Craps is the most popular craps game in the casino, but Sic Bo is relatively common. This game uses 3 dice instead of 2, and has a wide range of bets you can place. But it lacks the excitement of Craps, because the casino’s edge is so much bigger, and the way it’s played is quite different.
Instead of having the player act as the thrower and roll the dice, in Sic Bo the dealer always rolls the dice. There is an array of bets available, but the casino’s advantage in all of these bets is great.
Example
You can bet small or big.
A bet on the small means that you are betting on the sum of the 3 dice between 4 and 10.
A big bet means you are betting on the sum of the 3 dice between 11 and 17.
This bet pays out at equal odds, but the house edge is 2.78%. This is actually one of the best bets at the table.
You can also bet on specific totals. You can bet that a total of 4 will come out or a total of 17 will come out. If it does, the bet pays 50 to 1 or more. But despite the big payout, the casino’s advantage is terrible – it’s between 15% and 29%, which makes this bet a similar proposition to a keno bet. The casino’s advantage decreases as the payout for this result increases. If you’re in a casino where you get paid 60 to 1 instead of 50 to 1, you’ll see that percentage higher.
Sic Bo is an interesting game and is very popular in Macau. Most Americans don’t really like the game. There is no strategy other than choosing the bets with the least casino advantage, but even there, the odds aren’t that good.
I suggest you try craps instead. It’s more fun and offers better odds.
Video Poker
Video poker is another game on my list of best casino games. The reason it’s also on my list of worst casino games is because some versions of some popular games offer a relatively big advantage to the casino.
Example
The full version of Jacks or Better is also called 9/6 Jacks or Better. The 9 and 6 refer to the payouts for the full house and flush. The full house calls 9 to 1 and the flush calls 6 to 1.
If you can find a full version of the game that pays you better and play with an optimized strategy, the payback percentage is 99.54%. This means that the casino’s edge is only 0.46%, making the game comparable to blackjack.
But most Jacks or Better games don’t offer this type of payout. You can find Jacks or Better versions of 8/5, 7/5, and 6/5. The casino’s edge shoots up as the payout for these two hands decreases.
Here’s a comparison:
- 8/5 – Casino advantage – 2.7% (same as European roulette).
- 7/5 – Casino Advantage – 3.9%
- 6/5 – Casino Advantage – 5% (only slightly better than American roulette).
The best thing you can do as a video poker player is to specialize in certain games and learn how to find the best paytables. If you’re discriminating about what games you play, video poker IS one of the best bets in the casino.
But if you play video poker games with lower paytables, you are just losing your money for no reason.