Sic Bo Dice Game

Sick Bo: A History

Like a lot of the popular Asian games today, Sic Bo dates back many centuries, first played by the Ancient Chinese. In fact, despite being a dice game, the origins of the game precede even the invention of the dice. It is said that the first versions of Sic Bo were played amongst ancient Chinese at the time when the original traditions and techniques of Karate and Tai Quon Do were first being formulated. When the martial arts fighters took breaks, they played Sic Bo using stones, bones or shells with symbols engraved on them.

As the popularity of the game grew, so it spread throughout China and beyond. Eventually dice replaced the stones and shells, and after some time, a third dice was also incorporated as the Sic Bo rules developed. Sic Bo means ‘dice pair’ even though the use of three dice has long been in place.  Depending on where you play, it is often referred to as Dai Siu (meaning ‘Big - Small’), or Dai Sai (‘Lucky dice’) and more recently and often in the west, it is called ‘Hi Lo’ or ‘Big and Small’. The rules for these variations and the Sic Bo rules are all essentially the same. Today it continues to be one of the most popular Asian Games, particularly throughout the Asian continent, and in Macau it is one of the most played games in the casinos.

Sic Bo first started being played in America in the early 19^th century, when it was brought across from Asia with other Asian Games by Chinese immigrants.  People soon began to learn how to play Sic Bo and enjoy the game, and it steadily grew in popularity. It was officially introduced in US casinos only in 2002. In many western casinos, it takes on the names ‘Hi Lo’ and ‘Big Small’. With the advent of online gambling, the popularity of Sic Bo has further spread and today enjoys the status of being the most played Asian game in online casinos. Over the years, Sic Bo has evolved to incorporate more aspects of other games, in particular that of an English game called ‘Bird Cage’ – where three dice are rolled in a small cage. (In traditional Sic Bo – the dice were rolled in a bowl – hence the game has sometimes been referred to as ‘rice bowl dice’). In modern casinos nowadays, the dice are often shaken and rolled mechanically. Upon landing, the table lights up illuminating the winning numbers and combinations. In online casinos, the roll is generated by the computer and the virtual table lights up as it would in a land casino.

Playing Sic Bo

To learn how to play Sic Bo is relatively easy and once the few Sic Bo rules have been mastered, the game is very simple to grasp. Players throw three dice and bet on the possible outcomes - which can be individual numbers, or a combination of numbers. The betting possibilities and the payouts for the various outcomes are represented on the detailed and brightly lit playing table. The style of combination betting in Sic Bo draws many similarities to Roulette and Craps compared to other Asian games. Sic Bo is a game of chance, with no skill involved. The only skills the player can incorporate are to place ‘wise bets’ based on his budget, and knowing the odds of the different betting options so he can place his bets accordingly.

How to Play Sic Bo Rules

To learn Sic Bo, you simply need to master the seven Sic Bo rules. These rules tell you not only the specific types of bets you can make, but also the payout for each bet:

1. Bets on a single number (1-6) showing on the face of any dice: 1:1 payout if that number shows once, 2:1 payout if that number shows twice, 3:1 payout if the number shows on all three dice.
2. Bets on a combination of two numbers showing on any two of the three dice: 5:1 payout.
3. Bets on the total of all three dice (between 4 and 17): Payout varies between 6:1 to 50:1, depending on the total bet.
4. Bets on ‘Big’ or ‘Small’ – ‘Big’ refers to a bet that the total from all three dice will be between 11-17  Bets on ‘Small’ are betting that the total from all three dice will be between 4-10.
5. A bet on one particular number showing on each of the three dice; 150:1 payout.
6. A bet on one particular number turning up on any of the two dice, 8:1 payout.
7. A bet can be made on any triplet of numbers (e.g.3x‘1’ or 3x’2’ or 3x’3’ etc) with a payout of 24:1.