Gambling Guide

Liar's poker is a bar game that combines statistical reasoning with bluffing, and is played with the eight-digit serial number on a dollar bill. Normally the game is played with a stack of random bills obtained from the cash register.

The object is to make the highest bid of a number that does not exceed the combined total held by all the players. The numbers are usually ranked in the following order: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0(10)and 1(Ace). If the first player bids three 6's, he is predicting there are at least three 6's among all the players, including himself. The next player can bid a higher number at that level (three 7's), any number at a higher level (four 5's) or challenge. The end of the game is reached when a player makes a bid that is challenged all around. If the bid is successful, he wins a dollar from each of the other players, but if the bid is unsuccessful, he loses a dollar to each of the other players.

Liar's dice is a similar game played with dice, often as a drinking game.

The book

Liar's Poker is also the name of a book by Michael Lewis which tells of his time as a bond trader at Wall Street firm Salomon Brothers during the bond boom of the 1980s. The book takes its name from the game, which was popular with the traders (and played for stakes much higher than a dollar). The book was a best seller, and is thought as an entertaining read on the investment banking industry built on the experience of the author (Michael Lewis) being once employed in the industry.