Sic Bo and Pai Gow Casinos

Sic Bo Gameplay

Like Craps Sic Bo is played on a table where you place bets that depend upon the roll of the dice.  However in Sic Bo three dice are used meaning there are 216 possible outcomes based upon the roll of the dice.  As such with the extra die it is possible to create many more betting opportunities including ones with large  payouts. 

Popular Sic Bo Bets 

The most common bets in Sic Bo are called 'Big' and 'Small'.  To win a Small bet the 3 dice should total between 4-10, a Big bet is won when the 3 dice total 11-17.  Both of these bets pay even money and have a low house edge.  Another easy Sic Bo bet is to wager whether the dice total will be even or odd, this is also an even money bet except when the dice show up as three of a kind. For a graphical explanation see the Sic Bo odds table below

Advanced Sic Bo Betting

For higher odds you can bet on the chance that a specific number or pair of numbers will show up.  These bets are known as singles, doubles, and triples.  In a single you’re simply betting that one of the 3 dice will be a six for example.  If the six shows up you’ll get even money but if it shows up twice you’ll get paid 6-1, and 12-1 if it shows up three times.  With a double bet you are betting that at least two of the die will show a specific number with a payout of 10-1.  Finally the triple in Sic Bo offers the biggest payouts, if you bet correctly that the die will roll triple fours you will earn a  huge 180-1  payout.  You can also bet that any triple will show up for a 30-1 reward. 

House Edge & Sic Bo Strategy

As with most casino games the higher the potential payout the higher the house edge.  While almost all Sic Bo games are identical sometimes you’ll see online casinos with different payout structures.  It's important though not to accept anything less than 180-1 on triples. A fun way to play Sic Bo is to place medium to large bets on Big or Small whilst betting small amount on the triples.  This way if you’re ahead in the even money bet you can use the profits to pay for the triple bet which is a much rarer occurrence.

Pai Gow at Online Casinos

Almost all online casinos including our recommended SA casinos offer Pai Gow Poker with the original Chinese tile version being a rarer game offering. To find Pai Gow Poker go to the table game or table poker section within the casino lobby at your online casino of choice.

Playing Pai Gow Poker

Both the dealer and player will receive seven cards from a single 53 card deck which includes one Joker with the dealer’s cards being face down.  The player then must arrange his or her cards into a 2 card hand and a 5 card hand.  The 5 card hand must be the better hand of the two and to beat the dealer both of your hands must be better than his. 

If the players beats the dealer on a 5 card hand but the dealer has a better 2 card hand this is a push and all bets are returned.  Winning bets pay a 5% commission to the house.  The overall house edge for Pai Gow Poker is around 2.7% which is low for a slow paced table game and the most common outcome in Pai Gow is a push which happens around 40% of the time.

Pai Gow Side Bets

Most online casinos have incorporated a side bet where you can throw a single dollar into each hand of Pai Gow Poker that you play.  The side bets usually start to pay out with a straight or better.  With seven cards total and a Joker in the mix the chances for getting a good  hands are better than in regular poker.  The ultimate win is a 7 card straight flush which will net you 5,000-1 at most casinos.  More common hands such as four of a kind pays 25-1, whilst 5 Aces (with a Joker) pays 400-1.

The variations on Pai Gow often have to do with the pay table of the side bet.  There are dozens of pay tables in use by online casinos with some offering a huge 20,000 – 1 jackpot on a natural royal flush plus a pair of aces.  Other casinos use a progressive jackpot that pays out variable amounts for royal flushes or better.