•BLACKJACK SIDE BETS
Summary
The larger casino softwares offer 1 or 2 blackjack games with an optional side bet. Blackjack side bets almost always have a higher house edge than the main bet of the game. One of the few exceptions is games with an abnormally high progressive jackpot. A summary of specific bets is below.
Triple 7s / Super 7s / Lucky 7s / Blackjack 7s
Microgaming, Boss Media, Chartwell, and World Gaming offer a triple / super / lucky 7s side bet that pays when the player's first card is a 7. This side bet is required with Microgaming and optional with the others. The chance of suited 7s varies significantly depending on how many decks are used, so several hand odds are listed in the table below. The game's paytable is the amount paid with Microgaming and the net win with the other softwares (equals 1 - amount paid). To be consistent, all payouts below are listed as net win.
| Hand | Microgaming (5 Decks) |
World Gaming (6 Decks) |
Boss Media (6 Decks) |
Chartwell (8 Decks) |
||||
| 3 Diamond 7's | 1 in 290,000 | Jackpot | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 3 Suited 7's | 1 in 97,000 | 999* | 1 in 66,000 | 5000 | 1 in 66,000 | 1500 | 1 in 54,000 | 500 |
| 3 Unsuited 7's | 1 in 2800 | 249* | 1 in 2700 | 500 | 1 in 2700 | 500 | 1 in 2600 | 100 |
| 2 Suited 7's | 1 in 900 | 49* | 1 in 870 | 100 | 1 in 870 | 100 | 1 in 830 | 50 |
| 2 Unsuited 7's | 1 in 240 | 24* | 1 in 240 | 50 | 1 in 240 | 50 | 1 in 240 | 25 |
| 1 Seven | 1 in 14 | 4* | 1 in 14 | 3 | 1 in 14 | 3 | 1 in 14 | 3 |
| Nothing | 12 in 13 | -- | 12 in 13 | -- | 12 in 13 | -- | 12 in 13 | -- |
| House Edge | -10 to 35%* |
12.60% |
17.92% |
49.93% |
||||
| Jackpot Range | 10 to 135k* |
None |
None |
None |
||||
| Break Even Point | 110k |
None |
None |
None |
||||
Payout of Microgaming Triple 7's Blackjack is listed as net win, which is the game's listed paychart -1
Progressive Blackjack
Playtech, Cryptologic, and Odds On offer a Progressive Blackjack game, which pays when the player's first card is an ace. The player wins the jackpot with 4 suited aces in the Playtech game, and 4 colored aces in the Cryptologic & Odds On games. The chance of suited aces varies significantly depending on how many decks are used, so several hand odds are listed in the table below.
Playtech (6 Decks) |
Odds On (4 Decks) |
Cryptologic (8 Decks) |
||||
| Hand | Hand Odds | Payout | Hand Odds | Payout | Hand Odds | Payout |
| 4 Suited Aces | 1 in 6,500,000 | Jackpot | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 4 Red/Black Aces | -- | -- | 1 in 540,000 | Jackpot | 1 in 340,000 | Jackpot |
| 4 Aces (Other) | 1 in 37,000 | 2500 | 1 in 45,000 | 10% of Jackpot | 1 in 39,000 | 2500 |
| 3 Suited Aces | 1 in 67,000 | 5000 | 1 in 99,000 | 2500 | 1 in 55,000 | 1500 |
| 3 Unsuited Aces | 1 in 2800 | 250 | 1 in 2900 | 250 | 1 in 2700 | 250 |
| 2 Suited Aces | 1 in 870 | 100 | 1 in 960 | 50 | 1 in 830 | 100 |
| 2 Unsuited Aces | 1 in 240 | 50 | 1 in 240 | 25 | 1 in 240 | 25 |
| 1 Ace | 1 in 14 | 5 | 1 in 14 | -- | 1 in 14 | -- |
| Nothing | 12 in 13 | -- | 12 in 13 | -- | 12 in 13 | -- |
| House Edge | 6 to 9% |
15%?* |
-2 to 45% |
|||
| Jackpot Range | 50 to 140k |
140k?* |
50 to 210k |
|||
| Break Even Point | 570k |
180k |
205k |
|||
Perfect Pairs / Bonus Pairs
Microgaming, Real Time Gaming Party Gaming, and Odds On offer a blackjack game with an optional Perfect Pairs side bet. The side bet pays when the player's first two cards are the same rank. The chance of a pair varies significantly with the number of decks. RTG operators may configure the number of decks, so house edge values for several numbers of decks are listed below.
| Hand | Hand Odds: (8 Decks) |
Party / RTG: (8 Decks)* |
RTG: (6 Decks)* |
MG: (2 Decks) |
RTG: (4 Decks)* |
Odds On: (4 Decks) |
| Perfect (Suited) Pair | 1 in 59 | 25 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 30 |
| Colored Pair | 1 in 52 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Mixed Pair | 1 in 26 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Nothing | 12 in 13 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| House Edge | 4.10% | 6.11% | 7.77% | 10.14% | 10.63% |
Hot Streak / High Streak Blackjack
Microgaming & Wagerworks offer blackjack with an optional Streak side bet, which pays on two or more wins without a loss in between. Ties maintain point in a streak, but do not pay.
| Hand | Hand Odds | Wagerworks Paytable | Microgaming Paytable |
| 5 Wins | 1 in 40 | -- | 10 |
| 4 Wins | 1 in 19 | 6 | 5 |
| 3 Wins | 1 in 9 | 3 | 2 |
| 2 Wins | 1 in 4.4 | 1.5 | 1 |
| 1 Win | 1 in 2.1 | -- | -- |
| House Edge | 3.39% | 4.55% |
Bonus Blackjack
Microgaming offers a Bonus Blackjack game which pays when the players first two cards are the same suit. The main bet of the game has the same rules as Vegas Downtown Blackjack (2 Decks).
| Hand | Hand Odds: (2 Decks) |
Microgaming Paytable |
| Spades Ace & Jack | 1 in 1300 | 50 |
| Suited Ace & Jack | 1 in 450 | 25 |
| Any Suited | 1 in 4.2 | 2.5 |
| Nothing | 3 in 4 | -- |
| House Edge | 6.46% |
Hi Lo 13 Blackjack
Microgaming offers a Hi Lo 13 European blackjack game which allows the player to bet on the sum of the first 2 cards (ace count as 1). The main bet of the game has the same rules as European Blackjack (2 Decks).
| Hand | Odds: (2 Decks) |
Microgaming Paytable | House Edge |
| >13 | 0.4496 | 1:1 | 10.08% |
| 13 | 0.0836 | 10:1 | 7.99% |
| <13 | 0.4668 | 1:1 | 6.65% |
Double Jack (Blackjack Pro)
Net Entertainment Blackjack Pro offers a "double jack" side bet, which pays when the player's first card is a jack. Net Ent's press release says the side bet has 4.33% house edge. I believe 4.33% occurs with 8 decks, not 4 decks as specified in the rules. 4 decks has a higher 4.93% house edge.
| Hand | Hand Odds: (4 Decks) |
Net Ent Paytable |
| Two Jacks of Spades | 1 in 3600 | 100 |
| Two Jacks | 1 in 190 | 25 |
| One Jack | 1 in 14 | 10 |
| Nothing | 12 in 13 | -- |
| House Edge | 4.93% |
21+3 Blackjack
Wagerworks 21+3 Blackjack offers an optional "21+3" side bet, which pays if the first two player cards and dealer up card form a 3-card poker hand.
| Hand | Hand Odds: (6 Decks) |
Wagerworks Paytable |
| Suited 3 of a Kind | 1 in 4800 | 100 |
| Straight Flush | 1 in 480 | 35 |
| 3 of a Kind | 1 in 200 | 33 |
| Straight | 1 in 32 | 10 |
| Flush | 1 in 17 | 5 |
| Nothing | 9 in 10 | -- |
| House Edge | 4.14% |
20+ Bonus Blackjack
Wagerworks Vegas Blackjack with 20+ Bonus offers an optional "20+ Bonus" side bet, which pays if the player gets a 20 or BJ on his initial two cards.
| Hand | Hand Odds: (6 Decks) |
Wagerworks Paytable |
| Blackjack Tie | 1 in 460 | 30 |
| Blackjack Win | 1 in 22 | 3 |
| Twenty Loses | 1 in 78 | 20 |
| Twenty Ties | 1 in 53 | 10 |
| Twenty Wins | 1 in 13 | 2 |
| Nothing | 17 in 20 | -- |
| House Edge | 5.36% |
Two Against One
Boss Media 2 Against 1 Blackjack offers an optional "Two Against One" side bet, which pays 1:5 if both of the player's first 2 cards are not a lower rank than the dealer's upcard. Note that 10, J, Q, and K are treated as different ranks.
Dealer Upcard |
Chance of Win |
Advantage (1.5:1) |
2 |
100% |
1.50 |
3 |
85% |
1.13 |
4 |
71% |
0.79 |
5 |
59% |
0.48 |
6 |
48% |
0.19 |
7 |
38% |
-0.06 |
8 |
29% |
-0.28 |
9 |
21% |
-0.47 |
10 |
15% |
-0.64 |
J |
9.3% |
-0.77 |
Q |
5.2% |
-0.87 |
K |
2.2% |
-0.94 |
A |
0.5% |
-0.99 |
House Edge |
7.20% |
|
Copyright © 2006-2014 www.beatingbonuses.com. All Rights Reserved.