How to Play Sic Bo: Rules, Bets & Odds
Sic Bo is a three-dice game with the widest range of house edges in the casino. Learn how it works and which bets to play or avoid. Odds and bet table.
Sic Bo is a dice game played with three dice and a board covered in bets. It looks busy, but one idea explains the whole table: a few simple bets cost about as little as the best bets in craps, and almost everything else is expensive. This guide covers how a round works, the odds of every total, and which bets are worth making.
Table Edge is a free practice site: everything here uses practice chips with no cash value, and nothing in this guide guarantees a win.
How a round works
Three dice are shaken (in a casino, inside a covered cage or an automatic shaker) and rolled once. Before that happens, you place one or more bets on how they will land: the total, whether it is high or low, whether a particular number shows up, or whether all three dice match. Every bet is settled from the same single roll.
Two families of bets
The bet menu splits into two very different groups.
The simple bets: Big, Small, Odd and Even. Each wins about half the time and pays 1:1. They lose only when the dice show a triple (the same number on all three dice, like 4-4-4), which happens in 6 of the 216 possible outcomes. That gives them a house edge of just 2.78%, comparable to the better bets in craps.
Everything else: Totals, Single Number, Double, Triple and Combination bets pay fixed odds that fall short of the real probability by varying amounts. Some are modest, and some are among the worst bets in the building.
Why the same table has both great and terrible bets
Three six-sided dice make 216 equally likely outcomes (6 x 6 x 6). Some totals come up far more often than others. A total of 10 or 11 can be made 27 ways each (the most common), while a total of 4 or 17 can be made only 3 ways each. Casinos pay more for the rare totals, but not enough to make up for how rare they are, and that gap is the house edge.
Take a total of 4. Only three combinations make it (1-1-2, 1-2-1 and 2-1-1), so it hits 3 times in 216, about 1.39% of rolls. A bet that wins that rarely would have to pay 71 to 1 to break even, but the table pays 60 to 1. That shortfall is the 15.28% house edge. Totals of 3 and 18 can only be made by triples, which is why there is no Total bet on them.
The bets and what they cost
| Bet | What it is | Pays | House edge |
|---|
| Big | Total of 11 to 17 (loses on any triple) | 1:1 | 2.78% |
| Small | Total of 4 to 10 (loses on any triple) | 1:1 | 2.78% |
| Odd or Even | The total is odd or even (loses on any triple) | 1:1 | 2.78% |
| Single number | A chosen number shows on one, two or three dice | 1:1, 2:1 or 3:1 | 7.87% |
| Total 7 or 14 | The dice add up to that total | 12:1 | 9.72% |
| Total 8 or 13 | The dice add up to that total | 8:1 | 12.50% |
| Total 10 or 11 | The dice add up to that total | 6:1 | 12.50% |
| Any triple | All three dice match, any number | 30:1 | 13.89% |
| Total 4 or 17 | The dice add up to that total | 60:1 | 15.28% |
| Specific triple | All three dice show one chosen number | 180:1 | 16.20% |
| Combination | Two chosen numbers both appear | 5:1 | 16.67% |
| Specific double | A chosen number shows on at least two dice | 10:1 | 18.52% |
| Total 9 or 12 | The dice add up to that total | 6:1 | 18.98% |
| Total 6 or 15 | The dice add up to that total | 14:1 | 30.56% |
| Total 5 or 16 | The dice add up to that total | 18:1 | 47.22% |
These are the standard paytable figures at most Las Vegas and Macau tables. Some casinos pay slightly different odds, so check the board before you play.
The single number bet is worth a closer look: a chosen number pays 1:1 if it shows on one die, 2:1 on two dice, and 3:1 on three. It looks generous, but its 7.87% edge is nearly three times the cost of Big or Small.
The one strategy that matters
Stick to Big, Small, Odd and Even. They are by far the cheapest bets on the table, at 2.78%, and everything else costs nearly three times as much or more. The attractive big payouts (60 to 1, 180 to 1) are priced below the true odds, and that is where the casino makes its money.
You can't beat the house with these bets. The edge is small, but it is always there, and no pattern changes the dice. Each roll is independent: after a triple, the chance of another triple is the same as it ever was.
Money and mindset
Sic Bo is fast, and it is easy to place several small bets each round that add up. Count the total across all your bets when you decide how much to risk, and decide in advance how much you can afford to lose. The bankroll simulator shows how a session can swing. If gambling is affecting your life, you can reach the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Quick recap
- Three dice, one roll, every bet settled from the same result.
- Big, Small, Odd and Even cost 2.78%, and they lose only on triples.
- Everything else costs at least 7.87%, and some bets cost 30% or more.
- The rare totals pay more but not nearly enough, so avoid chasing them.
- The dice have no memory.
Ready to practise? Try the bet trainer and odds table, then play at the free Sic Bo table. To compare Sic Bo with other games, see the best odds in the casino, or see how it compares to craps.
Table Edge