How to Play Sic Bo Online and Win Money

Sic bo is a popular table game, albeit not enjoying the same level of love as roulette, blackjack or baccarat. It’s played using three dice and a sic bo table. At first glance, the table looks really similar to the craps table in the way it’s divided. But don’t make the mistake of thinking sic bo is just another version of craps. In craps, certain bets depend on previous rolls of the dice – which invites a lot of strategy planning. In sic bo, each roll of the dice ensures a win or loss.

Still, even though it’s a more volatile game, sic bo is played for its variation in odds and betting types. Depending on the type of bet the player chooses, it can be an ideal game for both beginners and high rollers. You can play sic bo at any of the casinos listed below!

 

There isn’t much complication to playing sic bo. The first step is to choose your table, or log into a session in the case of sic bo online. Once you’ve done that, take a look at the types of bet being offered at the table. The ‘types’ will always be the same, no matter if you play in Macau, Canada, Australia or wherever. What does differ from casino to casino, or from software provider to another, is the payouts for the bet types. For example, a specific ‘4 and 17’ bet (which you’ll read more about below) can have a payout of 50:1 in Macau, and 60: 1 in Atlantic City. The payouts should be clearly displayed on the table beneath each bet. Take a look at the image above to get an idea of what we’re talking about ⇑.

Anyway, after you’ve had a good look at the payouts you’re ready to choose your bet. Place your chips on the bet section you want on the table. You can place as much money on as many bets as you want per round. Then, wait for the roll of those three dice and the following cash-outs. Repeat for each and every round. Simple right?

Since online casinos started opening their doors in the early 2000s, sic bo online has become huge with international players. Probably becomes the maths is a little more complicated with this game than with, say, craps or roulette. More of a challenge to high rollers and pros.

Sic bo online is played just like the land-based game. You either choose to play the table game version or the live casino version. They’re the same in terms of gameplay, it’s just that in live casino you have a live dealer and you’re playing against other players. Just click on the type of bet you want, and choose how much you’d like to wager on said bet.

The only real difference is that the game is made out of coded software. There are specific developers, like Microgaming and Playtech, behind online versions of the game. But don’t worry, this software is probably even safer and more fair than the land-based games. Sic bo online comes with different payouts and house edge rates than the land-game, for example. Take a look at the table below, taken from this site, for a detailed comparison between three main sic bo online providers:

The numbers in brackets is the house edge percentage of each provider for that particular bet. As we’ll see further down – this actually shows that sic bo online has better payouts and less house edge for the online casino. Not to mention, sic bo online game versions are more convenient to play and also mobile.

While it’s true that sic bo involves a lot of luck, more so than the other table games, there is a certain amount of strategy that can be used. In this sic bo guide, we’ll be separating any possible sic bo strategy into three types: beginner strategy, casual strategy and high roller strategy.

Beginner Strategy

If you’re a beginner at sic bo, the first thing you should do is not go to a land-casino. Playing at land-casinos is usually for the more seasoned players who know the bets like the inside of their hand. Unless you have a big wad of cash you’re willing to blow, this isn’t the best way to go.

Instead, try your hand at sic bo at your online casino first. If you’re too intimated to go straight to live casino – that’s fine. Providers like Microgaming and Playtech also design sic bo table games, where it’s just you and the computer.

Next, set yourself a budget. And keep to that budget as you’re playing. Since sic bo allows you to place various bets per round, it can be easy to lose track of your bankroll. The most important factor about playing sic bo for the first time is the type of bets you choose. Beginners should always stick to Small and Big bets to start off with. This is due to their very low house edge of 2.78%.

Once you win 1:1 bets, you can then use the money won to double your initial wager and experiment with the casino’s money instead of yours. For example, if you wager $5 on a Small bet and you win, you’ll get an equal $5 from the casino to play with $10. Once you’re more comfortable with the way the game works, you can advance to other more risky types of bets.

Experienced Strategy

Once you’ve developed a more fluent understanding of how the game works, you can up your sic bo strategy. Take more of a chance. Not only does this mean wagering on bets with more house edge and more of a payout rate, but also betting on more than one outcome per roll.

At this more experienced level, you can start what’s termed ‘combination’ betting. Meaning, combining different types of bets to increase your chances of winning. For example, if you place a wager on a Double bet of 1 you’re planning for a scenario where at least two dice land ‘1’. In this scenario, the total would necessarily be a maximum of 8 (because 1+1+ the highest possible number for the third dice, 6 = 8). So, you can also place a bet on Big or a Total bet of ’13’ in the case where the scenario you planned out doesn’t play through.

It’s basically a lot of mind-games with yourself, which is always fun. But the end-game here is to create a safety net for yourself.

High Roller Strategy

When you’re a high roller looking for excitement, you don’t really give a crap about safety nets. But, thankfully, with a solid sic bo strategy you can still have your fun while having safety nets in place. You’ll be thankful in the long run, trust us. But – the mode of thinking, in this case, isn’t so much ‘safety net’ as it is to win as many times as possible on the same roll. Meaning: how many different bets can you make that will all payout with a specific result?

Here is a case example of how a high roller should think when playing sic bo:

Bet Total 8, Double 1, 2 and 3. Say you bet three units on a Total 8 and 2 units each on Doubles 1, 2 and 3. The results of the dice could be 1-1-6, 2-2-4, and 3-3-2 and you’ll have cashed out on two different bets (the doubles, and the total). This strategy can be repeated in a lot of different ways. For example, you can bet 3 units on a total of 13, and 2 units each on doubles 4, 5 and 6. In addition, place a 2 unit bet on a Combination bet of 4-5. This means that for a bet of a value of 11 units you could get three different wins – 27 units if the Total 13 wins, 22 units if the doubles win, and 12 units if the combination wins.

Sound strategy, but still pretty risky in terms of the money you’ll be wagering.

As you might have noticed, even though sic bo is more dependent on luck than craps – it is by far a more complicated game to play. In fact, a lot of casinos know that sic bo players tend to be more skilled players who know their stuff. That’s why beginners should stick to online casinos if they’re looking to have fun and not worry too much about messing up.

So, remember, always keep in mind some kind of sic bo strategy before going in for the real deal.