Baccarat has better odds than sic bo. The Banker bet costs 1.06% of what you wager over the long run and Player costs 1.24%. Sic bo's cheapest bets, Big and Small, cost 2.78%, more than twice as much. Most other sic bo bets cost between 7% and 16%, and some tables pay less and cost 30% or more.
Sic bo is a dice game: three dice are shaken in a covered dish and you bet on the outcome. Here is how its bets compare with baccarat's, bet by bet.
Baccarat vs sic bo house edge, bet by bet
We calculated each sic bo bet over all 216 possible rolls, using the pay table from one set of regulator-approved casino rules. Baccarat numbers are exact for a fresh 8-deck shoe.
| Payout | House edge | |
|---|---|---|
| Baccarat Banker | 0.95 to 1 | 1.06% |
| Baccarat Player | 1 to 1 | 1.24% |
| Baccarat Tie | 8 to 1 | 14.36% |
| Sic bo Big or Small | 1 to 1 | 2.78% |
| Sic bo two-dice combination | 6 to 1 | 2.78% |
| Sic bo single number | 1 to 1, 2 to 1, 12 to 1 | 3.70% |
| Sic bo total 9 or 12 | 7 to 1 | 7.41% |
| Sic bo total 7 or 14 | 12 to 1 | 9.72% |
| Sic bo any triple | 31 to 1 | 11.11% |
| Sic bo specific double | 11 to 1 | 11.11% |
| Sic bo total 4 or 17 | 62 to 1 | 12.50% |
| Sic bo specific triple | 180 to 1 | 16.20% |
The pay table matters a lot in sic bo. A specific triple at 180 to 1 costs 16.20%, but at 150 to 1 it costs 30.09%. Any triple drops from 11.11% at 31 to 1 to 30.56% at 24 to 1. Read the numbers printed on the layout before you compare.
A lower sic bo pay table can double or triple the cost of the same bet.
Sic bo's best bets cost more than twice as much as baccarat's Banker bet.
Why Big and Small in sic bo lose on triples
Big wins on totals 11 to 17 and Small on 4 to 10, which looks like a 50/50 bet paying even money. The catch is the triples. Any triple, like three 2s or three 5s, loses both Big and Small. Triples come up on 6 of the 216 rolls, 2.78% of the time, and that is the whole house edge.
Big and Small look like coin flips, but every triple is a loss for both.
Baccarat Banker works the other way around. It wins slightly more often than Player, so the casino takes a 5% commission on Banker wins. Our post on why Banker has an edge explains where that advantage comes from.
Dice don't remember, cards do
This is the deeper difference. Every sic bo roll uses fresh dice, so the odds are identical on every roll forever. In baccarat, cards leave the shoe, and the odds shift a little from hand to hand. For Banker and Player the shift is tiny. For side bets it can occasionally be large enough to turn a bet positive for a hand or two.
In sic bo, no roll can ever be better than another. In baccarat, the remaining cards can briefly change a side bet.
At the start of a fresh shoe every baccarat bet has a negative expected value. Only the cards left in the shoe can change that, and only briefly. Betting systems can't change it in either game. For more comparisons, see baccarat vs roulette and Dragon Tiger vs baccarat.
See how the remaining cards move baccarat odds
Because baccarat odds depend on the cards still in the shoe, you can watch them change hand by hand.
After each hand you enter the cards and tap Calculate, and Baccarator recalculates the odds and expected value for Banker, Player, Tie, pairs and side bets from the cards still in the shoe. If a bet briefly turns positive, it shows a Kelly sizing suggestion. That only appears when expected value is positive, it is a long-run average, and the next hand can still lose. Positive moments are rare and short. You can choose 6 or 8 decks and practice with virtual chips, with no real money involved.
Baccarat vs sic bo FAQ
Which has better odds, baccarat or sic bo?
Baccarat. Banker costs 1.06% and Player 1.24%, while sic bo's best bets, Big and Small, cost 2.78%.
What is the best bet in sic bo?
By house edge, Big, Small, Odd and Even, and the two-dice combination at 6 to 1, all at 2.78%.
Can you count anything in sic bo?
No. Each roll is independent, so past rolls never change the next one.
Baccarator is a math tool for education. No real-money gambling. 18+ only.
