A dice set is a specific starting configuration of the two dice — a chosen arrangement of faces — that a shooter establishes before throwing. This page covers the most commonly used sets: what they're designed to do, how to orient the dice for each one, and when practitioners use them. If you're new to the broader topic and want the evidence and the debate, start at Dice Setting first. This page assumes you've already decided you want to understand the technique itself.
How a Dice Set Works
Each die has six faces. One rule never changes: opposite faces always add up to 7. That means 1 and 6 are always across from each other, 2 and 5 are always across from each other, and 3 and 4 are always across from each other. This is fixed by the manufacturing standard for casino dice worldwide, and it's the foundation everything else is built on.
When you set the dice, you choose which faces point up, which face you, which face away from you, and which are on the sides. That starting position determines which faces sit on the primary rotational plane — the axis the dice would spin around if they only rotated front-to-back when thrown. If a throw stays on-axis throughout — meaning the dice don't tumble or yaw sideways — only the faces on that rotational plane can land up. The faces that started on the sides stay on the sides.
The goal of a set is to place certain numbers on the rotational plane and keep others off it. Most sets used for point rolls are built to keep as many 7 combinations off the primary axis as possible — specifically to push the 1-6 and 2-5 pairings onto the side faces, where they can't combine into a 7 on a clean on-axis throw. Come-out sets are built for the opposite: putting as many 7 and 11 combinations into rotation as possible, since a 7 or 11 on the come-out is a win.
One thing is worth being direct about: a set only changes the probabilities if the throw actually stays on-axis. A die that tumbles freely through the air or bounces chaotically off the back wall ends up random, regardless of where it started. The set and the throw are inseparable — the set tells you what could happen if the throw is controlled, and the throw determines whether any of it matters.
The Hardways Set
The hardways set is the most taught and most discussed dice set for point rolls. Its name comes from the fact that when properly configured, the hard numbers — hard 4, hard 6, hard 8, and hard 10, all doubles — appear on the four side faces facing the shooter and the back wall.
To set it: orient both dice so that matching pairs face each other across the pair. The standard hardways set has the 3 facing toward you on both dice, the 4 facing away from you on both dice, with the 2 and 5 on the top-bottom axis. Because 2 and 5 are opposites (they sum to 7) and 3 and 4 are opposites (they also sum to 7), those two 7-making combinations are now sitting on the side axis — perpendicular to the direction the dice rotate when thrown front-to-back. If the throw stays on-axis, neither 2+5 nor 3+4 can come up. The only remaining 7 combination in the rotational plane is 1+6, since 1 and 6 end up on the top and bottom. That leaves fewer 7 combinations available to an on-axis throw than a purely random toss would produce.
The hardways set is the standard recommendation for throws after a point is established, when the 7 is the shooter's enemy. It's the most documented set in dice-control literature, and it's the one most instructors teach first. If you're starting out, this is the logical place to begin — it's well-described, easy to verify you've set it correctly, and has the most documented practice history behind it.
The 3V Set (Flying V)
The 3V set gets its name from the visual it creates: when you hold both dice together with the 3 faces on top and angled slightly apart, the six pips form a rough V shape pointing toward you. Some players and instructors call it the Flying V for the same reason.
Where the hardways set is built to suppress 7s, the 3V set is built to produce them — along with 11s. Setting the 3s on top puts more 7 and 11 combinations into the primary rotational plane. A 7 rolls when any two faces summing to 7 land face-up; by placing the 1, 6, 2, and 5 more prominently into the rotational axis, the 3V puts multiple 7-making combinations within reach of an on-axis throw. The 11 (a combination of 5+6) also becomes more accessible.
The 3V is the preferred come-out set for many practitioners who use controlled shooting. On the come-out roll, a 7 or 11 wins immediately, so a set that puts those combinations front and center is an advantage before a point is established. Many experienced shooters use the 3V for the come-out and then switch to the hardways set once a point is established — the logic being that you want to favor 7 and 11 when the come-out is live, then shift to suppressing the 7 once a point is working.
Switching between sets takes real practice. The transition has to become automatic — a reliable habit rather than something you think about in the middle of a roll — or the inconsistency of the set itself introduces variation that undermines what you're trying to measure.
The 2V Set
The 2V set follows the same structural logic as the hardways set, with a different axis. Instead of placing the 3 and 4 on the side faces, the 2V places the 2s on top of both dice. The resulting rotational plane puts a different combination of faces into play — the 1, 4, 3, and 6 rotate through on a clean on-axis throw, while the 2 and 5 go to the sides.
The effect is slightly different from the hardways set in terms of which point numbers show up most often in the on-axis rotational faces, and some practitioners prefer it for point rolls because of how that distribution sits against their betting approach. It's less commonly described in beginner instruction than the hardways set, but it has a consistent following among shooters who've moved past their first set and want to explore alternatives.
If you've built a reliable throw around the hardways set and want to experiment, the 2V is the natural next set to test — the grip and throw mechanics are identical, only the starting orientation changes. Track your numbers separately for each set and let a large sample tell you whether one actually produces a different distribution in your own throws before treating it as confirmed.
The All-Sevens Set
The all-sevens set is exactly what it sounds like: both dice configured to put as many 7-making combinations as possible into the primary rotational plane. Rather than spreading 7 combinations across multiple axes, the all-sevens set stacks them deliberately — the goal is maximum 7 frequency on an on-axis throw.
It's used almost exclusively on come-out rolls by shooters who want to hit naturals. Since 7 and 11 win on the come-out, a set that maximizes 7 frequency can work in the shooter's favor during that phase of the game. Some shooters prefer this over the 3V for come-out specifically because of how aggressively it concentrates 7 combinations.
Once a point is established, the all-sevens set becomes counterproductive immediately — a 7 now loses, and a set built to produce them is working against you. Any shooter using this set needs to make switching away from it after a point is established completely automatic. There's no tactical reason to use the all-sevens set during a point roll under any circumstances.
Come-Out vs. Point Strategy
Many shooters who practice controlled throwing use different sets for different phases of the game. The underlying logic is simple: what you want the dice to do changes when the puck flips from OFF to ON.
On the come-out, 7 and 11 are your friends. Sets that put those combinations into rotation — the 3V, the all-sevens set — are oriented toward benefiting from the come-out phase. On a point roll, 7 is your enemy. Sets that suppress 7 combinations — the hardways set, the 2V — are oriented toward surviving the point phase.
In practice, this means learning at minimum two sets and the discipline to switch between them every time the game phase changes. That transition is a skill unto itself. If you fumble the set or end up on the wrong configuration because you were distracted, you've introduced a variable that undermines whatever you're trying to measure in your practice. The mechanics of switching need to become as automatic as the grip and release.
If you're just starting out, don't try to learn two sets at once. Pick one — most instructors recommend the hardways set as the first — and practice it until the configuration is automatic from any starting orientation of the dice before you add a second set.
Choosing a Set to Start With
The honest advice here is the same advice that runs through every serious account of this technique: pick one set and stick with it until it's completely automatic before you add anything else. The most commonly taught first set is the hardways set. It's well-documented, the configuration is easy to verify, and it's designed for the game phase where suppressing 7s matters most — which is the majority of the time you're actively shooting.
Don't switch sets mid-session until your grip and throw are genuinely consistent. If you're still working on your release, experimenting with multiple sets at the same time means you have two variables changing simultaneously — the set and the throw mechanics — and no clean way to know which one is affecting your numbers. Nail the mechanics first with a single set, then add the come-out set as a second skill once the first is solid.
The set is also inseparable from how you hold the dice. If your grip is inconsistent, the set won't matter — the starting configuration is just the first step, and a grip that shifts from throw to throw randomizes whatever the set was trying to accomplish. The dice grips page covers the most common hold techniques and the tradeoffs between them. Getting the grip right is at least as important as getting the set right, and for most people it takes longer to build into a reliable habit.