Sic bo, a name usually translated from Cantonese as "precious dice", is a dice game with a long history in China and a strong following in casinos across Asia, Macau among them. Three dice are shaken in a small covered cage or under a lid, and players bet on what will show. The table looks crowded with options, but every bet is a prediction about three dice, and each one has a price that can be worked out. What follows is meant for adult readers only.
The equipment
A round uses three standard six-sided dice. In a land-based casino the dealer shakes them in a small chamber or under a dome; online, a random number generator or a live studio camera does the same job. Three dice can land in 216 equally likely arrangements, and that number sits behind every payout on the layout.
The main types of bet
Big and Small
These are the simplest wagers. Small wins when the three dice total 4 to 10; Big wins when they total 11 to 17. Both pay even money, and both lose when all three dice show the same number, known as a triple. That single exception is where the casino's margin on these bets comes from.
Single number
Pick a number from 1 to 6. If it appears on one die, the bet pays 1 to 1; on two dice, 2 to 1; on all three, 3 to 1 on most tables.
Totals
Bet on the exact total of the three dice, anywhere from 4 to 17. Middle totals such as 10 or 11 come up most often and pay the least; the rare outer totals, such as 4 or 17, pay the most. Paytables for totals differ widely between casinos.
Doubles, triples and combinations
- Specific double: a chosen number on at least two dice.
- Specific triple: a chosen number on all three dice.
- Any triple: any one of the six possible triples.
- Two-dice combination: two different chosen numbers both appearing in the roll.
What each bet costs
| Bet | Common payout | Approximate house edge |
|---|---|---|
| Big or Small | 1 to 1 | About 2.8% |
| Single number | 1, 2 or 3 to 1 | About 7.9% |
| Any triple | 30 to 1 | About 13.9% |
| Two-dice combination | 5 to 1 | About 16.7% |
The house edge is the share of each stake the casino keeps on average across a very large number of rolls. You can check the Big and Small figure yourself: of the 216 possible rolls, 105 produce a winning Small result, so the bet wins a little less than half the time while paying exactly even money. The Any Triple line works the same way: six of the 216 outcomes are triples, a chance of one in 36, yet the payout is 30 to 1 rather than the 35 to 1 a fair price would need. Paytables vary, so check the figures printed on the table in front of you.
A sensible way to start
- Watch a few rounds to see how results are shown on the layout, which often lights up the winning boxes.
- Begin with Big or Small, usually the cheapest bets available.
- If you try other bets, compare the payout with the true odds first; the brighter the number, the larger the cut tends to be.
- Keep stakes level. Raising bets after a loss changes how quickly money moves, not what the game is likely to return.
Dice have no memory
Sic bo tables often show recent results, and long runs of Big or Small are easy to spot. They mean nothing for the next shake: each roll of three fair dice is independent of the one before.Wherever you are, check the rules where you live before playing, since several countries in the region restrict or ban gambling outright, and only ever stake money set aside for entertainment.
