Originating in China and popularised in the gaming establishments of Asia, Sic Bo casino games were brought to the Western world in the early 1900s. Today, Sic Bo is, alongside craps, one of the most popular dice games worldwide. Sic Bo casino games are played with dice, and the name Sic Bo means ‘dice pair’ in Chinese.

If you’re looking to expand your gaming repertoire, this is an excellent place to start. Here’s a guide on how to play Sic Bo, including the objective of the game and the various bets and side bets that can be placed.

How to play Sic Bo

The objective of the game is to predict the outcome of a roll of three dice, wagering on the numerical outcome as well as various potential combinations (odd or even, doubles, etc.). There’s a wide range of Sic Bo bets you can place, which we’ll cover in more detail shortly. To strike your wagers when playing this table game online or at a live casino, place your chips in the box relating to the bet type you wish to place.

How to place Sic Bo bets

There are no overly complex Sic Bo rules to learn – hence why this is one of the most accessible games on the casino floor. Place your bets and watch on as the croupier shakes and rolls the dice – winning bets will be paid out at the odds outlined below. You can bet on specific numbers, totals and different combinations, with the option to place multiple wagers per roll.

Types of Sic Bo bets

There are more than 200 combinations that can be rolled with three dice, which helps to explain why there are so many different Sic Bo bet types available.

Big and Small bets

There is a small selection of 50/50-style bets in Sic Bo that pay out at 1:1 – though there’s a house edge to be aware of.

When you roll three dice, the minimum number that can be rolled is three (3 x 1), with a maximum of 18 (3 x 6). In Sic Bo, you can place a ‘Big’ bet, which pays out if the total number is between 11 and 17, or a ‘Small’ bet, which pays out on 4-10.

Big bets don’t win if 18 is rolled, while Small bets lose if the total is three. This is because all triples – whether it’s three 1s (3), three 2s (6), etc. – render Big and Small bets as lost.

Doubles bets

If you want to bet on a specific number to appear on at least two of the three dice when rolled, you would back the Doubles option. For example, if you had a feeling that three was going to appear on the next roll, you could back that digit in a Double – if the dice land, say, 3-3-6, then your Double bet would win, with a payout of 10:1.

Triples bets

The highest-paying bet in Sic Bo is the Triples option – paying 180:1 when your Specific Triple bet prediction comes true.

Similarly, to the Doubles bet, here you’re looking to hang your hat on a specific number to appear on all three dice. If it does, you’ll land the top prize.

If you want to bet on some Triples action without specifying a particular number, you can also place an Any Triples wager. If the three dice all show the same number after the roll, this bet will land with a payout of 30:1.

Different dice combination bets

There are many different bets you can place on specific dice combinations. If you want to bet on a specific number to appear on at least one of the dice on the next roll, you might place a Single Combination wager. As specified below, this pays 1:1 when your prediction is correct.

In the same way, you can wager on two specific numbers to appear on the three dice. So, if you think that one and two will both show after the roll, you could bet on them as a Two-Number Combination, which pays at 2:1.

You can take this combo betting option to the next level with a Three-Number Combination, which pays at 3:1 if you can correctly predict the digits to be shown on the next roll.

Single bets

In Sic Bo casino games, Single bets refer to predictions of a specific number, between 1 and 6, appearing on one or more dice in a single roll. You can receive the following payouts if your selected number appears in a roll:

On one dice – 1:1 payout On two dice – 2:1 payout On all three dice – 3:1 payout

Side bets on offer

Odd and even bets

As the name suggests, you can bet on whether the total number rolled from the three dice is odd or even. The payout is once again 1:1 on your stake. but note the disclaimer that triple scores again render odd and even bets as a loss.

Three Dice Total

As the name suggests, with the Three Dice Total bet, you’re looking to specify an exact number that the three dice will add up to after the roll. For example, dice showing 1-3-4 would be a total of eight, with winning bets paid out accordingly.

The paytable for this bet type is a little different, as some totals have more combinations to land them than others. For instance, if you nominate a total of four, there’s only combination that can secure you a win: 1-1-2. The payout for this is 60:1.

Different Sic Bo variants

All the rules and gameplay examples outlined above relate to traditional Sic Bo, which you’ll most likely find in the online casino of your choice. However, there are other types of Sic Bo casino games to consider. Chuck-a-Luck, for example, features scaled-down betting options, with just Singles and Triples catered for. This version also features a unique mechanical ‘shaker’ that the croupier uses to roll the dice.

Grand Hazard is, visually at least, like Craps, with the dice thrown down the length of the table via a cup or some kind of ‘chute’ mechanism. The rules are the same as standard Sic Bo – it’s just this creative presentation of the dice roll that differs.

Yee Hah Hi, meanwhile, is a Sic Bo variant that is particularly popular in Asia. This version uses unique dice that don’t have numbers on them, but instead have images, with scorpions and the three animals that make up the translation of Yee Hah Hi – fish, shrimp, and crab – among them.