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History of Sic Bo
 Sic Bo is an incredibly popular casino dice game, that has increased in popularity in western countries, ever since the wake of the nineteenth century. Like the majority of popular gambling games, Sic Bo is thought to be a mix of several different older games, but principally it seems that Sic Bo is the descendent of a betting game from ancient china, whose name translates literally as 'dice pair', although the game was and still is played with three dice. A similar game has also been traced, named 'Tai Sai', which means 'lucky dice' and also in the Philippines, where 'Hi Lo' followed a similar concept. However far from the south east Asian influences of the game, it is also thought that there are significant links between Sic Bo and the old English game 'Grand Hazard'. It is thought that the movement of the Asian populations from the very beginning of the nineteenth century brought about the amalgamation of both the English and eastern influences, resulting in the game Sic Bo that is played today.
Of course game play itself has evolved considerably from the ancient Chinese methods, in which the game was originally played with three bricks, which were thrown between two stone plates and an upturned bowl. Nowadays this very traditional method has been replaced by the dice and cage shaker that is found in casinos across the world. Also, play takes place on a specially designed table, much like that used during a game of roulette. All of the possible bet combinations are illustrated with pictures, and the players simply move their bets into the appropriate section of the table. The concept of the game Sic Bo is actually relatively simple; a player is to bet on the outcome of the rolling of three separate die. They can bet on combinations of any two or three of the dice, single numbers or two and three of a kind.
One of the reasons that has been given to explain the popularity of the game Sic Bo is that players can be very aware of the risk they are taking with their bets; certain combinations offer much lower risks, such as betting on the value of only one of the dice, which carries a 1:1 risk. At the higher end of the spectrum although the risks may be much greater, there are incredibly large pay outs to be had. For example, betting on a specific triple combination carries odds of 180:1. Before the rolling of the dice, the dealer will request the players to place their bets, and the results of the roll are then displayed on the table and any successful bets will be illuminated on the table. Payouts will then be made to any winners, whilst unsuccessful bets will be removed from the table.
The game 'Birdcage' or 'Chuck-a-Luck' is a variation of the game Sic Bo, but features only single number bets. The name birdcage refers to the cage style device in which the dice are kept, and is rotated by the dealer. This variation of the game was in fact incredibly popular at one point, especially in casinos in Nevada, but Sic Bo has more or less replaced this game in terms of popularity. Sic Bo has become one of the most played casino games of the gambling age in the west, and the evolution of this game in ancient Chinese and Asian civilizations to the glitz, glamour and commercialisation of the casino industry of today continually acts to fascinate both gaming historians and gambling experts.
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