Sic Bo
Sic Bo is a three-dice game that looks like Craps but plays nothing like it. The smart bets are limited — Big (sum 11–17), Small (sum 4–10), and odd/even all carry around 2.8% house edge. Almost every other bet is significantly worse, and the specific triple bets (predict the exact roll) carry house edges so high they border on entertainment-tax. Played correctly with discipline, it's a slow grind. Played wrong, it's one of the worst-EV games on the casino floor.
How to play sic bo
- 1Three dice are rolled (or generated by RNG).
- 2Bet on the outcome: Big (sum 11–17), Small (sum 4–10), specific totals (e.g. sum equals 9), specific triples (e.g. all three dice show 4), single-die hits, dice combinations, etc.
- 3The dealer/RNG reveals the result. Winning bets pay per the paytable.
- 4Big/Small lose on triples (any all-same roll like 1-1-1) — that's where the house edge comes from.
What the numbers actually say
| House edge — Big / Small | 2.78% |
| House edge — Odd / Even | 2.78% |
| House edge — Total of 4 or 17 | 15.28% |
| House edge — Specific triple (e.g. 1-1-1) Pays 180:1 typically; true odds 215:1 | ~16% |
| House edge — Any triple | 11.11% |
| House edge — Single die hit | 7.87% |
The rules that actually matter
Only play Big/Small or Odd/Even
Why · Sub-3% house edge — among the better bets on the table. Everything else gets significantly worse.
Avoid all proposition bets
Why · Specific triples, total bets at extreme ends (4 or 17), and combination bets all carry double-digit house edges.
Sic Bo is a slow grind, not a strategy game
Why · There is no skill component beyond bet selection. Don't expect to 'beat' Sic Bo with patterns.
Common mistakes that cost real money
Our take, scored
Gamsites editorial rating · weighted aggregate combines all four dimensions · see manifesto for the rubric
Casinos with sic bo
How we sourced this
House-edge figures are standard Sic Bo math. Payouts vary slightly by operator — verify paytable before extended play.
Sic Bo questions, answered
What is the house edge in sic bo?+
With optimal strategy, Sic Bo carries a house edge of ~2.8% (Big/Small). Typical (non-optimal) play runs at ~10–30% (specific triple bets). The gap between the two is the recoverable EV — see the strategy section.
Can you beat sic bo with strategy?+
Only play Big/Small or Odd/Even Sub-3% house edge — among the better bets on the table. Everything else gets significantly worse.
What is the most common mistake in sic bo?+
Chasing specific triples for the 180:1 payout Cost: ~16% house edge — among the worst on the casino floor.
Where can I play sic bo?+
Sic Bo is carried by 4 of the casinos we cover. See the "where to play" section on this page for the full list with tracked sign-up links.