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Under Seven or Over Seven is a simple dice game that used to be played in England as an (illegal) attraction at race courses or fairs.A

It is sometimes simply known as “Unders and Overs”.B The earliest mention I have found of it in newspapers is from 1803.C

Rules

The game is simple: it is usually played with a staking layout, upon which are two bets labelled ‘Under 7’ and ‘Over 7’, and two dice.

To play, the players stake their bets on the bet that they choose, and the proprietor then rolls the two dice. The winning bet is paid out at 1∶1. If the proprietor rolls 7, then both bets lose. If paid out at 1∶1 then both bets are equivalent and have a high house edge of 16.67%.

An under/over seven staking layout, from Catalogue of Supplies for Saloon, Billiard Hall and Club Room Use (p. 19).

© George Pollard 🅭🅯🄏🄎

In some versions of the game, there is also a bet labelled ‘7’, which wins and pays out 3∶1 or 4∶1 if the proprietor rolls 7. The house edge on this bet at a 4∶1B payout is the same as the other bets; at 3∶1E[p. 246] it is a huge 33.33%.

In the past, staking layouts were sometimes labelled “O.S.”, “U.S.”, and “S.”, perhaps to make the game less obvious to police.F Another labelling scheme is simply “O”, “U”, and “7”.GH

References

  1. Anonymous (). ‘⁨⁩’. The Morning Chronicle (14,649), : page 3. London.

  2. (publisher) (). ‘⁨⁩’ [archived]. Department of Racing, Gaming & Liquor: Goverment of Western Australia⁩.

  3. Anonymous (). ‘⁨⁩’. The Morning Post (10,762), : page 3. London.

  4. (publisher) (). ⁨Catalogue of Supplies for Saloon, Billiard Hall and Club Room Use⁩. Kernan Manufacturing Co.⁩: Chicago, IL, USA.

  5. (). ⁨⁩. Longmans, Green, and Co.⁩: London & New York.

  6. Anonymous (). ‘⁨⁩’. The Press vol. 6 (632), : page 2. Christchurch, New Zealand.

  7. Anonymous (). ‘⁨⁩’ [archived]. Daily Bristol Times and Mirror vol. 96 (5,096), : page 3. Bristol, Avon, England.

  8. (). ⁨⁩ (3rd edition). Frederick A. Stokes Company⁩: New York.