Sic Bo
Three dice · an ancient Chinese game
History
Sic Bo ("dice pair") is an ancient Chinese dice game with roots going back over 2,000 years. It was originally played with tiles or dice carved from bone. The game spread from Asia westward with Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century and became established as a casino game, especially in Macau and later Las Vegas.
Sic Bo is one of the world’s oldest gambling games still played. In China it was originally played with tiles painted with dots, and the game went by many names such as "tai sai" (big small). In Macau’s casinos Sic Bo is a staple comparable to roulette, and its tables are often spectacularly lit, because winning combinations light up automatically.
Where it is played today
Sic Bo is extremely popular in Macau and elsewhere in Asia, where it is one of the main casino games, comparable to roulette. In the West it is rarer but found in most large casinos, and online it is common. The rhythm of play resembles roulette: bet, roll, resolve.
Rules
Three dice are rolled. You bet before the roll on various outcomes: Small (sum 4–10) or Big (11–17) pays 1:1; Even or Odd pays 1:1; a single number (1–6) pays according to how many dice show that number; "any triple" pays a large multiplier. You can bet on several spots in the same round.
Odds & the maths
Small/Big and Even/Odd are the best bets: the house edge is about 2.78%, because triples (e.g. 1-1-1) lose these bets. A single number pays 1:1 for one hit, 2:1 for two and 3:1 for three — house edge about 7.9%. "Any triple" tempts with a big multiplier, but its house edge is about 30% — clearly the worst bet on the table.
Sic Bo illustrates well how the distribution of the sum of three dice is not uniform: a sum of 10 or 11 is far more likely than 4 or 17, because there are more number combinations for them. This is why a "single number" bet pays differently according to the number of hits, and why triples are so rare — only 6 combinations out of 216.
| Bet | Pays | Win chance | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small / Big | 1:1 | 48.6% | 2.78% |
| Even / Odd | 1:1 | 48.6% | 2.78% |
| Single number (1 hit) | 1:1 | 34.7% | 7.87% |
| Any triple | 30:1 | 2.78% | 30.1% |
Small/Big and Even/Odd are the best bets. "Any triple" tempts with a 30:1 payout, but its house edge is more than ten times higher — a classic example of a misleading multiplier.
Beginner’s guide
Click one or more betting spots on the table — each click adds a bet. Press Roll dice. For a beginner: stick to Small/Big or Even/Odd bets, they are closest to fair. Avoid the triple bet, however tempting its multiplier — it is a classic example of "high multiplier, terrible probability".