Sic Bo is one of those card games that you find at almost every online casino that accepts Australian players. It is a popular game of chance that has been around since thousands of years in China. The name Sic Bo literally translates to 'two bricks', which was later modified to be understood as 'dice pair'. This is because the game originally involved players tossing bricks that had numbers etched on the sides. The words 'two' and 'pair' indicate that the game was possibly played initially with 2 dice. At some point in time things changed and three dice were used instead of two.
Nowadays, you play it with three dice that you roll and place bets on the outcome. This is a game of chance as you cannot predict the outcome of a dice roll, but basic strategy is available to help you minimise the chances of losing frequently. The game may look intimidating to a new player given the array of betting options available but once you play it you know that it is simple and a lot of fun. Other names that Sic Bo is known by include Dai Siu or Tai Sai, which translates to 'Big Small'.
Best Online Sic Bo Casinos for Australian Players
You can play Sic Bo at most of the online casinos accepting Australian players. In this section we have compiled for you a list of the top online Sic Bo casinos for Australian players. All these casinos have been tested rigorously and vetted by our team of experts for all features that you look for in a good casino, including safety and reliability, fair play, range of payment methods available and customer support.
Playing Sic Bo for Free
Sic Bo comes with a large number of betting options and a unique table layout, among other things. One of the best ways of familiarizing oneself with the game is to practice the game without spending money and opting for the free practice play mode.
All the casinos that we have listed for you offer the game in free practice play mode. You can play for as long as you want in this mode. Once you are familiar with the game you can get down to playing for real money.
Brief History of Sic Bo
While Sic Bo has been around for ages, the game moved to the USA sometime in the 19th century when Chinese immigrants moved to that country for the construction of the transcontinental railroad. The game at that time was played exclusively in the labour camps by the Chinese labourers that inhabited them. The game caught the eye of other people and players sometime in the early 20th century, possibly between the 1920s and the 1940s.
The game caught the fancy of the Americans and it came to be known by different names, including Chuck-a-Luck and Birdcage. It also moved to the UK, where it was merged with an existing game of chance called Hazard and came to be called Grand Hazard. Even with these modifications the original game survived. It became popular across the world and especially in Macau, which was at that time a Portuguese colony.
In 1970 Stanley Ho opened the Hotel Lisboa Casino in Macau, where you could find Sic Bo right next to the roulette tables. The success of Sic Bo in Macau meant it found its way to Las Vegas and Reno, initially in the back rooms and by the 1990s in the main gambling areas. The arrival of the online casino made Sic Bo hugely popular, with players from across the world being able to play the game from their homes for real money and also in free play mode.
Understanding the Sic Bo Table Layout
Sic Bo table layout may seem quite intimidating when you first see it. There are just too many graphics and symbols - including Chinese ones especially at the tables in land-based casinos - to take in at first glance. Once you spend a little time going through the table contents, however, you will find that it is all quite simple.
The following is an explanation of the different sections of a standard Sic Bo table that you will find at any of the top Australian online casinos that we have listed here.
The bottom row has a list of single digit numbers. This row is used for placing single number bets, i.e. bets on the possibility of the dice roll resulting in a single number output. The text below the numbers listed provides information about the payouts for the number of times a number hits.
Just above the bottom row is the middle area with two distinctly marked out areas forming the top and the bottom portion of that section. The bottom part of the middle area has images that resemble dominoes. In this section all the possible combinations possible with 2 dice are laid out for the player to see and bet on.
In the upper half of the middle area are the numbers 4 through to 17. These numbers represent the total values that you can place bets on while playing. The odds associated with the payouts vary from one number to another; this is because the probability of some numbers landing is more than that of others.
And then finally we come to the top portion of the table. This portion has a lot of images and information and can be very confusing for a new player. However, if you observe this portion of the table carefully you will find that it is quite symmetrically laid out:
- At the left corner are the small bets.
- At the right corner are the big bets.
- The panels just next to the left and right corners are for specific double bets that you can place - 1, 2 and 3 on the left and 4, 5 and 6 on the right.
- The section just next to it is where you can place specific triple bets. These include 1-1-1, 2-2-2 and 3-3-3 on the left and 4-4-4, 5-5-5 and 6-6-6 on the right.
- At the centre of the entire panel is the section where you can place bets on any triple.
How to Play Sic Bo at Your Favourite Australian Online Casino
Playing Sic Bo at your favourite online casino is easy. The basic steps are the same as for any online casino game:
- Open an account with the casino by clicking the Register or Sign Up button and providing all your details that the casino asks for in the form provided.
- Click Submit to complete the registration process.
- Open your e-mail to view the mail that the casino has sent you. This mail will have a link that you must click to validate and finally open your account.
Once your account is open log in using your casino credentials. Click the Games tab for a listing of the games and click on Sic Bo. The game will open in a new screen; in some casinos it opens on the same screen, however.
- Place your wagers before rolling the dice. The Sic Bo table layout has specific places where you can click to place your wagers. You can choose from the different bet types available. You get from 1 to 1 payouts to payouts that pay as high as 150 to 1 or even 180 to 1. Ensure that the wagers you have placed are within the minimum and maximum permissible limits.
- Once you have placed your wagers hit the appropriate button to roll the dice. This is quite different from the way it is done in a land-based casino: there the dealer calls out 'no more bets' and then rolls the dice using an electronically operated cage.
- Once the dice roll is over the numbers on the faces of the die are shown and the winnings are paid out on the basis of the bets placed. The table is then cleared and you are ready for the next game.
Playing at an online casino is quite different from playing at a land-based casino. The lack of a human dealer takes away hugely from the overall experience at an online casino. The game is played between you and the dealer, unlike at a land-based casino where other players would be involved as well. The bridging has been done with the emergence of Live Dealer Sic Bo, a game that you find being offered by a few live dealer casino software specialists like Evolution Gaming.
Sic Bo Bets and Payouts for Australian Players
One of the things about Sic Bo that make it such an engrossing and fun game to play is the wide range of betting options available. Australian land-based casinos are said to have the best payouts for Sic Bo in the whole world. When you play at an online casino the payouts will vary depending on the software, the online casino you are playing at and also your geographic location.
The following is a listing of the different Sic Bo bets available to Australian players and the payouts associated with each of them.
Small bet
This bet gives you a win if the sum of the values of the 3 dice rolled is between 4 and 10. The exception is the dice roll being a triple - all three dice showing the same value. This bet pays out at 1:1.
Big bet
This bet gives you a win if the sum of the values of the 3 dice rolled is between 11 and 17. The exception is the dice roll being a triple. This bet pays out 1:1.
Total values
This bet gives you a win if you are able to pick out the total value of the 3 dice. The highest payout is for picking out the numbers 4 and 17, at 62:1 while the lowest payout is for picking the numbers 10 and 11, at 6:1.
Any triple
This bet gives you a win if the 3 dice show the same number regardless of what it is. This bet pays out 32:1.
Specific triples
This bet gives you a win if you are able to pick out a specific triple value and the dice roll also results in the same value. The payout for this bet is 180:1 and is among the highest payouts.
Specific doubles
This bet gives you a win if you are able to pick out the specific value shown by 2 of the 3 dice. For instance if you bet on a double 2, you would win if the dice roll showed up 2-3-2. This bet pays out 11:1.
Two-dice combination
This bet gives you a win if 2 of the numbers you picked show up on 2 of the dice at the end of a roll. For instance you bet on the number 3 and 4 and they both show up at the end of a dice roll. This bet pays 6:1.
Single number bet
This bet gives you a win if the single number you picked shows up at the end of a dice roll. The payout varies depending on how many dice show the number:
- 1:1 for the number showing up singly.
- 2:1 for the number showing up as a double.
- 12:1 for the number showing up as a triple.
There are two other bets that you can find at some of the casinos. These are bets that usually high rollers opt for:
Three or four
You choose 4 numbers from 1 to 6 and win if any 3 of them show up on the dice at the end of a roll. The payout is usually 7:1.
Evens or odds
This bet gives you a win if you are able to predict correctly whether the total of the 3 dice values at the end of a roll will be odd or even. The bet pays out 1:1.
Sic Bo Variants at Australian Online Casinos
There are different variants of Sic Bo that have come up over the years, some of which we briefly mentioned earlier. Once the original game came to the attention of non-Chinese players in different countries, it was only natural for modified versions to arise. We take a look at a few popular variants in this section.
Grand Hazard
This game emerged in the UK once Sic Bo reached that country. It was formed by merging the original game of Sic Bo with an already existing game called Hazard. You find this game at land-based casinos usually: the dice are rolled down through a chute and on to the layout. The wagers are usually the same as in the original Sic Bo game you find at online casinos and the payout varies from 1:1 to 180:1.
Chuck-a-Luck
This game came about first in the USA towards the middle of the 20th century. The game is also referred to as Birdcage because the dice are rolled out in what looks like a birdcage. It is seemingly a simplified variant of Grand Hazard.
The commonly found bets in this game are single dice bets. Other bets available include standard ones like big, small, any triple and more. You still find this game at some of the land-based casinos.
Yee Hah Hi
This variant of Sic Bo, as the name indicates, is found commonly in Macau. The name literally translates to 'Fish Shrimp Crab'. You will also find it in some of the land-based casinos in Australia and New Zealand. The dice have pictures instead of numbers, with each image standing for a number from 1 to 6. Color coding helps place bets on the number of symbols of a specific color showing up after a dice roll. The rules of the game are otherwise similar to the standard Sic Bo game.
Advantages of Playing Sic Bo Online
Playing Sic Bo Online offers a few definite advantages compared to a game of Sic Bo at a land-based casino.
- The game is definitely faster than at a land-based casino because the game is being operated by software, not a person.
- You can adjust game speed when playing at an online casino.
- You can actually play multiple hands per minute, something that you cannot do at a land-based casino.
- You can play the game comfortably at your pace from your home; all you need is a laptop or a computer. And if you are a fan of mobile casino gambling you can play it literally anywhere, anytime, as long as you have a smartphone or tablet to play it from.
- You can practice the game for hours on end in free practice play mode at your favorite Australian online casino before you actually spend money playing it. This is something you do not get to do at a land-based casino.
- You may get different variants of Sic Bo to try out if you are playing at a multi-platform online casino, as different software providers add their own little flavor to the game.
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AuthorSharon Kingsby
Sharon lives and breathes online casinos. She answers all your how, why, where questions to make your online gambling journey fun and successful. read more about the author
