Sic Bo

An ancient three-dice game of Chinese origin where players bet on combinations of the shaken dice, with house edges ranging from modest to very high depending on the bet.

Definition

In Sic Bo, three dice are shaken in a covered container and players wager on the outcome across a busy layout. Bets include Small (total 4-10) and Big (total 11-17), each paying 1:1 with roughly a 2.78% house edge; specific totals; single-number bets; two-dice combinations; and specific or any triples, which pay large multiples but carry very high edges. The wide spread means Sic Bo can be one of the fairer or one of the most expensive games on the floor purely depending on which bet is chosen. Small and Big lose whenever any triple is rolled, which is exactly where the house edge on those bets comes from.

Worked example

You bet $10 on Big (total 11-17). The dice show 4, 5, 6 for a total of 15, so you win $10 at 1:1. But if the dice had shown a triple such as 2-2-2, Big and Small both lose regardless of total, and that triple exception is what gives even the 'safe' Big/Small bet its 2.78% edge.

Why it matters

For learners, Sic Bo dramatically illustrates how payout size and probability trade off, and why a tempting 150:1 triple is a bad-value bet. For professionals, its huge range of edges makes it a case study in responsible, transparent explanation of odds.

Related

Note: Big/Small is about 2.78%; specific-triple and single-number bets carry much higher edges (often 7-18%) that vary by paytable.