Getting Started with Online Sic Bo - Rules & Guidelines

How to Play Sic Bo

In this article, we’ll explain what a game of sic bo looks like and how you can play it. Learn all the rules to the ancient Chinese game and scoop your next big win in sic bo.

Sic Bo is one of the most diversified and immersive casino dice games. Particularly, in the past few years, a growing number of software developers starts to recognize its potency.

As the amount of online sic bo variants expands, so does the interest of new players. Here, we will tell you how to play sic bo.

To start with, let’s see how a round of sic bo looks.

1. Take a look at the table layout and place your bet.
2. You can place as many bets as you’d like.
3. Once the betting time is over, a round officially begins.
4. The dealer (croupier) will pick up the three dice and shake them.
5. In online casinos and live casinos, RNG-powered engines, known as shakers or tumblers are used.
6. If you’re playing in-person, the dealer will place the dice in a small cage and shake them manually.
7. When the dice land onto the table, you’ll see the outcome of the round.

That’s how simple sic bo is. It is arguable one of the easiest casino games to play.

The Role of Sic Bo among Dice Games

To fully understand the rules of sic bo, it’s important to remember that this game is one of chance. One would think that all dice games are, but that’s not the case.

To illustrate, we’ll compare and contrast sic bo with craps. In the latter dice variant, specific bets require an in-advance roll of the dice. Therefore, in craps, players have to use certain strategies to win those bets.

On the other hand, the topic of our article relies completely on luck. In plain English, there’s little – if anything – you can do to affect the outcome of your bet. Grab Lady Luck by the hand and sail away to a round of sic bo.

However, there are some measures of precaution you can apply when playing this dice game. Check out our tips for sic bo right here.

The Basics

Regarding how player-friendly sic bo is, let’s see its specifications.

The optimal house edge in sic bo totals 2.87%, which is not the most favorable option for the player. This percentage goes only for the following bets: big, small, odd and even. And the house advantage only rises with more complex bets, which we will explain in a moment.

The payouts of each type of bet in sic bo depend on the casino you choose. We’d recommend checking out our top 10 online casinos first. Generally, though, the most common and safest bets pay at 1:1. Riskier bets pay more but with a great house edge.

Bet Types, Odds & Payouts

Sic Bo is simple to grasp but there are quite a few bet types to remember. Luckily, most developers nowadays feature all the bet types on the table so you don’t have to memorize them.

Here are all the bets in Sic Bo.

• Big – the odds are 1:1 with the house edge of 2.78%
• Small – 1:1 odds with a 2.78% casino advantage
• Odd – pay 1:1 with a 2.78% edge
• Even – 1:1 payout; 2.78% house advantage
• Specific Triples – pay 180:1 with a 16.2% edge
• Specific Doubles – 18.5% edge and a 10:1 payoff
• Any Triple – 31:1 with a 13.9% edge
• Three Dice Total – the house edge ranges from 7.4% up to 15.3% with payouts up to 60:1
• Combinations – the house edge is relatively low (2.80%) for a great payoff of 6:1
• Single Die Bet – Getting one, two or three dice right pays at 1:1, 2:1 or 3:1, respectively. The casino has 7.9% in its favour.
• Four Number Combination – 7:1 payouts with an 11.1% advantage
• Three Single Number Combination – pay 30:1 with a 13.9% casino favor
• Specific Double and Single Number Combination – 50:1, 29.2% edge

Let’s explain what each bet means.

Betting on big means that the outcome will be between 11 and 17 inclusive. Small bets are those with a total from 4 to 10 inclusive. These are also the most probably bet outcomes – over 48%.

Specific triples or alls imply that a specific number will show up on all three dice. Doubles do the same but with two out of the three dice. Any triple or all alls mean that any of the triples will turn up.

Depending on how many you get right, the payout in Three Dice Total will differ. Placing this bet, you’re wagering that a specific total score will be in the range between 4 and 17 inclusive.

Combinations or dice combinations mean that two of the dice will display a specific combination of two different numbers.

Moving on, Single Dice Bet suggests that a specific number out of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 will turn up on one, two, or all three dice. Then, the Four Number Combination advocates that any of the following combos will show up: 6, 5, 4, 3; 6, 5, 3, 2; 5, 4, 3, 2; or 4, 3, 2, 1.

Moreover, the Three Single Number Combination vouches for the same specific combination of three different numbers to appear on the dice. Finally, the Specific Double and Single Number Combination means that two of the dice will be a double and the third will show a different number.