Sic Bo in Macau

Posted by James K.
Oct 23 2015

Sic Bo is a game played with three dice, in which the player bets on the throw of the dice. Sic Bo was the game played in the casino scene, shot in Macau, in the movie The Man with the Golden Gun. The game is played on a large table, about the size of a small pool table. The players place their bets on the plastic surface. Then three dice in a shaker are shaken, the top removed, the dealer presses buttons for the roll, and all winning bets are illuminated on the table. Following is an explanation of the bets available.

• Big, Small: Total of dice is 3 to 10, or 11 to 18, respectively. Both bets will lose if any three of a kind is thrown. Wins pay 1 to 1.

• Odd, Even: Total of dice is odd or even. Both bets will lose if any three of a kind is thrown. Wins pay 1 to 1.

• Individual totals: There are 14 bets available, for every total from 4 to 17. Following is what each bet pays.

   

  1. 4 and 17: 50 to 1

  2. 5 and 16: 18 to 1

  3. 6 and 15: 14 to 1

  4. 7 and 14: 12 to 1

  5. 8 and 13: 8 to 1

  6. 9, 10, 11 ,and 12: 6 to 1

• Triple: Six bets are available on each three of a kind (111 to 666). Each pays 150 to 1

• Any triple: Wins if any triple is rolled. Pays 24 to 1

• Double: Six bets are available (1 to 6). Each wins if at least two of the chosen number is rolled. Wins pay 8 to 1

• xyz: I don't know the correct title of this bet, so made up my own. The player chooses a three-number combination, using three unique numbers, for example 1-3-5. The bet pays 30 to 1 if all three are rolled.

• xxy: Again, I don't know the correct title of this bet, so made up my own. The player chooses a three-number combination, using two unique numbers, and specifying which will be rolled twice. For example 2-2-4. The bet pays 50 to 1 if the roll matches exactly. In my example 2-2-4 only would win.

• wxyz: Once again, my own title. The player chooses a four-number combination, using four unique numbers. for example 1-3-4-6. The bet pays 7 to 1 if the roll matches three of the chosen numbers. In my example, 1-3-4, 1-3-6, 1-4-6, and 3-4-6 would be the only winners.

• xy: Hopefully, you get how I'm naming these bets. The player chooses a two-number combination, using two unique numbers. for example 2-5. The bet pays 5 to 1 if the roll contains both numbers. For example a bet on 2-5 would win on a rolls of 1-2-5, 2-2-5, 2-3-5, 2-4-5, 2-5-5, and 2-5-6.

• Any number: Six bets are available (1 to 6). If exactly one of the chosen number is rolled the bet pays 1 to 1, for two dice match wins pay 2 to 1, and all three dice match pays 3 to 1.

The following table shows the probability of winning and house edge of each bet.

Yee Hah Hi

In addition to the usual rules above, some Sic Bo tables in Macau uses dice with pictures, instead of dots. This game is called Yee Hah Hi, and acconts for about 10% of the Sic Bo tables in Macau. Yee Hah Hi translates to Fish Shrimp Crab, which are some of the symbols on the dice. The following table shows the symbols on the dice, the color, and what numbers they associate to.

All the same bets in conventional Sic Bo are available in Yee Hah Hi. In addition, Yee Hah Hi offers three more bets as follows.

• All same color: Wins if all three dice are the same color. Pays 7 to 1.


• Two of chosen color: Three bets are available (red, green, blue). Player wins if exactly two dice match the chosen color. Wins pay 3 to 1.


• One of chosen color: Three bets are available (red, green, blue). Player wins if exactly one die matches the chosen color. Wins pay 1 to 1.

The following table shows the probability of winning and house edge of each additional Yee Hah Hi bet.

For more information on Sic Bo, please visit my companion site, Wizard of Odds.