History Of Sic Bo

Sic Bo is a casino game played with 3 dice. It was developed in Asia and it has been played in Macau casinos for many years. Sic Bo is considered to be the flagship game of most Chinese casinos. However, there are no specific details giving information on when Sic Bo was first played.

There are only stories of Chinese men who used to play with dice in their villages by throwing dice in a covered dish and then placing a bet on its possible outcomes. On removing the lid of the dish, it was revealed on how the dice had come to rest, and with this, the results of the dice.

A legend in China states that Sic Bo used to be first played using numbered bricks. It is stated that during their breaks, Chinese builders and merchants would number bricks and throw them in the air. Then bets would be placed on where and how the bricks would land. However with the course of time, these bricks were replaced with dice as bricks are rather heavy and awkward to play with.

The name of the game itself has Chinese origins which means two dice, although the game itself is played with three dice. Players place bets depending on the outcome of the numbers on the dice when thrown. Sic Bo is a game that is also referred to as Tai Sai, Dai Siu, Hi-lo, and Big and Small. All of these games are associated with the number of dice played and the possible outcomes of the game.

When compared to other dice games like craps, Sic Bo has always been the second runner up. With it having an oriental beginning, it was only in the early 20th century that Sic Bo made its debut in America. It was the Chinese immigrants who had come to the US looking for work in the construction and railroad field that brought Sic Bo with them.

At its inception, Sic Bo was not widely accepted and played as most players found it to be too similar to craps. Moreover, Sic Bo had no set method for the player to win anything while playing the game, which made it much more difficult to players to accept the game.

It was only with the passing of time that it was learnt how much fun it was to play the game (not to mention how much could be earned with its high payouts). Cheating at Sic Bo is not possible at an online casino but brick and mortar casinos have introduced rules to Sic Bo in order to minimize cheating in the game.

Players are not allowed to play using their own dice (in case the dice are loaded). Moreover, it is not permitted to handle the dice with two hands (to prevent dice swapping in the middle of the game). This is why even today, numerous stewards surround the Sic Bo table in a casino, in order to watch and guard the game against cheats.