The 3 Best Bets in Sic Bo
Sic Bo, which translates to "dice pair" in English, is one of the most popular games in Asian casinos. The game even has a following in some United States casinos.
If you've never played Sic Bo, you'll notice some similarities to craps. It features a board and three dice. And, just like craps, the board looks confusing and can make it hard for you to figure out the different bets.
Here are the 3 best Sic Bo wagers you can make and where to find them on the board:
1. Big or Small
I lumped these two bets together. They give you the same chance of winning (48.6%), and they have the same house edge (2.8%).
A Big bet is located at the top right hand corner of the board. You shouldn't have any trouble finding the Big wager because it's marked with the winning numbers 11 through 17 and pays out 1 to 1.
The only time that you won't win if the dice range between 11 and 17 is in the event of a Triple--a dice combination with the same three numbers.
Here's an example:
Rolling three 4s would be a triple and cause you to lose.
The Small Bet is located in the top left hand corner of the board. This wager offers a 1 to 1 pay out if the three dice combine for a score between 4 and 10. Again, you'll lose if a Triple appears, like three 2s.
2. Odd or Even
An odd bet is a wager on the three dice forming an odd number. An even bet is a wager that the dice will form an even combination.
Aside from how these bets win, they don't really differ from Big and Small wagers in any way. The probability of winning either bet is still 48.6%, and the house edge is 2.8%.
Odd and even offer the same advantages to players that Big and Small do.
But there is one key difference:
Odd and even aren't found on most Sic Bo boards.
Assuming odd and even bets are offered, you'll find them both in the top left hand corner of the table while Big and Small bets will be featured in the top right-hand corner.
3. Dice Combinations
These are bets made on two of the three dice coming up as a specific number combination, and they are all found going across the second to last row on the board.
1 and 2, 2 and 3, and 3 and 4 are some of the different dice combinations that you can wager on. In all, you'll find 15 dice combinations across the board.
Each dice combination only has a 2.8% house edge.
There is one key difference, though:
You only have a 13.9% chance of winning any of the 15 dice combination bets.
This is the biggest downside to wagering on any dice combination. You won't win as often as with a Big, Small, even, or odd bet.
But when you do win, you'll collect a 6 to 1 payout.
Unfortunately, certain casinos in Macau only offer a 5 to 1 payout, which increases the house edge to 16.7%. If this is the case in your game, don't even bother making a dice combination wager.
The Worst Sic Bo Bets
The problem with Sic Bo is that every bet besides the ones I've already mentioned features a 7.4% house advantage or higher.
Don't waste your time with any of the other bets.
But if you are going to try some of the other bets on the board, avoid the following wagers:
Specific Dice Combinations – Two dice will form a specific combination while the third dice shows a certain number. The payout is 50 to 1, but the house edge is an enormous 29.2%. And you only have a 1.4% chance of winning.
Specific Doubles – This wager sees you bet on two of the three dice featuring specific numbers. You win a 10 to 1 pay out if successful, but the house edge is 18.5%. And you have just a 7.41% chance of winning.
Specific Triple – The same number appears on all three dice, and you receive a huge 180 to 1 pay out on a successful bet. Obviously this is exciting, but specific triples only happen 0.46% of the time, and the house edge is 16.2%.
4 or 17 – This is a bet that the three dice will form either a 4 or 17 score. The payout is 60 to 1, but you only have a 1.4% chance of winning and the house edge is 15.3%.
Conclusion
Sic Bo sometimes gets a bad rap when compared to other table games because of the high house edge on some bets. But you can find some wagers that make Sic Bo worth playing.
What's nice is that you can pick high probability wagers like Big, Small, odd, or even. Or you can go for the riskier dice combinations and still enjoy the same low 2.8% house edge.
But again, considering the house edge on certain bets, you'll want to stay within the confines of these wagers so that you don't get burned by the casino.
