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Quick answer: Sic Bo is a casino dice game played with three dice. You bet on what they’ll show, from simple Big/Small bets to exact triples. The best bet is Big or Small, which pays even money with a house edge of just 2.78%. The big-paying bets such as a specific triple (180:1) carry house edges of 15% or more. Below we explain the rules, every bet with its odds and house edge, and where to play Sic Bo online.
How do you play Sic Bo?
- Place your chips on one or more areas of the betting table: totals, Big/Small, single numbers, combinations, doubles or triples.
- The dealer shakes three dice in a covered shaker (or a random number generator does it in digital versions).
- The result is revealed and the winning areas light up. Winning bets are paid according to the paytable, and a new round begins.
You can place as many bets as you like in a round, and rounds are quick, so Sic Bo is one of the fastest table games in the casino. There’s no skill involved in the outcome, but bet selection makes a huge difference to how much you lose over time.
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Sic Bo bets, payouts and house edge
Payouts vary slightly between casinos and game providers, so always check the paytable at your table. The figures below are the most common ones, with the house edge calculated from the true odds of three dice (216 possible outcomes).
| Bet | Wins when… | Typical payout | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | Total is 4–10 (not a triple) | 1:1 | 2.78% |
| Big | Total is 11–17 (not a triple) | 1:1 | 2.78% |
| Odd / Even | Total is odd / even (not a triple) | 1:1 | 2.78% |
| Single number | Your number appears on 1, 2 or 3 dice | 1:1, 2:1 or 3:1 | 7.87% |
| Total of 4 or 17 | Exact total | 60:1 | 15.3% |
| Total of 5 or 16 | Exact total | 30:1 | 13.9% |
| Total of 6 or 15 | Exact total | 17:1 | 16.7% |
| Total of 7 or 14 | Exact total | 12:1 | 9.7% |
| Total of 8 or 13 | Exact total | 8:1 | 12.5% |
| Total of 9 or 12 | Exact total | 6:1 | 19.0% |
| Total of 10 or 11 | Exact total | 6:1 | 12.5% |
| Two-dice combination | Two chosen numbers both appear (e.g. 2 and 5) | 5:1 | 16.7% |
| Specific double | At least two dice show your number | 10:1 | 18.5% |
| Any triple | All three dice match | 30:1 | 13.9% |
| Specific triple | All three dice show your number | 180:1 | 16.2% |
Why triples matter
Big, Small, Odd and Even all lose when any triple is rolled, even if the total falls in your range. Triples come up 6 times in 216 rolls (about 2.8%), and that’s exactly where the casino’s edge on these bets comes from.
Why does Big/Small in Sic Bo have a 2.78% house edge?
We worked this out by counting every way three dice can land. Each die has 6 faces, so there are 6 × 6 × 6 = 216 results, and each one is equally likely.
- Take out the triples. There are 6 of them, from 1-1-1 to 6-6-6. That leaves 210 results.
- Split the rest in half. The totals are symmetrical. Turn each die over (a 1 becomes a 6, a 2 becomes a 5, and so on) and a total of 4 to 10 becomes a total of 11 to 17. So 105 of the 210 results are Small and 105 are Big.
- Count wins and losses. A Small bet wins on 105 results. It loses on the other 111: the 105 Big results plus the 6 triples.
- Work out the average. Bet £1 on each of the 216 results and you win £105 and lose £111. That is a loss of £6 per £216 staked, and 6 ÷ 216 = 2.78%.
The same count works for any bet. Here it is for four of them, staking £1 on each of the 216 results:
| Bet | Winning results (of 216) | Pays | Money back, including stakes | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big or Small | 105 | 1:1 | 105 × £2 = £210 | 6 ÷ 216 = 2.78% |
| Any triple | 6 | 30:1 | 6 × £31 = £186 | 30 ÷ 216 = 13.89% |
| Specific triple | 1 | 180:1 | 1 × £181 = £181 | 35 ÷ 216 = 16.20% |
| Specific double | 16 | 10:1 | 16 × £11 = £176 | 40 ÷ 216 = 18.52% |
In money terms, every £1,000 you bet on Big or Small costs about £28 on average. The same £1,000 on a specific triple costs about £162. Short sessions swing a lot either way, but over many rolls your results move towards these figures.
Is there a Sic Bo strategy that works?
No betting system can change the odds of three dice, but you can control how much the game costs you:
- Stick mainly to Big/Small or Odd/Even. At 2.78%, the house edge is close to European roulette’s even-money bets (2.70%) and far lower than any other Sic Bo bet.
- Treat high payouts as entertainment. Triples and extreme totals are fun, but they cost roughly five times more per bet over time than Big/Small.
- Compare paytables. A specific double paying 11:1 instead of 8:1 cuts the house edge from 33% to 11%.
- Avoid progression systems. Doubling up after losses (Martingale) only increases the size of your losing streaks.
- Set a budget. Sic Bo is fast. Decide what you’ll spend before you start.
Live and online Sic Bo versions
Online, you’ll find two kinds of Sic Bo:
- RNG Sic Bo: a digital table where a certified random number generator rolls the dice. It’s fast, often has low minimum bets, and is usually available in demo mode.
- Live dealer Sic Bo: real dice in a shaker, streamed from a studio. Providers such as Evolution offer versions like Super Sic Bo, which adds random multipliers to some bets. To fund those multipliers, base payouts are lower: a specific triple pays 150:1 before any multiplier instead of the usual 180:1, and a specific double pays 8:1 instead of 10:1. Big and Small still pay 1:1 and never get a multiplier. Check the paytable before you play.
Where to play Sic Bo online
Live Sic Bo is available at casinos that carry Evolution’s live casino. Among the casinos we’ve reviewed, that includes our top-rated 1win (9.9/10), along with iWild, FortuneJack and Tsars. Search the live casino lobby for “Sic Bo” to see which versions are available in your country.
A short history of Sic Bo
Sic Bo (骰寶, often translated as “precious dice” or “dice pair”) is an old Chinese dice game, closely related to the English games Grand Hazard and Chuck-a-Luck. It’s a staple of the casinos in Macau and across Asia. Chinese immigrants brought it to the United States in the early 20th century, but it only became a regular game in American and European casinos in the 1980s and 1990s. Online and live dealer versions have since made it popular well beyond Asia.
Sic Bo vs roulette vs craps
| Game | Best common bet | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Sic Bo | Big / Small | 2.78% |
| European roulette | Red / Black | 2.70% |
| Craps | Pass Line | 1.41% |
Sic Bo’s best bet is almost as good as European roulette’s even-money bets, and its paytable offers far more variety. If you want the lowest house edge of all, try blackjack with basic strategy.
How we checked this
- Payouts and house edges for every bet in the main table: Wizard of Odds and Wikipedia.
- Super Sic Bo base payouts (150:1 specific triple, 8:1 double) and no multipliers on Big/Small: Casino.org and the Pennsylvania gaming rules for Super Sic Bo.
- The name, the link to Grand Hazard and when the game reached the West: Wikipedia and Britannica. The two give different dates, so we give both.
- Our maths: the Big/Small house edge and the four-bet table above are our own count of all 216 dice outcomes.
Last checked: 13 October 2026, when we worked out the Sic Bo house edges from all 216 dice outcomes ourselves and matched every other figure to at least two outside sources.
Sic Bo FAQs
What is the best bet in Sic Bo?
Big or Small (and Odd or Even, where offered). They pay 1:1 with a house edge of 2.78%, the lowest in the game.
What does Big and Small mean in Sic Bo?
Small wins if the three dice total 4 to 10, and Big wins if they total 11 to 17. Both lose if any triple is rolled.
What is the highest payout in Sic Bo?
A specific triple, such as three sixes, usually pays 180:1. The odds of hitting it are 1 in 216.
Is Sic Bo luck or skill?
The outcome is pure luck. The only skill is choosing bets with a lower house edge and managing your bankroll.
Can I play Sic Bo online for free?
Yes. Many casinos offer RNG Sic Bo in demo mode. Live dealer versions require a real-money account.
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Check your local laws before you play
Online gambling laws differ from country to country, and in some places it is restricted or not permitted at all. Before you sign up to any casino listed on UltraGambler, check that online gambling is legal where you live and that the casino accepts players from your country. You must be 18 or older (or the legal gambling age in your country, if higher) to play. Only gamble with money you can afford to lose, and use the deposit limits and self-exclusion tools your casino provides if gambling stops being fun.
