Roll 2D6
Two six-sided dice with the total and both faces shown. Two dice do not give a flat spread: the middle totals have more ways of happening, and the table below counts them.
2d6 2
Press roll.
Lowest possible 2, highest 12, average 7.0.
All 36 outcomes
| Total | Ways | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 2.78% |
| 3 | 2 | 5.56% |
| 4 | 3 | 8.33% |
| 5 | 4 | 11.11% |
| 6 | 5 | 13.89% |
| 7 | 6 | 16.67% |
| 8 | 5 | 13.89% |
| 9 | 4 | 11.11% |
| 10 | 3 | 8.33% |
| 11 | 2 | 5.56% |
| 12 | 1 | 2.78% |
Why seven wins
Seven has six pairs behind it: 1+6, 2+5, 3+4, 4+3, 5+2 and 6+1. Twelve has one, 6+6. That makes a seven six times as likely as a twelve, and it is why the middle of a backgammon or Monopoly board is busier than the ends.
Two dice are not a number from 2 to 12
This is the mistake worth knowing. Use 2d6 to pick one of eleven options and you have not run a fair draw. One neat way to see the shape: the four outer totals, 2 and 3 and 11 and 12 added together, come to 6 ways in 36, exactly the same 16.67% a seven gets on its own. For an even pick use the random number generator instead.
The game numbers
- Doubles of any kind: 6 in 36, or 1 in 6.
- Three doubles in a row, the Monopoly jail rule: 1 in 216.
- Seven or eleven on a come-out roll: 8 in 36, or 22.2%.
- Craps, meaning 2, 3 or 12: 4 in 36, or 11.1%.