Glossary

When a player in the First Refusal or Second Refusal position decides to play the called game.

Usage: "I'll accept" or "I'll play"
See also: Refuse, Rules: First Refusal

Out of rolls. A player who's all day can't change their hand, so it's final. Anyone whose hand is already better than theirs is in the cup.

Example: "Ava's all day with a kicker of 5." Everyone above a 5 is safe.
See also: Worst Hand, Rules: Play the game

When the Hammer has a weak hand and chooses not to make a call, instead passing the hammer to the player on their left without playing a game.

Usage: "I'm barking" or "Bark!"
Strategy note: You can only bark on your first call. Use it when your hand is too weak to risk a game.

See also: Hammer, Barking Strategy

The Hammer's Second Call: the game they call if both refusals turn down the first. Nobody can refuse it.

"I may not have 10-3 Low, but I might have the come back." · "What are you coming back with?" (what's your second call going to be?)

See also: the likeliest come back after each call

What the Hammer says to start a round: “Coming out!” lets everyone know the dice are about to be rolled. Everyone rolls their five dice and keeps them hidden, then the Hammer calls a game (or barks).

Usage: "Coming out!"
See also: Hammer, Rules: Roll

Two dice in a row that you may keep toward a straight: 1-2 or 5-6 in Ship Captain Crew (pick one), and 2-3, 3-4 or 4-5 in Monterey. Some tables also let you keep a lone 3 or 4 in Monterey; set that under House rules in Settings.

Usage: "I've got the connector, keeping 3-4"
See also: Keep

The player directly to the left of the Hammer. They have the first opportunity to accept or refuse the called game.

Important: If First Refusal refuses and Second Refusal accepts, First Refusal still has to play!

See also: Second Refusal, Rules: First Refusal

Slang name for 10-3, named after Frank Richardson from SLO Country Club who famously struggled to roll it.

Usage: "I'll call Frankie Low"

The player who has the call. The Hammer rolls their dice and makes the first call of which game to play. If both refusals are refused, the Hammer must make a second call (a completely different game) that everyone must play.

Passing the Hammer: The hammer passes to the left after each round (or when someone barks).

See also: Bark, Rules: First Call, Hammer Strategy

Safe for the round. Someone who's all day already has a worse hand than yours, so you can't take the pencil, and you never have to roll again this round. Your dice can go back in the cup.

In Play: the standings mark everyone in the cup.
See also: Worst Hand

The dice you leave on the table while you re-roll the rest. You can only keep dice toward the called game: nothing in the 10s until you have it (a 10 has to come in one roll), a connector in Ship Captain Crew or Monterey, one pair in 7's or Pairs. Never part of your kicker.

Kept dice stay kept: once you keep dice you're committed to them for the rest of your rolls, and they're part of your game (a kept pair stays a pair). Once you've made the game its dice can't be re-rolled; only Razzle and Boss let you pick those up.
See also: Rules, Odds Lab: what should I keep?

All the dice that don't count toward making the called game, taken together as one total. The kicker decides the loser when multiple players make the same game.

Example: In 10-3, if you roll [1,2,3,5,6], the 1+3+6=10, so your kicker is [2,5], a total of 7.

High vs Low: The kicker's dice are added up. In "High" games the higher total wins; in "Low" games the lower total wins.
Rolled whole: Once the dice you keep make the game, the whole kicker is re-rolled at once. You can't keep part of your kicker.
See also: Games, Strategy Assistant

When all remaining players have exactly 2 pencils. Some groups reset pencils to zero and add additional money to the pot at parity.

House rules vary: Check with your group about parity rules before playing.
See also: Rules: Ante Variations

A marker indicating a lost round. Each player starts with 0 pencils. Lose a round, take a pencil. Get 3 pencils and you're out of the game.

Common substitutes: Sugar packets, coins, poker chips, or actual pencils

See also: Parity, Rules: Object of the Game

The initial roll to determine who gets the Hammer first. Each player rolls one die. Highest roll wins; players tied for the highest roll again (a roll-off).

See also: Rules: Who Goes First

When a player in the First Refusal or Second Refusal position decides NOT to play the called game, passing the decision to the next player.

Usage: "No" or "I refuse"
Warning: If you're First Refusal and refuse, you may still have to play if Second Refusal accepts!

See also: Accept, Refusal Strategy

If both First and Second Refusal refuse the first call, the Hammer must call a completely different game. No refusals are allowed - everyone must play.

Important: Second call must be a different game, not just a different variant (e.g., can't call "Monterey High" if first call was "Monterey Low").

See also: Rules: Second Call, predict the second call

The player two seats to the left of the Hammer (one seat left of First Refusal). They can accept or refuse only if First Refusal refused.

Key decision: Accepting means everyone plays the Hammer's call. Refusing forces the Hammer's Second Call where everyone plays.

See also: Rules: Second Refusal

Tied for the worst hand, with the others you're tied with out of rolls, you can stop rolling and go to a replay instead of rolling to beat them.

Rule of thumb: take the tie when the tied hand is hard to beat. The guided round works one out exactly.
See also: Tie

When multiple players have the same kicker total after playing a game. The goal is to find ONE loser per round.

With 3+ players: Players tied for the worst hand replay the same game until there's a single loser. Once the others you're tied with are out of rolls, you can take the tie or roll to beat them.

With 2 players: Ties, or both players missing the game, result in the Hammer passing to the other player. No pencil is awarded.

See also: Rules: Playing the Game

Most games have "High" and "Low" variants that determine whether higher or lower kicker wins.

High: The higher kicker wins (e.g., [6,6] beats [5,5])
Low: The lower kicker wins (e.g., [1,1] beats [2,2])

Important: Always specify which variant you're calling!
See also: Games List

The hand that would lose if play stopped now. Missing the game is worst; then the weakest kicker for the call. The worst hand rolls first, until it climbs off the bottom or runs out of rolls. If it never gets off the bottom, nobody else has to roll, and it takes the pencil.

Applies to: the kicker games and Razzle. Tres Away and Boss have their own order.
See also: Rules: Play the game