Setup
Sic Bo is a dice game which consists of many places on the table to place bets. Three dice are used to determine the outcome of the betting.
Betting
The bottom row of the Sic Bo table has six betting areas. These are called single number bets. If one of the three dice comes up as one the numbers bet on (from 1-6), you get paid out at 1 to 1. If two numbers come up you get paid out at 2 to 1 and if three numbers come up you get paid out at 3 to 1. So if you bet on the number 3 and you wagered $5.00 and 2 threes came up you would win $10.00.
The two number combination bets consist of placing a wager on any 2 dice combinations. If you wager on a 6,4 combination and the result of the dice roll was 4,7,6, you would win at 6 to 1 odds. You can only win on one instance of the two-number combination.
A three number total wager consists of combining the total shown on the resulting dice roll. Different totals have different odds. A Judi Bola result of 3 or 18 is always a loss. The payouts are as follows: 4 or 17, 50 to 1; 5 or 16, 25 to 1; 6 or 15, 15 to 1; 7 or 14, 10 to 1; 8 or 13, 6 to 1; 9 or 12, 5 to 1; 10 or 11, 5 to 1.
You can wager on whether the combined total of the dice roll will be either between 4-10 or 11-17. This wager pays out at 1-1 odds. All small or big wagers lose if the result of the dice is a triplet.
Triplets are when the dice roll are all one number. So if you wagered on three 6’s and that was the dice result you would win at 150-1 odds. You can also wager on all six triplet bets at once, this is called “Any Triplet” and pays out at 25-1 odds.
Guy knows what he’s talking about!
I have a question for you on the subject of placing the 6 and 8. It seems to be open for some debate. People in the know, who I trust, like you and Anthony Curtis, say it¹s a good bet, and I agree. But others, like John “I write about craps for a living and never play” Gollehon say it is still too big a house edge, that you should go through the come instead with odds. Heck, I say do both and if it hits on the first roll after the point is established, use the place bet for odds. If it doesn¹t, well, you¹ve got plenty of action – a pass line bet with odds on the point of 8, a place bet on the 6, and come bet with odds on the 9 (or whatever is rolled). Hopefully it¹s a $2 table. It seems as if you did nothing but place the 6 and 8 all night you would turn out OK. Please give me your side of the argument. Josh N.
There are plenty of reasons why I complement my Pass line wager and odds with a Place bet on the 6 or 8; two quickly come to mind. First, it¹s a wager with a small house advantage, 1.5%, and second, it¹s plenty cheap. A Place bet can be made for as little as $6. (Quick side note: When making a Place bet on 6 or 8, you should always wager in multiplies of $6 [$12, $18, $24, etc.]. Why? 6 and 8 pay off at 7 to 6, so I win $7 for every $6 bet. A win on any bet under $6 is spelled “shortchange”, since the dealer will round down to the nearest dollar and pay you less than you actually won.)
As for Gollehon¹s guidance, playing craps is not a prerequisite to dispensing sound advice, nor is Gollehon¹s advice chasing the wrong rabbit. This column, as readers well know, has NOT slept through the topic of making Pass line and Come bets and taking odds. Why just last week … Also, neither Gollehon, Tony Curtis nor I represent the vanguard of faultless play on a crap game. A lot depends on the amount of K-Ching weighing down your pockets. Taking odds can be an expensive proposition, especially when dealing in multiples of 10X or even 100X odds, even though the house edge on the bet is a puny 0.09%. As minuscule as this sounds, Josh, you have to be capitalized to the hilt‹no, a bit beyond that‹to embrace this wager. A $5 pass line wager with 100X odds puts $505 of your hard-earned money in play. Add a Come bet with full odds, and after just one seven-out, line away call, you¹ll be begging for badly needed free drinks in the keno lounge. All the suggestions in your question are sound gambling strategies, Josh, and I especially like your pursuit of a $2 table. But let us all not forget one important thing: All craps bets come at a cost. Craps is a negative expectation game, meaning, that no matter how you bet, even a $2 wager with 100X odds, the house has an edge on your action. No nuts-and-bolts plan from the Providential (well, cut that to prudential) wisdom of Gollehon, Curtis or me can beat a negative expectation game. Here’s the bottom line, Josh. I recommend that all players treat craps like a bag of M&Ms. Eat (bet) only the colors (Pass line and Come bets with odds) you like, and can afford (a $6 place bet on the 6 and/or 8). Just make sure to keep your wagers under the 2% house advantage threshold.
Gambling quote of the week: “Because I know I¹m the worst bettor on football, I always make my pick, and then bet against myself. -Mark Twain impressionist, McAvoy Layne
