In all games, even Yahtzee, everyone will have bad luck sometime. It could be that you end your hands with 1-2-3-4-6 or 1-1-2-2-3. How should you enter these tough luck hands into the score card? This is a source of serious error among players. Never fear though, here are some answers for you.

When a tough luck hand doesn’t qualify for anything, you always have the option to use the Chance box. However, even with Chance there are certain rules to follow. It is most favorable to use Chance when you have a score of 22 or more. Anything fewer than 19 is not recommended at all, which is because most likely you will have a few 1’s or 2’s you can score instead. For example, if you have the hand 1-1-3-3-4 the best way to score it is as 2 points for Aces. The hand doesn’t equal a chance total of 22 or more, but it does contain two 1’s, so that is the proper way to score it.

How about 2-2-4-6-6? The Chance total is only 20 and there are no 1’s. Next on the list is two 2’s, so it should be scored as 4 points in the 2’s score box. A hand of 1-3-4-4-5 should be scored as a mere 1 point in the Aces category. The hands of 2-3-5-6-6, 1-4-4-6-6 or 2-3-4-4-6 should each be scored as chance and so forth.

It is important to know why a hand such as 1-1-2-2-3 is better scored as two Aces rather than two 2’s. The reason is that later in the game, it is easier to make up a smaller deficit toward the Upper Section bonus. Recalling that you need to average three times the number for each value, filling in the Aces entry with only 2 points (for two Aces) has a deficit of 1, while filling in the 2’s entry with 4 points (for two 2’s) has a deficit of 2.

An open Chance box provides a lot of valuable flexibility. You get a feeling for this when you consider that Chance should never be filled early unless the total is 19 or more. Even filling in the Aces box with a value of 1 is preferable to exhausting Chance early. Late in the game, when you are trying to make your remaining open combinations, having the Chance option open will be a big asset. It is a common mistake for players to fill in Chance too early with a low total. Finally, you need to note that you should never fill in the Upper Section categories of 4’s, 5’s, or 6’s with less than three of the number. Once again, the goal of 63 points and the Upper Section bonus is extremely important to your overall game.

To summarize hands one through four, it is imperative that you be flexible early on, be opportunistic with regard to taking shots at getting the high scoring tough hands, and save your Chance for as late in the game as possible. It is the only category in which the value rises as the game progresses.