The internet has connected the world like never before, and when it comes to online gambling it has widened our game pool significantly too.
Sic Bo is a Chinese game played using three dice, with players betting on the outcome of each role. It is hugely popular in its’ native country but it was very rare to see it in the West until fairly recently.
Now though, it’s right there whenever you want it and via a number of different providers too, and it’s a great addition to a live dealer casino’s portfolio.
In many ways it is similar to craps – not just because it is a dice game, but because of the many different bets you can make on the various combinations the dice might show. However, the two are not the same despite their similarities, so players will need to get into a different head space if jumping from one to the other.
Let’s have a look at how live dealer Sic Bo works from the player’s perspective.
How Does it Work?
This is another one of those games that lends itself very well to playing via live stream, because even when playing in person it’s a fairly hands off affair.
The dealer rolls the dice electronically using a platform that ‘jumps’ in order to bounce the dice into the air. This platform is encased in a clear plastic dome so the dice don’t go anywhere, and also so that everyone can see what is happening.
This means anyone already familiar with the game will be able to adjust to online play very easily.
The only real change when playing online via a live casino is with how you select your stake size, and how you actually place your bets.
Although the game itself is real, played by a real human dealer and broadcast to your screen, the interface you use to place bets is digitally laid over the live stream. You then interact with it using your mouse while watching the action going on underneath.
The interface can look a bit complicated as there are many buttons, but most don’t have much to do with gameplay and are only there to enable the player to customise certain elements such as sounds and camera angles, and to get game rules or help. You will also see a scrolling list of winners after each game round.
The important bit is the betting board and the timer which you can see above, as well as the chip value seclection.
Each game lasts the same amount of time and includes various stages. The first of these is betting time, which lasts just 15 seconds or so and is displayed using an onscreen timer. Whatever bets you have on the board when this time runs out will be played.
To place these bets, firstly you will need to give your chips a value and you can do this by selecting from the chips shown in the image on the right.
Next you click on the area of the betting board you want to place a chip; one click will drop one chip. Once you are happy with your bets just wait for the betting time to run out and the game will commence.
Any winnings are credited to your account instantly.
Bet Limits
Chip values range from as little as 20p right up to £1,000, so there really is scope for players of all pocket sizes with this game.
The minimum bet on each bet type is the same, but when it comes to maximums, some bets are different than others.
Most carry a £20 maximum bet, but big and small bets that pay out at 1:1 allow stakes up to £2,000 per game, whereas, double, any triple and number bets go up to £100. The smallest maximum is on specific triples which can pay out up to 999:1 and that has a £10 cap.
This may be skewed slightly because the game we are looking at is Sic Bo Deluxe (no regular Sic Bo games seem to be available at the moment), which boosts payouts on a few random bet types each round, but since the odds don’t change it gives you the idea.
The table limit can differ depending on where you play, since many different online casinos use the same live dealer provider, but usually it is in the range of £2,000-£5,000 as a maximum.