Sic Bo is an ancient Chinese dice game played with three dice in a small shaker. The layout is crowded with bets: totals, doubles, triples, pairs of numbers and single numbers. It looks like a game of hunches. But three dice can only land 216 ways, so every bet’s odds are known exactly. Some bets cost you under 3%. Others cost more than 40%. Bet selection is the whole game, and this guide shows you which bets are which. All edges below are exact, from enumerating all 216 rolls, and match the Wizard of Odds paytables for Macau, Atlantic City and Australia.
How to play
- Place your bets. Put chips on any areas of the layout. You can make as many bets as you like on one roll.
- The roll. The dealer shakes the three dice under a dome or in a shaker.
- The reveal. The dice are shown.
- Settle up. Losing bets are swept and winners are paid at the posted odds. Example: the dice show 3-3-5, a total of 11. Big wins, and so do a bet on the 3-5 combination, a bet on specific double 3s, and single-number bets on 3 (paid 2:1 for two 3s) and 5 (paid 1:1).
Payouts
Sic Bo paytables vary more than any other casino game. The three below are the published tables Wizard of Odds lists; Las Vegas tables vary. Payouts are “X to 1.”
| Bet | Wins when | Macau | Atlantic City | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small / Big | Total 4–10 / 11–17, not a triple | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Odd / Even | Total odd / even, not a triple | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total 4 or 17 | Exact total | 50 | 60 | 62 |
| Total 5 or 16 | Exact total | 18 | 30 | 31 |
| Total 6 or 15 | Exact total | 14 | 17 | 18 |
| Total 7 or 14 | Exact total | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Total 8 or 13 | Exact total | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Total 9 or 12 | Exact total | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Total 10 or 11 | Exact total | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Specific triple | All three dice show your number | 150 | 180 | 180 |
| Any triple | Any three of a kind | 24 | 30 | 31 |
| Specific double | At least two dice show your number | 8 | 10 | 11 |
| Two-dice combination | Two different numbers you pick both appear | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Single number | Your number on 1 / 2 / 3 dice | 1 / 2 / 3 | 1 / 2 / 3 | 1 / 2 / 12 |
House edge of every bet
| Bet | Win chance | Macau | Atlantic City | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small / Big | 48.61% | 2.78% | 2.78% | 2.78% |
| Odd / Even | 48.61% | 2.78% | 2.78% | 2.78% |
| Total 4 or 17 | 1.39% | 29.17% | 15.28% | 12.50% |
| Total 5 or 16 | 2.78% | 47.22% | 13.89% | 11.11% |
| Total 6 or 15 | 4.63% | 30.56% | 16.67% | 12.04% |
| Total 7 or 14 | 6.94% | 9.72% | 9.72% | 9.72% |
| Total 8 or 13 | 9.72% | 12.50% | 12.50% | 12.50% |
| Total 9 or 12 | 11.57% | 18.98% | 18.98% | 7.41% |
| Total 10 or 11 | 12.50% | 12.50% | 12.50% | 12.50% |
| Specific triple | 0.46% | 30.09% | 16.20% | 16.20% |
| Any triple | 2.78% | 30.56% | 13.89% | 11.11% |
| Specific double | 7.41% | 33.33% | 18.52% | 11.11% |
| Two-dice combination | 13.89% | 16.67% | 16.67% | 2.78% |
| Single number | 34.72% (any) | 7.87% | 7.87% | 3.70% |
Strategy
There are no decisions once the dice roll, so strategy means choosing bets. Here’s the short version.
1. Bet Big or Small
These are the cheapest bets on every paytable, at 2.78%. Odd and Even, where offered, are the same price. If you want to play Sic Bo for a long time on a modest bankroll, these are your bets.
2. On an Australian paytable, two more bets are reasonable
The two-dice combination at 6:1 (instead of 5:1) drops to 2.78%, the same as Big and Small. Totals of 9 or 12 at 7:1 come down to 7.41%. The single-number bet at 12:1 for a triple costs 3.70%.
3. Avoid triples, doubles and the extreme totals
These are the bets with the big payouts, and they cost 11% to 47%. A specific triple pays 150:1 or 180:1, but it only hits 1 time in 216. A fair price would be 215:1. The gap between those numbers is the house’s share.
4. Read the paytable first
The same bet can cost very different amounts at different tables. Total 4 or 17 is 12.50% at 62:1 but 29.17% at 50:1. Total 5 or 16 is 11.11% at 31:1 but 47.22% at 18:1. If you’re going to make a long-shot bet, check what it pays first.
A quick way to remember it
The house edge on Big and Small equals the chance of rolling a triple: 6 triples out of 216 rolls is 2.78%. Without the triple rule, Big and Small would be a fair coin flip. Every other bet is priced further from fair, and the bigger the payout, the more room the house has to shave it.
Common mistakes
- Chasing triples. A specific triple costs 16.20% to 30.09% depending on the paytable; any triple costs 11.11% to 30.56%.
- Playing totals 5 or 16 at 18:1. At 47.22%, that’s one of the worst bets in any casino, about 17 times the cost of Big or Small.
- Assuming payouts are standard. They aren’t. A specific double pays 8:1, 10:1 or 11:1 depending on the table, and its edge runs from 33.33% down to 11.11%.
- Spreading chips across the layout. Covering many bets doesn’t lower the edge; it just mixes cheap bets with expensive ones.
- Betting single numbers on a Macau or Atlantic City table. At 7.87%, they cost almost three times as much as Big or Small.
House edge explained
With three dice there are 6 × 6 × 6 = 216 equally likely results. Each bet’s edge is the gap between its payout and its true odds over those 216 rolls. Big and Small win 105 times out of 216 and lose 111 times, because the 6 triples count as losses. That’s a 2.78% edge.
The paytable drives everything else. Macau’s paytable is the harshest of the three on long shots. Atlantic City pays more on most of them. Australia pays the most on several, which is why its two-dice combination and 9/12 totals are much cheaper there.
The best bets are Big, Small, Odd and Even (2.78% everywhere), plus the 6:1 two-dice combination on an Australian table. The worst are the Macau totals of 5/16 (47.22%), the Macau specific double (33.33%) and the Macau triples (about 30%). For comparison, the craps pass line is 1.41% and a double-zero roulette wheel is 5.26%.
Practice in Casino Coach
Casino Coach’s Sic Bo table lets you switch between the Macau, Atlantic City and Australian paytables, with Atlantic City as the default. In trainer mode, every bet you place is graded for its house edge, and you can block high-edge bets entirely. Three drills cover the rest: Better bet, where you pick the cheaper of two bets on one paytable, with misses coming back more often; Payout calculation, where you read the dice and pay every winning bet; and House edge quiz, built on exact edges from all 216 rolls. Analytics track your results against expected value. Chips are free and have no cash value. Train Sic Bo free and learn the layout before you play.
Sic Bo FAQ
What is the best bet in Sic Bo?
Big or Small, at a 2.78% house edge. Odd and Even have the same edge where they're offered. On an Australian paytable, the two-dice combination at 6 to 1 is also 2.78%.
Why do Big and Small lose on triples?
That's where the house edge comes from. Big and Small would be fair even-money bets, but a triple happens on 6 of the 216 possible rolls, and the edge is exactly that chance, 2.78%.
What are the worst bets in Sic Bo?
On the Macau paytable, totals of 5 or 16 at 18 to 1 cost 47.22%, and the specific double at 8 to 1 costs 33.33%. Triples, doubles and the extreme totals cost 11% or more on every paytable.
Do Sic Bo payouts differ between casinos?
Yes, a lot. Wizard of Odds lists different paytables for Macau, Atlantic City and Australia, and Las Vegas tables vary. The same bet can cost 12.50% at one table and 29.17% at another.
Is there a Sic Bo strategy that beats the house?
No. Every bet has a fixed house edge. The only strategy is to choose low-edge bets and avoid the expensive ones.
Practise Sic Bo until it's automatic
Real table, free chips, and a trainer that grades every decision with the expected value of each option.
Updated October 24, 2026