History

Sic Bo, also known as tai sai, dai siu, big and small or hi-lo, is an unequal game of chance played with three dice, and of ancient Chinese origin. Grand hazard and chuck-a-luck are variants, and of English origin. The literal meanings of Sic Bo, tai sai and dai siu are dice pair or dice bowl, lucky dice and big small respectively.

Sic Bo is a casino game, popular in Asia and widely played (as dai siu) in casinos in Macau. It is played in the Philippines as hi-lo. It was introduced into the USA by Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century, and can now be found in most American casinos. Since 13 May 2002, it can be played legally in licensed casinos in the United Kingdom, under The Gaming Clubs.

Rules

Sic Bo is a table game. The table it is played on is similar to a Roulette table where you have many places on the table to place your bets. It is played with three dice which are used to determine the outcome of the game.

Single Number Bets

The bottom row of the Sic Bo table is divided in six betting areas. Those are called single number bets. In this row you basically bet which numbers will be showing up after the dices are rolled. If one of the three dices shows the number you bet on, you win and get paid a 1:1 odd. If two numbers show up you get 2:1 odds and if three show the odds are 3:1. For instance: You placed your bet on the number three on the table and two of the dice show a three you get double your stake back.

Two Number Combinations

The two number combinations offer higher odds but are harder to get. The odds here are 6:1. This combination bet consists of placing a wager on any two dice combinations. For instance: You bet on a one and a five. After the roll, the dices show one, three and five you would win six times your wager. In a two number combination it is only possible to win once though, so if the result of the roll would have been one, five and five you would only get paid once.

Three Number Totals

In the three number total you bet on the combined result of the dice roll. A result of three and eighteen will always mean a loss for you. Different results offer different odds:

Four or Seventeen offer 50:1

Five or Sixteen offer 25:1

Six or Fifteen offer 15:1

Seven or Fourteen offer 10:1

Eight or Thirteen offer 6:1

Nine or Twelve offer 5:1 and

Ten or Eleven also offer 5:1

Small or Big Wager

In this kind of bet you bet on whether the combined result of the roll will be either between Four and Ten (small wager) or between Eleven and Seventeen (big wager). The odds on this bet are always 1:1. If the result of the dice roll is a triplet (i.e.: 3 - Fours) both of the wagers lose.

Triple and Pair Bets

Here you bet on those triplets mentioned above. The odds are of course the highest of the game. They go as high as 150:1 depending on the house rules in the casino. Betting on a single triplet will give you the highest odds in this game. You can also bet on all six possible triplets at once, this is called any triplet. Or you can bet on a pair, which is obviously two dices of the same number. The odds are:

Triplet Bets offer 120-150:1

Any Triplet offers 25:1

Pair Bets offer 11:1

Strategy

Because Sic Bo is a game of chance, the best strategy is to stick with the best odds. Looking back over the numbers you'll see that the house edge on "Small" and "Big" bets is a fairly reasonable 3%.

Comparing this to roulette, the chances of winning on even bets are 18 out of 37 or 48.64% on a single zero wheel and 18 out of 38 or 47.37% on a double zero wheel. So playing Sic Bo on even money bets such as Small Big is comparable to single zero roulette, the Three of a Kind decision acting as a zero.

The following list shows the advantage the house has on the different types of bets
Large	house advantage 2.8 %.
Small	house advantage 2.8%.
One of a Kind	house advantage 7.9 %.
Total Value	house advantage 9-47 % depending on the value chosen.
Any Two Numbers	house advantage 16.7 %.
Three of a Kind	house advantage 30 %.
Any Three of a Kind	house advantage 30 %
Two of a Kind	house advantage 37 %

Probability

The following bet types win based on the sum of the dice and pay out according to the following odds:

Sic Bo Payout Table

Wager	Odds
Small - 4 to 10	1:1
Big - 11 to 17	1:1

Three Dice Total	Odds
4	62:1
6	18:1
7	12:1
8	8:1
9	7:1
10	6:1
11	6:1
12	7:1
13	8:1
14	12:1
15	18:1
16	31:1
17	62:1

Position	Odds
Specific Triples	180:1
Specific Doubles	11:1
Any Triple	31:1

Two Dice Combinations	Odds
1 and 2	6:1
1 and 3	6:1
1 and 4	6:1
1 and 5	6:1
1 and 6	6:1
2 and 3	6:1
2 and 4	6:1
2 and 5	6:1
2 and 6	6:1
3 and 4	6:1
3 and 5	6:1
3 and 6	6:1
4 and 5	6:1
4 and 6	6:1
5 and 6	6:1

Single Dice Bet	Odds
Number on one Dice	1:1
Number on two Dice	2:1
Number on three Dice	12:1

Tips

As mentioned Sic Bo is a game of pure luck - so more or less the best you can do is to cross your fingers and hope for the best. Even though Sic Bo is a game of pure luck I still have some tips and advice to share with you before you go and play Sic Bo for fun or for real money at online casinos or in Las Vegas. Sic Bo

Tip #1 - The best bet at the Sic Bo table is betting on SMALL (Total score from 4 to 10) this bet pay odds 1-1. The house edge on this bet is only 2.76%. A similar bet is the BIG bet - (Total score from 11 to 17) the big bet also only has a house advantage of 2.76%. Sci Bo

Tip #2 - No betting system will make you beat the house advantage - in the long run the casino will always win and no gambling system can change this fact. Gambling systems do not work. Sci Bo

Tip # 3 - Different casinos offer different odds on the same type of bets in SCI Bo - have a look at the paytable before you place any Sci Bo bets. Sci Bo

Tip #4 - Don't place a foolish bet with a huge house edge. As an example a bet on a total score of 5 only pay odds 1-18 on some casinos. Such a bet has a house edge of 47.22%. Most casinos offer a bit better odds on this bet - but it's still no good at all. Don't place such a bet - you might as well just hand over your money to the casino. The BIG and SMALL bets are the best bets for the player to make.