Sic bo is a table game that originated in China centuries ago and is very popular in Asian casinos. Several Las Vegas casinos also offer Sic bo.

Sic bo is played with three dice on a special game layout. The name is said to mean “dice pair or dice cup”. Other names of the game are tai sai (said to mean “lucky dice”) and tai siu (which does mean “big-small”) or hi-lo in modern gaming concepts. English variations include Grand Hazard and Chuck-a-luck. The “high-tech” version of Sic bo played in casinos involves the use of a mechanical dice shaker, with the outcomes keyed into a computer that indicates on the layout (by back lighting) the winning zones. An even higher tech version can bypass the physical dice altogether and just simulate the dice rolls through a random number generator.

Like many other casino games, a player can make bets by placing chips at any number of locations on the table layout. Winning involves successfully matching the bets with the combinations that arise on the shake of the three dice. It is possible to find some variation in the array of winning combinations and their payoffs from one casino to another.

Just about any combination of the three dice can be bet upon. Triples have a special status in Sic bo. A bet can be placed on a specific triple or on all triples.

The “big/little” bet is most common, which bets on combinations of “big” (total score over 11, not counting triples) or “small” (total score of 10 or less, not counting triples). It is also possible to bet on “even” or “odd” (which also excludes triples). Bets can be placed on any specific double, or all doubles, and on any other specific combination of two or three dice, or even on the appearance of a specific number on any one of the dice. A bet can also be placed on any specific total for three dice. One can bet that three out of four numbers chosen will appear on the three dice.

The following table is illustrative of the options and payoffs. These payoffs are just about as generous as they get. Sometimes a casino will pay 1 bet less than that listed here. Be mindful that a casino can also creatively structure other bets, often with nice house advantages built in.

A similar dice game that reads a dice roll and rewards combinations is Hazard (two dice). Similar to Sic bo, it is of English origin. Grand Hazard is played with three dice. In both cases, outcomes are generated by having the dice roll down a sloped, wooden channel that zig-zags to the table surface. Chuck-a-Luck (also called bird cage) is an American dice game with the same objective of shaking three dice and reading them against an array of winning combinations. In Chuck-a-luck the mechanism for the dice roll is a cage shaped like a bird cage, enclosing the three dice. It is rotated vertically by the croupier and then the dice settle on the bottom of the cage when it is returned to vertical. By tradition, Chuck-a-luck only rewards single-number wagers at various payoffs or a bet on any triple at 30:1 (edge of -14%).