Sic Bo
Online Sic Bo
Sic Bo is a dice game originating from ancient China. It utilizes three dice and involves bets being made on various outcomes of those dice. One of the best things about Sic Bo for fans of games such as roulette is that it offers a wide spread of different bets while playing faster than roulette. This can make it preferable to players who like the options available to them in roulette, but who do not care to wait for the ball to fall into a pocket.
How to play Sic Bo
Playing Sic Bo is simply a matter of betting on the outcome of a roll of 3 dice. Each bet has its own odds according to the difficulty of winning on the bet. The dice are rolled in a dice cup, and then placed down on the table and the cup is removed. Winning bets are then paid out and losing bets are collected. Sic Bo is often considered a "Specialty Game" by some online casinos.
The types of bet that can be made in Sic Bo are as follows:
Big – A bet on a total score across the 3 dice of 11 to 17, but excluding triples on the dice. Probability of 48.61%.
Small – A bet on a total score across the 3 dice of 4 to 10, excluding triples. This bet also has a probability of 48.61%.
Odd – A bet on the total score across the dice being an odd number, again with the exception of a triple. Probability of 48.61%.
Even – A bet on the total score across the dice being an even number, excluding triples. Probability of 48.61%.
As with red/black and odds/evens bets in roulette, the above bets are the most common to make.
Three dice total – a bet on the outcome of a specific total score across all 3 dice. The probabilities and odds for this bet depend on the specific number being wagered on. 10 and 11 have the highest probabilities of being rolled, with a 12.5% chance. The full probabilities are:
- 4 or 17 at 1.39%
- 5 or 16 at 2.78%
- 6 or 15 at 4.63%
- 7 or 14 at 6.94%
- 8 or 13 at 9.72%
- 9 or 12 at 11.57%
- 10 or 11 at 12.5%
You’ll notice that 3 and 18 are not included. This is because their outcome is covered in other bets.
Specific triples – A bet on rolling a specific set of triples. As rolling 3 or 18 means rolling a specific triple, the 3 and 18 bets are covered by triple 1s and triple 6s respectively. For any specific triple, the probability of rolling it is 0.46%.
Any triple – Also known as an “Alls” bet. A bet on rolling any triple. The probability is 2.78%.
Specific doubles – Bets on a specific doubles result are quite popular. The bet is for the double of a specific number to appear, but it excludes triples. It has a probability of 7.41%.
Dice combination – A bet on a specific combination of two dice that aren’t doubles, such as a 3 and a 5. The probability for any particular one of these combinations coming up is 13.89%.
Any one number – A bet on a particular number showing up on one, two or all three dice. The probabilities are 34.72% for any particular value on one die, 6.94% for the value to show up on two dice, and 0.46% for the value to show up on all three dice.
Other bets – Some casinos will offer more unusual bets, but they will generally not be considered standard, unlike those listed above.
Unfortunately, a table of the odds for each of these bets is not possible, as different casinos do not all offer the same odds on Sic Bo bets. The exception is usually big, small, even and odd bets, which will pay even money. Odds for bets such as specific triples can range from 150 to 1 through to 180 to 1. Remember that all of the odds on offer must be taken into account when deciding if a Sic Bo pay table is good value. For instance, while the payout on specific triples may be lower at 150 to 1 compared to 180 to 1, this could be made up for with better payouts at more likely probabilities. This is not guaranteed, however, so always look for the best pay table for the bets you make.
Sic Bo Strategy
The strategy for Sic Bo relies on reading the pay tables and making the right selection of bets in order to minimize the house edge. While a game like Sic Bo seems ripe with opportunity for Martingale systems, where bets are progressively increased on bet types with close to even odds, remember that such systems are all doomed to failure. They can sometimes be used defensively, but they never have a hope of doing well in the long run.
Continuously betting on the same outcome of odd, even, big and small is the easiest way to lower the house edge, as these bets have the highest probability of a win in comparison to the payout. In fact, due to the high likelihood of winning on such bets, they are usually used in tandem with bets on less likely probabilities. For instance, a bet on 10 or a bet on 11 may be paired with a bet on the corresponding odds or evens, or with the relevant big or small bet. In this way, a win on the less likely probability still results in a win on the other bet, but when the lower probability does not win, there is still a good chance that some money can be recovered on the total bet.
Again, it must be stressed that Sic Bo is a game of chance and the casinos have set their pay tables to maintain a decent house edge. Having said that, for a fast paced game with many betting options, you will be unlikely to find an online casino game more enjoyable than Sic Bo. If you just like to get some kind of win every time to keep up the winning feeling, it is very easy to set up your bets on Sic Bo at an online casino. Just lay down bets on big, small and any triple, and you’ll get some kind of win on every roll, though you most often will not win more than you have placed in total bets.
