Sic bo: rules, payouts and the house edge on every bet

Key facts

Sic bo is played with three dice, which can land 216 ways. You bet on totals, single numbers, pairs or triples, and the bets pay from 1 to 1 up to 180 to 1.
The cheapest bets are big, small, odd and even and the two-dice combination, each with a 2.78% house edge in our calculation. Big and small lose on any triple.
Australian rule books pay 12 to 1 when your single number appears on all three dice. That lifts the single number bet to a 3.70% edge, against 7.87% if a triple paid only 3 to 1.
Totals range from a 7.41% edge (9 or 12) to 12.50% (4, 17, 8, 13, 10 and 11). A specific triple at 180 to 1 costs 16.20%.
Sic bo is legal in person at Australian casinos under approved rules. Online sic bo cannot legally be offered to people in Australia.

Sic bo in one minute

Sic bo is a dice game played with three dice. You place chips on the layout, the dealer shakes the dice, and every bet that matches the result is paid. Evolution's Ezugi studio calls Asia the game's traditional home, and in Australia it appears in the rule books of Queensland, the ACT and Victoria.

Three dice can land 6 x 6 x 6 = 216 ways. Every sic bo price below comes from counting how many of those 216 outcomes win each bet.

Sic bo rules: the main bet types

Bet	Wins if	Combinations that win
Small	Total is 4 to 10, not a triple	105
Big	Total is 11 to 17, not a triple	105
Odd or even	Total is odd (or even), not a triple in range	105
Single number	Your number appears on one, two or three dice	91
Two-dice combination	Two chosen different numbers both appear, e.g. 1 and 4	30
Specific double	At least two dice show your number	16
Any triple	All three dice match	6
Specific triple	Three of your number	1
Total of 4 to 17	The three dice add up to your number	3 to 27
Four number combination (Queensland)	Any three of your four numbers appear, e.g. 1, 2, 3 and 4	24

The triples matter. In the Queensland Casino Gaming Rule, big, small, odd and even all lose when a triple lands in their range, and that single rule is the whole house edge on those bets.

Sic bo odds and house edge for every bet

The pay table is the same in schedule 8 of the Queensland Casino Gaming Rule (effective 24 December 2025) and the ACT's Casino Control (Sic Bo) Approval 2006. Victoria's approved rules pay the same on these bets. House edge is our calculation from the 216 outcomes.

Bet	Pays	Chance	House edge
Small or big	1 to 1	48.61%	2.78%
Odd or even	1 to 1	48.61%	2.78%
Two-dice combination	6 to 1	13.89%	2.78%
Single number	1, 2 or 12 to 1 for one, two or three dice	42.13%	3.70%
Total 9 or 12	7 to 1	11.57%	7.41%
Total 7 or 14	12 to 1	6.94%	9.72%
Total 5 or 16	31 to 1	2.78%	11.11%
Any triple	31 to 1	2.78%	11.11%
Specific double	11 to 1	7.41%	11.11%
Four number combination	7 to 1	11.11%	11.11%
Total 6 or 15	18 to 1	4.63%	12.04%
Total 4 or 17	62 to 1	1.39%	12.50%
Total 8 or 13	8 to 1	9.72%	12.50%
Total 10 or 11	6 to 1	12.50%	12.50%
Specific triple	180 to 1	0.46%	16.20%

The spread is wide. The cheapest bets cost $2.78 per $100 bet on average; a specific triple costs $16.20. Totals look tempting because they pay big odds, but six of the fourteen totals carry a 12.5% edge.

The single number bet, Australian style

The single number bet pays according to how many dice show your number. Out of 216 rolls, your number appears on exactly one die 75 times, on two dice 15 times and on all three once. The Queensland and ACT rule books pay 1 to 1, 2 to 1 and 12 to 1 for those cases.

If three of your number pays	House edge on the single number bet (our calculation)
12 to 1 (Queensland, ACT, Victoria option A)	3.70%
3 to 1	7.87%

That generous triple is why the single number bet is close to the cheapest on the Australian layout. Do not assume every table pays it: read the layout first.

Pundit tip: if a table lists a single number triple at 3 to 1, the same bet costs more than twice as much. Stick to big, small, odd, even or a two-dice combination there.

A worked round

You bet $10 on small, $5 on a two-dice combination of 2 and 5, and $5 on total 9. The dice show 2, 2 and 5: total 9.

Bet	Result	Paid
Small ($10)	9 is small, not a triple	Wins $10
2 and 5 combination ($5)	Both numbers appear	Wins $30 (6 to 1)
Total 9 ($5)	Total is 9	Wins $35 (7 to 1)

A great round. On average, though, that $20 spread costs about $0.28 (small) + $0.14 (combination) + $0.37 (total 9) = $0.79 a round, in our calculation, and a fast table can deal many rounds an hour.

Multipliers and statistics on online sic bo

Evolution's First Person Super Sic Bo randomly picks "from zero to several" bet spots each round for multipliers of up to 1000x. Its page also shows the past nine results and a roadmap of small, big and triple results, saying they "can help you guide your betting choices". They cannot: the dice have no memory, so the last nine rolls tell you nothing about the next one. If a game adds multipliers, assume its base pay table differs from the one above and check the game's rules for its stated return.

Sic bo compared

The best sic bo bets, at 2.78%, are in the same range as single zero roulette and well above baccarat banker or the craps line bets. For the dice game with the cheapest bets, see craps odds. Our house edge guide explains the method and best odds casino games ranks sic bo against every other game.

Sic bo in Australia

Sic bo is on the list of table games approved for Melbourne's casino, has its own schedule in the Queensland Casino Gaming Rule and an approval for Casino Canberra in the ACT. Online sic bo, live or animated, is a casino game that cannot legally be offered to people in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. It is not an offence to play it, but an offshore site leaves you with no Australian regulator if something goes wrong. If you are spending more than you planned, the gambling help page has free support, and our money wheel game and gambler's fallacy pages cover two more traps for the hopeful.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you play sic bo?

Place chips on one or more bets on the layout, then the dealer shakes three dice in a covered shaker or tumbler. Bets that match the result are paid at the odds printed on the layout, and all others lose. There are no decisions after the dice are shaken.

What is the best bet in sic bo?

Big or small, odd or even, or a two-dice combination. In our calculation each has a 2.78% house edge with the Queensland and ACT pay tables. Every other sic bo bet costs more.

What are the sic bo odds for a triple?

Any triple comes up 6 times in 216, or 2.78% of rounds. A specific triple, such as three 4s, comes up once in 216 (0.46%). At 31 to 1 and 180 to 1, those bets carry edges of 11.11% and 16.20% in our calculation.

Why do big and small lose on a triple?

That is where the house edge on those bets comes from. Big and small each cover 105 of the 216 outcomes, and the six triples beat both. Without that rule both bets would be even money with no edge.

Can you play sic bo online in Australia?

Not legally from an Australian licensed site. Online sic bo is a casino-style game that cannot be offered to people in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act. You can play in person at licensed casinos.