As an answer to Evolution Gaming’s Super Sic Bo, Playtech launched Live Sic Bo Deluxe in January 2020, just in time for the Chinese New Year festivities. The game stands out for its aesthetics above all else – there is so much red and gold on screen that you will go blind. For some, the décor choices may be over the top but we have to argue that there are some nice features to be seen. For instance the dice shaker is placed inside a giant lotus flower that acts like a centre piece for the entire composition. There is some nice artwork behind the game host and two big pillars to support the weight of all the decorations. It’s a good thing they went for white dresses for the croupiers, and not red.
Enhanced looks is not everything Live Sic Bo Deluxe brings to the table. Probably following the same pattern as Evolution's Super Sic Bo, the game introduces up to 6 multipliers, applied to random bet positions in each game round. Unlike the company’s regular sic bo game which is streamed from the Philippines, Sic Bo Deluxe is set in the new Riga studio in Latvia.
Sic Bo is widely regarded as one of Asia's most popular casino games and if you have played it before in any version, you will be familiar with the proceedings in Sic Bo Deluxe as well. The basic principle stands – three dice are in play, they are shaken (the host activates the automatic shaking machine) and the players wager on the result which is always a specific combination of the values given by the dice. A timer of 20 seconds is given to place bets, and there are various options at your disposal, as you can stake your money on single numbers, combinations of two or all three, as well as totals. There are no odd/even bets available, but you can bet on big/small.
The major difference between any other standard sic bo game and this particular format is the application of multipliers. The similarities are notable with the Quantum series, also developed by Playtech. The multipliers, up to 6 of them, are selected randomly and dropped across the betting grid, increasing the payouts on chosen positions. The multipliers go up to x1,000 the stake and may be applied to any bet position except one-die numbered bet and small/big bets. The maximum return to player is published as 97.22%.
If you’re looking for a supercharged version of good ol’ Asian sic bo, Playtech’s deluxe edition should scratch that itch for you. You will notice regular payouts to be smaller than with standard sic bo live dealer games, but once you consider the multipliers, such a paytable makes sense. Consider applying a betting strategy that covers a large part of the board and you will hit those multipliers more frequently than you expect.