Bidou

Bidou is a game with the same betting principles as Poker - but, whereas in Poker the player wants to win chips or counters, in Bidou his objective is to get rid of them.

Players
Any number can take part, but the procedure is different when only two players are involved.

Equipment
Each player needs three dice and a throwing cup. The game also requires a supply of chips or counters.

Objective
Players aim to get rid of their chips. The last player still holding chips is the loser. If desired, he pays each other player a previously agreed amount, or meets group expenses.

Bidou combinations
The ranking of all possible dice throws is shown in Table 1 (highest listed first).

Two-Hand Bidou

Two-hand bidou is played in games made up of three separate rounds. The loser is the player losing at least two of the rounds.

Starting a round
Only nine betting chips are used. They are placed on the table between the two players. Each player then throws a die once. The player making the higher score becomes captain (first shooter) for the first hand.

Play: first round
The captain takes his turn first, then his opponent. In his turn each player may throw the dice up to three times to achieve the best possible score.

In each throw he must throw all the dice, keeping them concealed beneath his dice cup. He must declare the number of throws he makes. When both players have thrown, betting on that hand begins.

Opening the betting
If both players have made the same number of throws, or if the captain has made fewer throws than his opponent, then the captain bets or passes first. If the captain has made more throws than his opponent, the latter becomes captain, and makes the first bet, or passes.

	Betting limits The maximum bet or raise is one chip. Betting procedure Players use the centre chips for betting until these run out. As each player states his bet, he moves the appropriate number of chips away from the centre pile, and slightly towards himself. When all the centre chips have been used up, players may use any chips they have received during the round, moving them slightly towards the centre as they use them. Betting A player need not have a strong hand to make a bet; he may choose to bluff his opponent. Betting is as in Poker. If both players pass, the hand ends. Once one player has bet, the other must call (i.e., bet an equal amount), raise (i.e., bet a greater amount), or drop out. If one player raises, the other must call, reraise, or drop out. The betting continues until one player has called or dropped out. Outcome If one player calls the other, both show their dice. All chips bet are then taken by the loser. The winner becomes the next captain. If one player drops out, he must take one penalty chip (from the centre, if possible). All other chips bet are returned to their positions before the hand began. The player who has not dropped out is the next captain. If both players pass, neither takes any chips, and the captaincy changes for the next hand.

Play: second round
Play is exactly as in the first round, except that, on any throw, a player may put aside any dice whose score he wishes to keep, and throw only the remainder. The dice put aside must remain hidden from the opponent.

Having put aside dice on one throw, a player may still throw all the dice on his third throw of that turn.

Play: third round
Play reverts to the rules for the first round.

Open throw
Open throw occurs when one player has eight chips, leaving one chip with his opponent or in the centre.

The player with one or no chips is then entitled to not more than three throws of the dice, to make the highest possible exposed combination. (Whether he must rethrow all the dice, or may select, depends on the rules for the round they are playing.)

His opponent then throws in similar fashion, and, if he loses the throws, he takes the single chip, and so loses the game.

If the single-chip player loses, he takes one chip from his opponent, and normal play is resumed.

Multi-Hand Bidou

When three or more players take part, no chips are placed in the centre of the table. Instead, each player begins with six chips.

Captaincy
A preliminary round decides who is first capain, as in Two-Hand Bidou. Play begins with the captain, and proceeds in a clockwise direction. The winner of each round becomes captain of the next.

If all players pass, the player to the left of the captain of that round becomes captain of the next.

Play
Play is as in Two-Hand Bidou. All players must keep their dice hidden from the others until betting has closed.

Opening the betting
If all players have made the same number of throws, the same player remains captain. Otherwise, the player making the fewest throws and nearest the original captain's left becomes captain.

Betting limits
The maximum bet is three chips, the maximum raise two chips.

Betting procedure
Each player uses his own store of chips, and places his bets to the centre of the table, to form a common pot.

	Betting situations 1) On a showdown between two or more players, the loser collects all chips still in the pot. 2) Players dropping out without betting receive no penalty. 3) For players dropping out after betting at least once, the following rules apply: the first in a round to do so must take from the pot whatever amount he has put in on that hand, plus the same amount for each player still betting, plus one penalty chip;     Each player dropping out thereafter on that round must take one penalty chip. If the players remaining have bet unequal amounts, whatever number of chips is left in the pot is called or raised by the next player in turn. 4) If all players drop out after a player has raised, any chips left in the pot after penalties have been taken are returned to the raising player. 5) A player who bets his last chips has the right to stay in for the showdown, even if other players take the betting further. If he loses, he receives back his bet and the equivalent amount from each showdown player. Other chips still in the pot are returned to the players who bet them. 6) If, in the same circumstances, there is a tie, the player who bet the last of his chips takes back his bet, and the other players take back all their chips, except one, each. The remaining chips are removed from the game. If there is a tie in any other circumstance, each showdown player takes back one chip, and any other chips in the pot are removed from the game. 7) If only one player bets on a round, and all the others pass, he can discard one chip, even if it is his last. 8) If only two players are left with chips, these two continue until one has lost. Should the two players have more than nine chips between them, each discards one chip whenever he bets and is not called, until the players have a total of nine chips between them. The two then fight out the game as in Two-Hand Bidou. 9) Any player, who passes after betting has begun, automatically drops out of that round.

Poor Fish
Poor Fish is a variation that requires all players to expose their last throws, if all have passed.

The player with the highest throw is the poor fish, and receives one chip from each of the other players.

Variant

Montevideo

Like Bidou, this game requires three dice, a throwing cup, and chips or counters for each player.

The objective, however, is not to lose chips, but to win them on the basis of the winner ultimately taking all. Three or more players can take part.

Ante
At the start of play each player has six chips. In each round he antes one chip into the pot before throwing the dice.

Betting
After the dice have been thrown, betting proceeds as in Poker.

Play
Play resembles Poker, but Bidou combinations are used.

At showdown, the highest combination wins the pot.

If the game reaches a stage where only two players have any chips, it is speeded up by increasing, round by round, the number of chips each must ante into the pot, to a maximum of six. If there are many players, the same process should be made for the last three players.

Any player may, if he wishes, open the betting by betting the pot, i.e., stay in without putting up chips. When this happens, any other player - even if he has already passed - may call the pot. The bet may, of course, be raised in the usual way.

From 'The Official World Encyclopedia of Sports and Games'
© Diagram Visual Information Ltd 1979