dice is different. The number of sides they have determines the wager. Each round of play consists of six passes. On the first, only the triangular die is used. It has four sides, therefore, the wager is four ceramic pieces, which go into the pot. On the second pass, both the triangular and the square dice are thrown. The square die has six sides, so added to the four sides of the first die, the wager on this pass is ten ceramics, or one silver piece. On the third pass, the eight-sided die is added, so that now three are thrown, and the wager is increased to eighteen ceramic pieces, or one silver and eight ceramics. On the fourth pass, the ten-sided die is added, and now four dice are thrown. The wager on this pass is twenty-eight ceramics, or two silver pieces and eight ceramics. The fifth pass adds the twelve-sided die, so that now five dice are thrown, and the wager increases by twelve to a total of forty ceramics, or four silver pieces. And on the final pass, the twenty-sided die is added, so that you throw all six dice together and the wager goes up to six silver pieces. Each time a pass is made, the score is totaled, and the winner takes the pot. If the losers wish a chance to make good their loss, they must risk the amount of the next wager, or else drop out of the round and wait for the next one to begin.”
“What happens if several people get the same score?” asked Sorak.
“Then the pot is divided equally by the number of winners who tie for the highest score,” Krysta replied. “The sixth and final pass opens up Hawke’s Gambit, where the players can wager not only on the outcome of the sixth pass, but on the final tally of the entire round. The house only takes a small percentage of the winning pot at the end of every round. And that is all there is to it. Simple.”
“Simple enough to lose your shirt,” said Eyron. “Four ceramics to begin the game, ten for the second pass, eighteen for the third, twenty-eight for the fourth, forty for the fifth, and sixty for the final pass. That’s one hundred and sixty ceramics for each round, or sixteen silver pieces. That amounts to almost two gold pieces per round. Small wonder this female can afford to make a belt of them. She strips the breeches off her customers.”
“Perhaps,” said Sorak, answering Eyron in his mind, “but not all her customers have the ability to control how the dice may fall. This is not all that different from the psionic exercises we had in the villichi convent.” Aloud, he said to Krysta, “And one may withdraw from a round at any time?”
“Once the wager has been made, a player is committed to the pass,” she said, “but a player is free to withdraw from the round prior to the wagering for any subsequent pass.”
“It would seem that a wise player would risk wagering only on the first pass, and unless he wins, withdraw until the beginning of the next round,” the Guardian said. “To continue wagering after a loss would only increase the risk.”
“Either way, the house stands to lose nothing, and wins on every round by taking a percentage,” Eyron said. “Running a gaming house appears to be a very lucrative profession.”
The game lord announced that a new round was about to begin.
“Would you care to try your luck?” asked Krysta. “Why not?” said Sorak, and he stepped up to the table.
There were four players, including himself, who elected to game on this round. Krysta stood by his side, watching and holding on to his arm. The game lord cast an uneasy glance at Tigra, lying on the floor at Sorak’s feet, but Krysta gave him a nod, and he moistened his lips nervously, then commenced the game.
“Four ceramics to open on the first pass,” he announced. “Four ceramics. Ante up into the pot.”
Each of the players tossed down four ceramic pieces. The game lord used his scoop to rake them up and then dropped them into the small black cauldron set in front of him.
“First pass, Player One,” he said, pushing the pyramid-shaped die toward a tall, thin, intense-looking human male across from Sorak. He had the look of a merchant, for he was very finely dressed and wore heavy gold and silver rings on several fingers of both hands.