Sic Bo
Rules and Strategies for
Sic Bo
We are quite used to the game of Craps, that uses two dice. It's challenging enough to find winning strategies with two dice, considering all dice combinations. How about an interesting game that uses three dice? The combinations would be much more intriguing, wouldn't they?
Sic Bo is a classic Chinese game played with three dice. The literal meaning of the word 'Sic Bo' is 'precious dice'. Along the similar lines of Online Crap, the Online Sic Bo is a sheer luck-based game in which players have to ascertain the come out the roll of dice. Birdcage, Chuck-a-luck and Grand Hazard are some of the variations of Sic Bo. Earlier in our review, we mentioned that Sic Bo is played using 3 dice, each having numbers 1 – 6. And unless you’re playing Sic Bo for free, the first step will be placing a bet within the 1 and 250 table limits. While playing Sic Bo at El Royale Casino, you’ll view the available bets and the table range on your screen. Sic bo is a casino game that originated in ancient China and is played with three dice. Sic bo goes by a number of other names, such as tai sai, dai siu, big and small or hi-lo. The literal meaning of sic bo is “precious dice” or “dice pair”, while dai siu and dai sai mean “big small”.
I'm referring to the game called 'Sic Bo', that uses three dice on a layout that is quite different than the Craps layout. Sic Bo has been recently popular in Casino of Montreal. Sic Bo is an ancient Chinese dice game still played in many southeast Asian countries, where it's known as big and small. Sic Bo is both exciting and easy to play, and offers players a wide variety of options. Payouts range from even money up to 150 to 1.
The betting options available at Sic Bo are formed by the various combinations obtained with three dice. These wagers and their payouts are reproduced on the gaming table. Players may wager on as many combinations as desired per game. The dice are shaken by dealer, by means of a vibrating platform under a round shape glass cover. After all bets have been made, the dealer activates the dice shaker. The outcome of each of the three dice appears on the display. At the same time, the spaces corresponding to the winning combinations light up on the table. The dealer then removes all losing bets from the table, such as in roulette, and proceeds to pay all winners.
There are 8 different ways you can bet.
1) You can bet on one number, which must appear on all three dice. This is called a Three of a Kind. Obviously, you have the least chances of hitting a winning bet, as there are 216 (6 X 6 X 6) dice combinations and only one of them can give you a 1,1,1 or 2,2,2 or 3,3,3 or 4,4,4 or 5,5,5 or 6,6,6. If you do win however, it pays 150 to 1. Considering your winning chances to be 1 out of 216, this gives the casino a huge advantage.
2) You can bet on one number, which must appear on two of the three dice. This is called a Two of a Kind, such as a 1,1 or 2,2 or 3,3 or 4,4 or 5,5, or 6,6. This pays 8 to 1, although your chances of winning is 5.82%, as there are 12 ways of making such a combination.
3) You can bet that the same number from 1 to 6 will appear on all three dice, such as either a 1,1,1 or 2,2,2 or 3,3,3 or 4,4,4 or 5,5,5 or 6,6,6. This is called Any Three of a Kind and it pays 24 to 1. You have 6 times more chances to win relative to the Three of a Kind. The probability is still 6 out of 216 or about 2.78%.
4) There is an area called Small, that pays even money, where you bet that the sum of the three dice will be equal to 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 excluding a Three of a Kind. That's why the 3 (3 ones) is not a winning bet, neither are the hardways 6 and 9, which provides the casino edge.
5) Similarly, there is an area called Big, that also pays even money, where you bet that the sum of the three dice will be equal to 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, or 17 excluding a Three of a Kind. That's why the 18 (3 sixes) is not a winning bet, neither are the hardways 12 and 15, which again provides the casino edge.
6) On the Sic Bo layout, there is a wide area with the numbers 4 to 17 written on them. Those numbers correspond to the sum of the three dice. So, you bet on a number from 4 to 17, which are the sum of all 3 dice and the payout table is as follows:
If the sum is 4, winning bets are paid 50 to 1;
If the sum is 5, winning bets are paid 30 to 1;
If the sum is 6, winning bets are paid 18 to 1;
If the sum is 7, winning bets are paid 12 to 1;
If the sum is 8, winning bets are paid 8 to 1;
If the sum is 9, winning bets are paid 6 to 1;
If the sum is 10, winning bets are paid 6 to 1;
If the sum is 11, winning bets are paid 6 to 1;
If the sum is 12, winning bets are paid 6 to 1;
If the sum is 13, winning bets are paid 8 to 1;
If the sum is 14, winning bets are paid 12 to 1;
If the sum is 15, winning bets are paid 18 to 1;
If the sum is 16, winning bets are paid 30 to 1;
If the sum is 17, winning bets are paid 50 to 1;
You can see the symmetrical pattern of payouts, depending on the dice combinations and their probability of appearance, always with an edge on the casino side, of course.
7) You can bet on two different numbers, which must appear on at least two of the three dice. This bet is called Duo, and it pays 5 to 1. The dice combinations you can bet on are: 1,2 or 1,3 or 1,4 or 1,5 or 1,6 or 2,3 or 2,4 or 2,5 or 2,6 or 3,4 or 3,5 or 3,6 or 4,5 or 4,6 or 5,6, as long as the two numbers are not the same.
8) And the last type of bet is called a simple One of a Kind, where you bet on a single number that must appear on one, two or all three dice. This is shown in the layout as the dice face 1, or 2, or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6.
The payout table of this bet depends on the following:
If the number you chose appears on one of the three dice, you are paid even;
If the number you chose appears on two of the three dice, you are paid 2 to 1;
If the number you chose appears on three of the three dice, you are paid 3 to 1.
The game is called Sic Bo, meaning Small Big, probably because of the type of bets that pay even - types 4 and 5 above, which could be attractive to bet using our even money bet strategies (Superior Roulette, Reward, etc.). What we need to determine is the percentage of the casino edge, in order to compare this type of bet to Baccarat or Roulette.
Taking the Small bet, we can see that half of all dice combinations will give us a 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10. If we exclude the Three of a Kind, we are excluding the 1,1,1, the 2,2,2 and the 3,3,3. Therefore, we are excluding 3 possibilities out of 108 (216/2). In other words our chances of winning is 105 out of 216 or 48.61%.
Comparing this to roulette, our 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.
So we can easily use any even bet strategy that we have developed for Roulette, that performs even better for single zero wheels.
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Sic bo (骰寶), also known as tai sai (大細), dai siu (大小), big and small or hi-lo, is an unequal game of chance of ancient Chinese origin played with three dice. Grand hazard and chuck-a-luck are variants, both of English origin. The literal meaning of sic bo is 'precious dice', while dai siu and dai sai mean 'big [or] small'.
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.[1] It was introduced to the United States by Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century, and can now be found in most American casinos. Since 2002, it can be played legally in licensed casinos in the United Kingdom.
Gameplay involves betting that a certain condition (e.g. that all three dice will roll the same) will be satisfied by a roll of the dice.[2]
Sic Bo - Image Results
Gameplay[edit]
Players place their bets on certain areas of the table as shown in the picture above. The dealer then picks up a small chest containing the dice, which he/she closes and shakes. Finally the dealer opens the chest to reveal the combination.
Comparison to craps[edit]
Sic bo is one of two casino games involving dice, the other being craps. Sic bo is strictly a game of chance because every roll on the dice results a win or loss on any bet. In craps, some bets require certain rolls before they can become winning or losing bets, thus encouraging strategy.
Betting options[edit]
| Type | Wager | Probability | United Kingdom | New Zealand | Macau | No House Edge | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odds | House Edge | Odds | House Edge | Odds | House Edge | Odds | |||
| Big (大) | The total score will be from 11 to 17 (inclusive) with the exception of a triple | 48.61% | 1 to 1 | 2.78% | 1 to 1 | 2.78% | 1 to 1 | 2.78% | 37 to 35 |
| Small (小) | The total score will be from 4 to 10 (inclusive) with the exception of a triple | 48.61% | 1 to 1 | 2.78% | 1 to 1 | 2.78% | 1 to 1 | 2.78% | 37 to 35 |
| Odd | The total score will be an odd number with the exception of a triple | 48.61% | 1 to 1 | 2.78% | 1 to 1 | 2.78% | 37 to 35 | ||
| Even | The total score will be an even number with the exception of a triple | 48.61% | 1 to 1 | 2.78% | 1 to 1 | 2.78% | 37 to 35 | ||
| Specific 'Triples' or 'Alls' (圍一 圍二 圍三 圍四 圍五 圍六) | A specific number will appear on all three dice | 0.46% | 180 to 1 | 16.2% | 180 to 1 | 16.2% | 150 to 1 | 30.1% | 215 to 1 |
| Specific Doubles | A specific number will appear on at least two of the three dice | 7.41% | 10 to 1 | 18.5% | 11 to 1 | 11.1% | 8 to 1 | 33.3% | 25 to 2 |
| Any Triple or All 'Alls' (全圍) | Any of the triples will appear | 2.8% | 30 to 1 | 13.9% | 31 to 1 | 11.1% | 24 to 1 | 30.6% | 35 to 1 |
| Three Dice Total (a specific total score in the range of 4 to 17 inclusive) | 4 or 17 | 1.4% | 60 to 1 | 15.3% | 62 to 1 | 12.5% | 50 to 1 | 29.2% | 71 to 1 |
| 5 or 16 | 2.8% | 30 to 1 | 13.9% | 31 to 1 | 11.1% | 18 to 1 | 47.2% | 35 to 1 | |
| 6 or 15 | 4.6% | 18 to 1 | 12% | 18 to 1 | 12% | 14 to 1 | 30.6% | 103 to 5 | |
| 7 or 14 | 6.9% | 12 to 1 | 9.7% | 12 to 1 | 9.7% | 12 to 1 | 9.7% | 67 to 5 | |
| 8 or 13 | 9.7% | 8 to 1 | 12.5% | 8 to 1 | 12.5% | 8 to 1 | 12.5% | 65 to 7 | |
| 9 or 12 | 11.6% | 7 to 1 | 7.4% | 7 to 1 | 7.4% | 6 to 1 | 19% | 191 to 25 | |
| 10 or 11 | 12.5% | 6 to 1 | 12.5% | 6 to 1 | 12.5% | 6 to 1 | 12.5% | 7 to 1 | |
| Dice Combinations | Two of the dice will show a specific combination of two different numbers (for example, a 3 and a 4) | 13.9% | 6 to 1 | 2.8% | 6 to 1 | 2.8% | 5 to 1 | 16.7% | 31 to 5 |
| Single Dice Bet | The specific number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 will appear on one, two, or all three dice | 1: 34.72% 2: 6.94% 3: 0.46% | 1: 1 to 1 2: 2 to 1 3: 3 to 1 | 7.9% | 1: 1 to 1 2: 2 to 1 3: 12 to 1 | 3.7% | 1: 1 to 1 2: 2 to 1 3: 3 to 1 | 7.9% | 1: 1 to 1 2: 3 to 1 3: 5 to 1 (simplest version) |
| Four Number Combination | Any three of the four numbers in one of the following specific combinations will appear: 6, 5, 4, 3; 6, 5, 3, 2; 5, 4, 3, 2; or 4, 3, 2, 1 | 11.1% | 7 to 1 | 11.1% | 7 to 1 | 11.1% | 7 to 1 | 11.1% | 8 to 1 |
| Three Single Number Combination | The dice will show a specific combination of three different numbers | 2.8% | 30 to 1 | 13.9% | 30 to 1 | 13.9% | 35 to 1 | ||
| Specific Double and Single Number Combination | Two of the dice will show a specific double and the third die will show a specific, different number | 1.4% | 50 to 1 | 29.2% | 60 to 1 | 15.3% | 71 to 1 | ||
The most common wagers are 'Big' and 'Small'.
Variants[edit]
Grand Hazard is a gambling game of English origin, also played with three dice. It is distinct from Hazard, another gambling game of English origin, played with two dice. The dice are either thrown with a cup or rolled down a chute containing a series of inclined planes ('hazard chute') that tumble the dice as they fall.[3] Threes-of-a-kind are known as 'raffles' and pay out at 18 to 1.
Chuck-a-luck, also known as 'sweat cloth', 'chuckerluck' and birdcage,[3] is a variant in the United States, which has its origins in grand hazard. The three dice are kept in a device that resembles a wire-frame bird cage and that pivots about its centre. The dealer rotates the cage end over end, with the dice landing on the bottom. Chuck-a-luck usually features only the single-number wagers, sometimes with an additional wager for any 'triple' (all three dice showing the same number) with odds of 30 to 1 (or thereabouts). Chuck-a-luck was once common in Nevada casinos but is now rare, frequently having been replaced by sic bo tables.
See also[edit]
- Cee-lo - a gambling game played with three six-sided dice
Sic Bo System - Winning By Science
Notes[edit]
- ^Online Online Sic Bo Guide
- ^'Rules and Strategies for Sic Bo'. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
- ^ abThe Official World Encyclopaedia of Sports and Games 1979 Diagram Group p 128
References[edit]
Regulation in the United Kingdom
Regulation in New Zealand