Pick heads or tails, then come in, spinner.
Play money
Two heads wins for heads, two tails for tails, and one of each ("odds") means toss again. Play money only.
Two Up is the Australian coin game played in pubs and clubs on Anzac Day. A spinner tosses two pennies off a flat wooden kip, and the crowd bets on how they land. Two heads wins for heads, two tails for tails, and one of each, “odds”, means toss again. Play it above with free play money and see how quickly a run of odds can turn.
How to play Two Up
- The ring. Players stand round a circle. One is chosen as the spinner, and a ringkeeper (the boxer) runs the game.
- The bets. The spinner bets on heads. Other players bet with each other, heads or tails, by holding up their money and calling for a match. Even money, A$10 against A$10.
- Come in, spinner! The boxer calls, and the spinner tosses both coins high off the kip so they spin.
- The result. Two heads: heads backers win. Two tails: tails backers win, and the spinner hands the kip on. One of each: odds, so the coins go up again.
The spinner keeps the kip as long as they throw heads.
Two Up odds
Each toss is a 25% chance of heads, 25% tails and 50% odds. Odds don’t settle anything, so a bet on heads wins exactly half the time in the long run. Between players there’s no house edge at all: it’s a straight 50/50.
Casino versions often add a rule that five odds in a row loses every bet. That happens 1 time in 32, 3.1%. So a heads bet wins 48.4% of the time and loses 51.6%, giving the house a 3.125% edge, about the same as a bet on red at a single-zero roulette wheel. The game above has the five-odds rule on by default. Untick it to play the pub version.
Why Anzac Day?
Australian soldiers played Two Up in the trenches of the First World War, and the game became part of how Anzac Day is marked. Outside of that one day, playing for money is mostly limited to a few licensed venues and casinos, so Anzac Day is when most people get their only go.
For a single coin, use the coin flip. To see how a 3% edge plays out over hundreds of bets, try the betting systems simulator.
Two Up is a bit of fun on Anzac Day. Keep it that way. Gambling Help Online is free and confidential, any time of day.