Take the tie · 31.7% | Roll · 51.5% |
| 13 | Take the tie · 21.1% | Take the tie · 36.7% |
| 14 | Take the tie · 12.7% | Take the tie · 23.4% |
Chance of making 10-2
It has to come in one roll, so each roll is a fresh try at all five dice. Exact over every roll.
Made it, and wondering whether to re-roll the kicker? Ask the Odds Lab.
Often paired with
The games most often made by the same rolls as 10-2.
How strong are 10-2 hands? Every roll that makes it, graded by the Hammer’s chance of the pencil calling it at a 3-player table (from rounds played by solid bots).
The comeback
If both refusals turn down 10-2, what does the Hammer call instead?
| Rank | Comeback | Chance |
|---|---|---|
#1 | SCC High | 20% |
#2 | Pairs Low | 13% |
#3 | 7's High | 13% |
#4 | Boss | 11% |
#5 | 10-3 Low | 11% |
#6 | Razzle | 8% |
#7 | Pairs High | 5% |
#8 | 10-4 Low | 5% |
Exact over every roll: the call the site recommends, then its best call once 10-2 is refused. A Hammer who calls differently changes these. Refusers decide from their own dice, so a refusal doesn’t change the odds.
When is 10-2 the comeback?
- After 7's Low: 10-2 High 40% of the time (the likeliest comeback)
- After Monterey High: 10-2 High 35% of the time (the likeliest comeback)
- After SCC Low: 10-2 Low 35% of the time (the likeliest comeback)
- After Pairs High: 10-2 Low 33% of the time (the likeliest comeback)
106 unique roll patterns for 10-2, strongest first: the Hammer’s chance of the pencil calling it.