Sic Bo Odds

Published: 18/05/2012
Go To bet365
#Ad

The payout schedules used for Sic Bo vary quite widely, which makes it rather difficult to know exactly what Sic Bo odds should be. Typically, the payout rates are higher in Nevada than in Macau, but still higher in Australia than in the United States. For this brief examination, the odds and payouts used in Atlantic City are referenced, as they are neither the highest nor the lowest and may be found in casinos beyond New Jersey, too.

The House Edge on every Sic Bo spin ranges from a little less than 3% to a high of more than 30%, depending on the bet made and odds given. Strictly from an odds point of view, the best wager is on Big or Small, offering even money. Such bets fail whenever a Triple is spun, so the odds of winning on either wager are the same, 48.61%. That yields a House advantage of 2.78%, which is almost identical to the margin that prevails at the European Roulette table for even money wagers such as Odd or Even and Red or Black.

The biggest Sic Bo payout possible comes from winning on one of the six specified Triples. These pay 180-to-1 in Atlantic City and Australia, but only 150-to-1 in Macau. Despite the high odds, the House holds a 16.20% edge. In Macau, this advantage reaches 30.09%—clear evidence of why it is so important to look for tables with favourable odds.

The worst bet at the Sic Bo table from an odds perspective is Doubles. At a standard payout level of 10-to-1, the House advantage is 18.52%. In Macau, the reward for success drops to 8-to-1, so the House margin rises accordingly to 33.33%. That is triple the House Edge in Australia, where 11-to-1 is the usual payout and the margin is 11.11%.

Betting on a single number typically pays 1-to-1, 2-to-1 or 3-to-1 for success on one, two or three dice faces, respectively. That works out to a House edge of 7.87% on average. If a 12-to-1 payout for the Triple is offered, that lowers the margin substantially to a mere 3.7%.

A Three Dice Total of 4 or 17 pays 60-to-1 in Atlantic City, 50-to-1 in Macau and 62-to-1 in Australia. That means the expected House Edge of 15.28% can vary as high as 29.17% or as low as 8.33%. Again, it is to the player’s advantage to shop around for the best odds available for Sic Bo action. The tradeoff can be huge as the odds decrease.

Conversely, the player’s potential winnings increase greatly as the odds go up. Stories are still told of how the Grand Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi misprinted its odds in 1994. Rather than paying odds of 60-to-1 for the Three Dice Total of 4 or 17, the pit was offering 80-to-1.

Famed Chinese-American gambler Stanford Wong calculated that the error actually resulted in a 12.5% advantage for the players. As soon as professional gamblers learned of this opportunity, they flocked to Biloxi and racked up huge profits over several days before casino management discovered the error and closed the game to the public.

The odds on other Three Dice Totals vary widely, too. In Atlantic City, the 5 or 16 will pay 30-to-1, but 18-to-1 in Macau and 31-to-1 in Australia. Successful wagers on 6 or 15 pay 17-to-1, 14-to-1 and 18-to-1, respectively.

In fact, the only Three Dice Totals on which the three regions agree are the 6-to-1 payout on the 10 or 11, 8-to-1 on the 8 or 13 and 12-to-1 on the 7 or 14. Both Atlantic City and Macau offer payouts of 6-to-1 on 9 or 12, but Australia has them worth 7-to-1.

Published on: 18/05/2012

Go To bet365
#Ad
Comment on this article
Your Name:
Your Email:
What is  + 7
Commment: