Reading time: 6 minutes | Published on April 21, 2026 | By Ethan Marlowe | Updated: October 2, 2026
Most casino lobbies are dominated by slots, roulette and blackjack. A few older table games – Sic Bo and Fan Tan from China, Dragon Tiger from Asian casinos – turn up less often, usually in live-dealer sections. They are worth understanding because their maths is unusually transparent: you can work out the house edge yourself by counting combinations. This article does exactly that, with every paytable clearly marked as an example, and then looks at what Wettson publishes about game availability and bonus rules (checked on 2 October 2026).
Sic Bo: three dice, 216 outcomes
Sic Bo ("precious dice") is played with three dice. Each die has six faces, so there are 6 × 6 × 6 = 216 equally likely outcomes. Every bet on the layout is a claim about which of those 216 outcomes will appear, so the maths is simple counting.
Big and Small
Small wins on a total of 4–10, Big on 11–17, and both pay 1:1. The catch: both lose on any triple (three identical dice). Totals of 11–18 make up exactly half of all outcomes, 108 of 216. Three of those are triples (4-4-4, 5-5-5, 6-6-6), so Big wins in 105 cases and loses in 111.
Expected value per €1 = (105 × €1 − 111 × €1) ÷ 216 = −€6/216 = −1/36, a house edge of about 2.78%. It comes entirely from the triples rule, and Small works out the same.
The other bets
Sic Bo paytables differ between casinos and game versions, so the payouts below are an example paytable, not the rules of a specific game. The combination counts are fixed; only the payouts change. Read the game's help screen before betting.
| Bet | Winning outcomes (of 216) | Example payout | House edge at that payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big or Small | 105 | 1:1 | 2.78% |
| Single number (e.g. “4”), paid per die showing it | 91 | 1:1 / 2:1 / 3:1 | 7.87% |
| Two-dice combination (e.g. 1 and 2) | 30 | 5:1 | 16.67% |
| Specific double (e.g. at least two 3s) | 16 | 10:1 | 18.52% |
| Total of 4 (or 17) | 3 | 60:1 | 15.28% |
| Any triple | 6 | 30:1 | 13.89% |
| Specific triple (e.g. 5-5-5) | 1 | 180:1 | 16.20% |
How one row is worked out: a specific triple hits in 1 of 216 outcomes. At 180:1 you win €180 once and lose €1 the other 215 times: (180 − 215) ÷ 216 = −35/216 ≈ −16.20%. If the same bet pays 150:1, the edge jumps to (150 − 215) ÷ 216 ≈ −30.09%. A lower payout on the same bet can almost double the cost, which is why the paytable matters far more than the look of the table.
The single-number bet: the chosen number appears on no die in 125 outcomes, on exactly one die in 75, on two in 15 and on all three in 1. With the 1:1 / 2:1 / 3:1 paytable, (75 + 30 + 3 − 125) ÷ 216 = −17/216 ≈ −7.87%.
The pattern is clear: Big and Small are the only Sic Bo bets with a house edge in the same range as common roulette bets; the long-shot bets cost several times more per euro wagered.
Fan Tan: counting beads in fours
Fan Tan is one of the oldest Chinese gambling games. The dealer covers a heap of small objects – beads, buttons or coins – with a bowl, then removes them four at a time until four or fewer remain. The remainder, 1, 2, 3 or 4, is the result.
The basic bet, Fan, picks one number. With four possible results, a fair payout would be 3:1, and that is what the bet traditionally pays – but with a commission deducted from winnings. The commission is the house edge. As a labelled assumption, take a 5% commission on winnings: a €1 Fan bet wins €3 × 0.95 = €2.85 one time in four and loses €1 three times in four. Expected value = (2.85 − 3) ÷ 4 = −€0.0375, a house edge of 3.75%. In general, the edge on this bet is three quarters of the commission rate. Other Fan Tan bets, such as Nim (wins on one number, stake returned on another), have their own payouts and commissions; the rule of thumb stays the same – find the stated commission, because that is the price of the game.
Dragon Tiger: one card each
Dragon Tiger is a stripped-down relative of baccarat: one card goes to "Dragon", one to "Tiger", and the higher card wins (the ace usually counts as low). Dragon and Tiger pay 1:1. On a tie, a common rule is that Dragon and Tiger bets lose half the stake.
Assumptions for the calculation: eight decks and the half-stake tie rule. After the first card, 31 of the remaining 415 cards have the same rank, so the chance of a tie is 31/415 ≈ 7.47%. Because Dragon and Tiger are otherwise symmetric, the house edge is half of that: about 3.73%. The separate Tie bet has a much higher edge at typical payouts, and suited-tie side bets vary by game. If the tie rule differs in the version you see, the numbers change; the help screen is the authority.
What Wettson publishes about these games (2 October 2026)
The operator's About page claims "13.000+ games from the BEST providers" (wettson7.com/info/about_us), and the home page lists a Live Casino section (wettson7.com). On the pages checked, however, the operator does not publish a searchable game list, and none of the games above is named in its terms or promotions. Whether Sic Bo, Fan Tan or Dragon Tiger is available – as an RNG table or with a live dealer – has to be checked in the lobby itself, and the paytable in the game's help screen.
If you play with an active bonus, the bonus terms (wettson7.com/info/bonus_terms_and_conditions) matter more than the game choice. Games contribute to wagering at different rates: slots 100%, virtual games 50%, "lucky" games 50%, table games 20% and live casino 0%. Two consequences:
- A live-dealer Sic Bo or Dragon Tiger table does not reduce a wagering requirement at all.
- An RNG table game counts at 20%. Worked example with labelled assumptions: a €1,000 wagering requirement played only on table games needs €5,000 of actual bets. At an assumed 2.78% house edge (Sic Bo Big/Small), the expected loss on those bets is about €139 – before any bonus is released.
Other general bonus rules apply as well: only one bonus can be active at a time, the maximum bet while a bonus is active is €5, and bonuses are for verified players only. The full picture is on the bonuses page; terms such as house edge and wagering are explained in the glossary.
How to try an unfamiliar game sensibly
- Read the rules and paytable in the help screen first, and compare each payout with the combination count.
- Start with the lowest-edge bet (Big or Small in Sic Bo, Dragon or Tiger in Dragon Tiger) at a small stake.
- Every roll and every deal is independent: a run of Bigs does not make Small "due". The gambler's fallacy is covered in the article on lucky numbers and probability.
- Decide a budget and a stop point before you sit down; the article on luck rituals and the illusion of control suggests a simple pre-session checklist.
Gambling is for adults (18+). Every bet above has a negative expected value; play only with money you can afford to lose, as entertainment and not as a way to make money.
Frequently asked questions
What is the house edge of Big and Small in Sic Bo?
About 2.78%. Big and Small pay 1:1 but lose on any triple; Big wins in 105 of 216 equally likely outcomes, so the expected loss is 6/216, or 1/36, of each bet.
Does Wettson offer Sic Bo, Fan Tan or Dragon Tiger?
The operator claims more than 13,000 games but does not publish a searchable game list on the pages checked on 2 October 2026. Availability has to be checked in the lobby.
Do table and live games count towards bonus wagering at Wettson?
According to the bonus terms, table games count at 20% and live casino games at 0%, compared with 100% for slots. A live-dealer table therefore does not reduce a wagering requirement.
