Why Did Chuck-a-Luck (Birdcage) Fall into Disfavor with the Casinos?

Speaking of three-dice games (QOD today), why did chuck-a-luck (Birdcage) fall into disfavor with the casinos?

Games come and go. Popular games of bygone eras, including faro, Big Six, red dog, two up, and others, fell out of fashion for one reason or another and were replaced by newer games.

Chuck-a-luck is a game that originated in English pubs. Originally, it was called Sweat Cloth and it found its way to the U.S. around 1800 as just Sweat. By 1900, it was called Birdcage and eventually chuck-a-luck. You can see the game played by Lazar in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun.

Initially, the game was played with a cup and three dice that were tossed across the table. To deal with allegations of cheating by operators who used both weighted dice and the practice of trick throwing, the cup was replaced with a birdcage-like device.

Chuck-a-luck is decidedly low tech and enough modern-day gamblers found it, like the Big Six wheel that you don't see much anymore in contemporary casinos, boring and stopped playing. So even though the game has a house edge that averages 7.5%, the casinos replaced it with more popular games.

It still exists, of course, except now you find it mostly on carnival midways and casino-night charity fundraisers.

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Jackie Dec-13-2021

WOW, that reminds me

National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation
Guess a number between one and three.

Dave_Miller_DJTB Dec-13-2021

Vegas Vacation

Jackie -
The game in that movie was actually Pick A Number 1 to 10.

It was the inspiration for a casino game I created called a Pick A Card. More information can be found on my website, www.DaveMillerGaming.com/pac

Kevin Lewis Dec-13-2021

Like Sic Bo?

Was chuck-a-luck similar?

Also, there shoulda been a game called Chuck a Buck. God knows, I've chucked enough bucks over the years.

jay Dec-13-2021

Mexico

You see chuk a luk (bird cage edition) a lot in Mexico City.

Not sure how this removes the possibility of weighted dice from play but it does stop the players from being able to inspect them.

That Don Guy Dec-13-2021

re: "Was chuck-a-luck similar (to Sic Bo)?"

If you are talking about the single-number bets that pay 1-1 for one, 2-1 for two, and 3-1 for three (in Australia, for example, three of a kind pay much higher), then that is exactly what Chuck-A-Luck is.

Roy Furukawa Dec-13-2021

Chuck-A-Luck Machine

I remember a Chuck-A-Luck coin machine at the Fremont from way back where it read the result of the dice, lit up the winning bet and then paid any winner. Maybe it was too far back in my foggy memories and I'm mistaken, but that's my story and I'm sticking with it. Probably would do well today, people love the electronic craps, BJ, roulette, etc.

AZmaddog Dec-13-2021

A Wong, Wong time ago

https://www.americancasinoguide.com/stories/costrly-casino-mistakes-the-sic-bo-incident

In 1994, the Grand Casino in Biloxi, MS paid 80:1 for bets on the numbers 4 and 17 on their Sic Bo game, resulting in a 12.5% player edge.  This was back in the days when Stanford Wong faxed information to his best subscribers.  The article is a funny read.

rokgpsman Dec-14-2021

Chuck a Luck

Years ago my wife and I played Chuck-a-Luck at a casino on the Las Vegas Strip. I think it was New York-New York or maybe the Monte Carlo. I hadn't seen it before and was curious how it was played. It was different than other casino games, I came away with the feeling it was more of a circus game. But some players did win and it was deceivingly simple looking so attracted players.

Question of the Day - 13 December 2021

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