Blackjack Side Bet Strategy

So, what is a rummy in blackjack?

• Blackjack Side Bet Strategy Explained
• Top 3 Blackjack Side Bet

The word has multiple blackjack implications.

Complete Guide to Blackjack Switch: Learn the Rules, How to Play, Best Casinos and a Simple PRO Strategy that KILLS the House Edge. Blackjack side bets In an effort to encourage more players to play blackjack, and also to improve their margins, many land-based and online casinos have added side bets on their blackjack tables. The innocent-looking side bets usually require a rather small wager.

But the way the question is phrased, it usually refers to a side bet that you can make. I’ll explain that below.

Then I’ll explain other uses of the word rummy as it relates to blackjack.

So, what IS a rummy in blackjack?

A rummy in blackjack consists of 3 cards of the same rank, 3 cards of adjacent ranks, or 3 cards of the same suit — the 3 cards consists of your 1st 2 cards and the dealer’s up-card.

The rank is the number or character on the card. For example, if you have a 4, 4, and the dealer has a 4, too, you have a rummy.

Adjacent ranks are just the numbers next to each other according to the card ranks, as follows: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, A.For example, if your 2 cards are the 7 and 8 (of any suit), and the dealer has a 9, you have a rummy.

The suit is the club, diamond, heart, or spades symbol on the card. For example, if you have the 7 and 8 of hearts, and the dealer has an ace of hearts, you have a rummy. In poker terms, this is a 3-card flush.

Why Does a Rummy Matter in Blackjack?

In some casinos, you can place an optional side bet called a “rummy bet.” If you get a rummy, you get a payout that varies by casino, but it’s often in the range of 9 to 1.

If you don’t get a rummy, which is most of the time, you lose that side bet.

Also, you should know that regardless of whether you win or lose the rummy side bet, the rest of the game plays out normally. The rummy side bet doesn’t affect the main action, and the main action doesn’t affect the rummy bet.

Rummy Side Bet Odds

Assuming the payout is 9 to 1, the house edge for the rummy side bet is 4.14% (according to Bovada).

Those are terrible odds, by the way. This should surprise no one. Side bets in blackjack are almost always terrible.

The house edge for the main game in blackjack is below 1%. That assumes you’re using perfect basic strategy, which isn’t hard to do anyway.

Generally, you should stick with bets that have a lower house edge rather than a higher house edge.

It’s a common side bet available at sportsbook-associated online casinos like 5Dimes and Bovada.

Rummy – The Costa Rica Blackjack Alternative

In Costa Rica, blackjack is illegal. To try to get around this, many casinos in Costa Rica offer a variation of rummy as an alternative.

Here’s how to play casino rummy in Costa Rica:

You play rummy at a blackjack-sized table with a dealer and room for 7 players. The rules vary by casino, but these are pretty standard.

The dealer uses between 4 and 6 decks of standard playing cards. You get 2 cards, just like in blackjack, but you DO NOT get a 3 to 2 payout for a blackjack.

The points are still determined the same way as in blackjack. The ace and the 10 (or a face) card still count as 21 points.

The dealer is required to stand on a soft 17 or higher. You’re allowed to take early surrender, and you can double down on any 2 cards — even after splitting.

You can also re-split pairs, including aces, but with a limit of 4 hands.

You are NOT allowed to hit split aces, though.

And instead of the bonus payout for the blackjack, you get bonuses if you have a 3 of a kind or a 3-card straight flush, as follows:

• 3 of a kind pays off at 3 to 1, but it pays off at 5 to 1 if it’s suited or if the 3 cards total 21.
• A 3-card straight flush pays off at 3 to 1, but it totals 21, you get 5 to 1.

Also, you get the bonus payouts even if you bust.

The bonus payouts apply to your total amount bet after doubling.

But…

If you split earlier in the hand, you don’t get a bonus payout at all.

How to Play Rummy Blackjack

If you don’t know anything at all about how to play blackjack, here’s how it works:

The dealer gives you 2 cards and also takes 2 cards for herself. She deals one of her cards face-up, so you know what cards you have and you know one of the cards she has.

Any total of 22 or higher is a bust.

The cards are worth their ranking — a 7 of spades is worth 7 points.

The face cards are each worth 10, and the ace is worth 1 or 11.

Your goal is to beat the dealer. You do this by having a total higher than the dealer or by still being in the hand when the dealer busts.

You act first, and you decide whether to take additional cards (hitting) or stand on the total you have.

And, you also have the option of doubling down or splitting.

To double down, you double the size of your bet and take one (and exactly one) more card.

To split, you must have 2 cards of the same rank. You put up an additional bet, and the 2 cards each become the 1st card of 2 new hands.

Rummy Blackjack Odds, the House Edge, and Basic Strategy

You measure the odds in a casino game by the house edge. That’s a long-term estimate of how much you’re expected to lose on each bet. In blackjack games, including Costa Rica rummy, the house edge assumes you’re playing the game with optimal strategy.

That’s called basic strategy.

In Costa Rica rummy, the house edge is 1% if you play with perfect basic strategy.

That’s a great number — the casino games with the worst odds have a house edge over 30%.

Most gamblers deviate from basic strategy on a hunch or because they don’t have it memorized.

This adds between 2% and 4% to the house edge, so it’s in your interesting to memorize basic strategy.

Luckily, for rummy blackjack, basic strategy is easy:

Splitting

The 1st task is to see if you have a hand you can split. This means you must have a pair. You’ll never split these pairs:

• 2s
• 3s
• 4s
• 5s
• 10s

You’ll split the following pairs in the following situations:

• 6s if the dealer has a 5 or 6 showing
• 7s if the dealer has a 4, 5, or 6 showing
• 8s if the dealer has an 8 or lower showing.
• 9s if the dealer has a 9 or lower showing (with the exception if the dealer has a 7)
• aces unless the dealer has an ace showing

Hard and Soft Hands

If you don’t have a pair, you play your hand based on whether you have a hard or soft total. A soft total is one in which you have an ace that you can count as 1 or 11.

If you don’t have an ace, or if you have an ace that must count as 1 to keep from busting, you have a hard hand.

Here’s how you play your soft hands:

• Always hit a soft 12 or lower.
• Hit a soft 13 unless the dealer has a 5 or 6 — in those cases, double down.
• Hit a soft 15 or 16 unless the dealer has a 4, 5, or 6 — in those cases, double down.
• Also, hit a soft 17 unless the dealer has a 3, 4, 5, or6.
• Stand on a soft 17 unless the dealer has a 9 or higher, in which case, hit.
• Always stand on a soft 19 or higher.

Here’s how you play your hard hands:

• Always hit any hard total of 8 or lower.
• Hit a hard 9 unless the dealer has a 3, 4, 5, or 6 — in that case, double down.
• Double down on a hard 10 or 11 unless the dealer has a 10 or ace — in that case, just hit.
• Hit a hard 12 if the dealer has a 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, or 10. Otherwise, stand.
• Stand on a hard 13, 14, 15, or 16 if the dealer has a 6 or lower. Otherwise, hit.
• Always stand on a hard 17 or higher.

If you want to learn more about the house edge, check out Tim’s post about how expected value can be negative or positive.

You can decide how much money to bring to the casino by understanding the game, the house edge, and its volatility. Read more about that here.

Where to Go Next

If you want a more detailed basic strategy with no mistakes, visit the Wizard of Odds page on the subject. He offers a convenient colored strategy table.

Conclusion

That’s about everything you could hope to want to know about what a rummy in blackjack is. That covers both the side bet that’s often available at sports books. And it also covers the Costa Rica game that’s supposed to be a substitute for real blackjack.

If you’re looking for something easier to learn, check out my post about the easiest casino games to learn.

Over the last half a century or so, both brick-and-mortar and online casinos have introduced a host of side bets to their blackjack tables in an effort to attract more players and their action. What many unsuspecting patrons don’t know is that these side wagers also aim at improving the casinos’ margins, generating more long-term profits for the house.

Nevertheless, side bets are a good way to make blackjack more engaging when posted occasionally. While these wagers carry significant risk, they also have the potential to be quite rewarding, often returning many times your initial stake.

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In the following article, SuperCasinoSites explores the different side-bet options in blackjack, explaining their structure and how much they pay. We also take a look at these wagers’ theoretical return percentages and how they measure up against bets made in the base game.

Side Bets in Blackjack Explained

Side bets in blackjack are additional wagers players can make during the base game. They usually involve guessing what cards the dealer or the player will receive. In some instances, payouts are also awarded when the first two cards of the player and the dealer’s upcard form specific three-card poker hands.

It is important to understand these are entirely separate wagers and as such, they are settled independently from your original stake. They bear no relation to your odds of winning your main wager. Side bets must be posted at the start of a round before anyone has received their cards. They are settled immediately after the initial deal before players have made any playing decisions.

Another distinctive trait of side bets is that they offer significantly higher returns than the winning wagers in the main game. They require you to put a very small amount at stake, typically no more than a dollar.

Rather than paying even money like most other successful bets in blackjack, side bets could potentially earn you many times your stake depending on their probability of winning. In some cases, players can pocket payouts of up to 2,000 to 1. Not a bad return for a $1 wager, right?

With that in mind, we recommend players to experiment with these exciting wagers only occasionally and in moderation. Side bets yield considerably higher house edges and can quickly drain your bankroll if you are not careful.

Their outcomes have extremely long odds of winning and are based entirely on chance, although it is possible to exploit them to your advantage if you count cards. Card counting will enable you to identify the situations when certain side bets stand higher chances of winning due to the shoe’s changed composition.

Most Common Side Bets in Blackjack

There are many different side bets in blackjack but some are more commonly available than others. Perfect Pairs and the 21+3 side wagers are the most widespread options for players looking to earn a little extra on the side.

Online players can find them in RNG-based variations of the game such as those developed by Realistic Games, Playtech, NetEnt, RealTime Gaming, Microgaming, and Felt. The bets are posted in separate betting boxes. The payouts are displayed on the table layout although in some online variations you might find them in the game menu.

The Perfect Pairs and 21+3 side bets are also available across live dealer casinos powered by the Evolution Gaming software. They can be found in live variations like Blackjack Party, Free Bet Blackjack, and Infinite Blackjack, among others.

The Insurance Bet

Insurance is not your typical side wager in blackjack but is a side bet, nevertheless, because it is made independently from your original stake and has no impact on your odds of winning in the main game. Insurance is offered at the start of a round but only when the dealer shows an ace.

Players who accept this optional side bet must cover it with a wager equal to half their original stake. The dealer then peeks under their ace and pays the player at odds of 2 to 1 if their hole card is indeed a ten for a blackjack. The player loses their main bet in this case but breaks even for the round.

If the dealer does not have a ten in the hole, the player loses their insurance and the round continues as usual, with everyone at the table making their splitting, doubling, hitting or standing decisions. At first glance, accepting insurance seems like a good idea because it supposedly helps you protect your hands against potential dealer blackjacks.

It does nothing of this kind. Basic strategy players should avoid posting this optional wager at all costs no matter what hands they have. The insurance bet does not improve your chances of winning in any way. What it does, though, is yielding a monstrous house edge that far exceeds that in the base game.

The casino advantage on insurance bets ranges from 5.8% to 7.5% depending on the number of decks in play. Only card counters can exploit this side bet to their advantage. By keeping track of the cards that leave the shoe, they can identify the instances when the dealer indeed has higher chances of having a blackjack.

Insurance is never a profitable bet for basic strategy players because their playing decisions, as mathematically correct as they are, are based on a neutral shoe, i.e. they only have knowledge about their two cards and the dealer’s upcard.

The Perfect Pairs Set of Side Bets

Perfect Pairs is easily the most popular and commonly available side wager in blackjack. It comprises a category of side bets that win when the player’s first two cards are of equal rank like a pair of Queens or a pair of 8s, for example.

The dealer’s upcard has no bearing in this instance. Also important is to remember this wager loses or wins separately from the player’s main bet. The bet wins as long as you get any pair of cards. If not, the dealer collects your chips immediately after the initial deal before you make any playing decisions.

The payouts range from 30 to 1 to 5 to 1 depending on the probability of getting certain pairs. The poorer the odds for a specific pair, the higher it pays as you can see below. There are three types of pairs that pay in blackjack.

• Suited pairs consist of cards of the same suit and rank, such as [10s][10s]. These are called “perfect” pairs and offer the highest payout of 30 to 1 (25 to 1 in Playtech’s variation).
• Colored pairs comprise two offsuit cards that are of the same rank and color like [Qs][Qc], for example. They yield a payout of 10 to 1 or 12 to 1, depending on the online blackjack variation.
• Mixed pairs are those consisting of two cards of the same rank but of different suits and colors like [6s][6h]. Such pairs offer lower returns because of their higher probability of showing up. Some online blackjack variants pay at odds of 6 to 1 while others offer lower returns at odds of 5 to 1.

The 21+3 Set of Side Bets

The second broadly available set of side wagers in blackjack comprises the so-called 21+3 bets. You will find those in some online variations developed by software suppliers Realistic Games and Felt Gaming, among others. These are also available at many live-dealer tables by Evolution Gaming.

To win with a 21+3 side bet, you must make a qualifying poker hand that consists of three cards, your first two cards and the dealer’s upcard. The payouts range from 100 to 1 to 5 to 1 but there may be discrepancies in the paytables from one online blackjack variation to the next.

How much you pocket depends on your poker hand’s strength. The house edge on this group of side bets also varies depending on the payouts and the number of decks the respective blackjack game uses. Here are the qualifying poker hands and their payouts:

• The flush offers the lowest payout of 5 to 1 for three cards of the same suit like [6s][9s][Qs].
• The straight yields a payout of 10 to 1 for hands consisting of three cards of consecutive rank but of different suits. An example is [5s][6h][7c][8s][9d].
• Trips, i.e. three of a kind, pays at odds of 30 to 1 for three cards of the same rank like [Qs][Qd][Qh].
• The straight flush pays at odds of 40 to 1 for three cards of consecutive ranks and of the same suit like [10s][Js][Qs].
• The top payout is awarded for suited trips like [Ks][Ks][Ks] or [7d][7d][7d], for example. Such hands pay at casino odds of 100 to 1.

Other Supported Side Bets in Blackjack

Perfect Pairs and 21+3 are only some of the numerous side bets players can find in online blackjack. You won’t believe how inventive casinos are when it comes to increasing their margin and attracting new customers to their blackjack tables. Most of these are niche bets in the sense they are unique to specific blackjack variations developed by certain suppliers. We explain some of these exotic side wagers below.

The Lucky Ladies Bet

Lucky Ladies is among the best-known side wagers in landbased casinos across North America but recently made its debut online thanks to software developer Felt Gaming. These side wagers win when the player is dealt a two-card total of 20 or their starting hand features a Queen of any suit.

The biggest payout is awarded for paired Queens of hearts, otherwise known as the “lucky ladies”. Some variations offer staggering extra prizes of 1,000 to 1 if you get lucky ladies and the dealer has a blackjack at the same time. However, this payout is unavailable in Felt Gaming’s online variant. The exact payout depends on the rank of the player’s first two cards. Check out Felt’s paytable below.

• A pair of Queens of hearts yields the biggest payout of 100 to 1 and wins whenever the first two cards of the player are both Queen of hearts.
• Matched Twenty hands pay at casino odds of 30 to 1. You win when the first two cards you receive from the dealer are suited, have the same face value, and their total adds up to 20. An example is when you are dealt two Kings of spades.
• The Suited Twenty is pretty much self-explanatory. This hand wins at odds of 10 to 1 and comprises two suited cards whose combined value equals 20. One example is a hand that consists of a Jack of spades and a 10 of spades.
• The Any Twenty pays out 3 to 1 when your first two cards total 20 but are of different suites as is the case with a hand of Queen of spades and a Jack of diamonds.
• The Any Queen is the lowest payer out of all Lucky Ladies side bets because the player stands the highest chances of obtaining this hand, especially when multiple decks are in play. The only condition here is that your starting hand contains a Queen like [Qd][6s]. The card’s suit is irrelevant in this case. Any Queen pays even money, or 1 to 1.

Suit ‘Em Up Bets

The Suit ‘Em Up side bets are available at the blackjack tables at some landbased casinos in Las Vegas like the Red Rock Casino in the downtown part of the city. Software supplier Felt Gaming recently developed an online variation of the game, bringing a host of new side bets to the attention of online gambling mavens.

The exact house edge on the Suit ‘Em Up side wagers varies depending on the paytable and the deck number. Felt Gaming’s version, in particular, offers the following payouts for certain special hands consisting of suited cards.

• A pair of suited aces earns you a payout of 50 to 1. Some casinos would offer odds of 60 to 1 for this hand.
• A suited blackjack wins at odds of 10 to 1 whenever the player’s first two cards make a natural and are of the same suit like [Qs][As].
• Suited pairs win whenever the player has two cards of both the same rank and suit like [10s][10s]. The payout is 5 to 1.
• The suited eleven pays out 3 to 1 when your first two cards have a combined total of 11 and are of the same suit. Examples are [6s][5s], [8d][3d], [9h][2h], and [7c][4c].
• Two suited cards of any rank pay 2 to 1. You win as long as your first two cards are of the same suit and unlike ranks. One example is a hand of [6h][7h].

The Lucky Lucky Bet

Similarly to the 21+3 side bets, the Lucky Lucky side wagers are based on the player’s first two cards and the card the dealer is showing. According to American gaming expert and mathematician Michael Shackleford, this is the first ever group of blackjack side bets settled on the basis of players’ starting hand and the dealer’s upcard.

Lucky Lucky is available at numerous landbased casinos across Canada and the USA. You can now post it from the comfort of your home thanks to Felt Gaming, the software studio that adapted these side bets for online play. A Playtech version is also available online.

The Lucky Lucky paytables differ across landbased casinos and so does the number of decks in play. Some casinos use a single deck at their Lucky Lucky tables while others utilize as many as six. Felt Gaming’s version also incorporates six full decks and offers payouts for the following three-card hands:

• A hand of 7/7/7 of the same suit yields the highest return of 200 to 1.
• A hand of 6/7/8 of the same suit pays at odds of 100 to 1.
• 7/7/7 of different suits yields a payout of 50 to 1.
• 6/7/8 of different suits offers a payout of 25 to 1.
• A suited 21 wins whenever the player’s first two cards and the dealer’s upcard have a combined total of 21. The three cards must be of the same suit, however. The payout is 15 to 1.
• An offsuit 21 is basically the same as the suited 21, the only difference being the three cards’ ranks add up to 21 but are offsuit. The payout is lower at 3 to 1 because this hand is easier to obtain.
• A total of 20 wins the side bet as long as the player’s first two cards and the dealer’s upcard add up to 20. The cards’ suits are irrelevant in this instance while the payout stands at 2 to 1.
• A total of 19 also returns at odds of 2 to 1. The player wins as long as their first two cards and the dealer’s face-up card have a combined value of 19.

Dealer Bust Side Bets

Thanks to this group of side bets, blackjack players now have one more reason to rejoice when the dealer busts their hand by exceeding 21. With the dealer-bust side bet, you have the chance to pocket extra-large payouts when your dealer breaks their hand. How much you get depends on the number of cards the dealer has busted with.

In Felt Gaming’s version Buster Blackjack, the top payouts are awarded when the dealer exceeds 21 with specific cards. The general rule of thumb is the more cards it takes for the dealer to go over 21, the higher the side bet’s payout.

Understandably, the side bet loses when the dealer fails to bust. Unlike the rest of the side bets, the Buster wager is not settled at the start of the round. The player must first act on their hand and wait for the dealer to complete or bust theirs afterward.

In Felt’s variation of Buster Blackjack, the biggest prizes drop when the dealer busts with at least 7 or 8 cards against a player blackjack. Examine the rest of the payouts below.

• An 8+ dealer bust while the player has a blackjack offers the mind-blowing payout of 2,000 to 1. Do not get over-excited, though, as a dealer busting with eight or more cards is something that happens on extremely rare occasions. The payout is reduced to 250 to 1 if the dealer busts with eight cards but you lack the blackjack.
• A 7+ dealer bust occurs when the dealer exceeds 21 with seven or more cards. The Buster side bet returns at odds of 800 to 1 in this case but you need to have a blackjack to collect this payout. Without the blackjack, the dealer busting with 7 or more cards pays at lower odds of 50 to 1.
• A dealer bust with 6 cards pays at odds of 18 to 1.
• A dealer busting with 5 cards offers a payout of 4 to 1. This only happens around 1.9% of the time in a six-deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17 (S17).
• Finally, we have a dealer busting with 4 or 3 cards, which yields a payout of 2 to 1. The likelihood of this happening stands at 26.6%. Meanwhile, the probability of the dealer not busting at all is a little over 71% so you better think twice before you overdo it with the Buster side bets.

Under/Over 13

The over/under 13 must be the simplest of all blackjack side bets. This category comprises a couple of wagers that win whenever the first two cards in the player’s hand have a total below or over 13. The side bet loses if the hand’s total is precisely 13.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the aces lose their flexibility when this side wager is in play. Rather than being counted as 1 or 11 depending on the player’s preferences, the aces are always assigned a value of 1.

This side bet is usually offered at select landbased blackjack tables that utilize either six or eight decks. Regardless, you are battling a terrible house edge with this side bet which stands at 6.5% for the over 13 proposition and 10% for the under 13 proposition.

The Royal Match Side Bet

The Royal Match side bet partially resembles Perfect Pairs because payouts are awarded when the player’s first two cards form specific suited pairs. How much you get depends on the complexity of getting the match.

Respectively, there are two types of matches with this side bet, an easy match and a royal match. An easy match is when you have a pair of two suited cards. This is easier to accomplish which is why the payout is only 5 to 2, or 2.5x your stake.

The royal match consists of a King and a Queen of the same suit like [Ks][Qs], [Kh][Qh], [Kc][Qc] or [Kd][Qd]. It pays at casino odds of 25 to 1. Some tables that support this group of side wagers also award bonus payouts of 5 to 1 when the player gets a blackjack consisting of suited ten-value cards and aces. Since the Royal Match is available in both pitch games and multi-deck blackjack, its house advantage fluctuates based on deck number.

Playing for the Progressive Jackpot with Side Bets

Progressive blackjack games are hard to come by but are well-worth the digging online because they have the potential to award life-changing prizes. In such games, players are normally required to post a small side bet, usually no more than a dollar, just to qualify for winning the pot.

There are two popular progressive blackjack games available for real-money online. One comes from the Playtech studio while the other one was developed earlier by supplier Microgaming. Let’s have a look at the Microgaming variation first.

Triple Sevens Blackjack by Microgaming

Triple Sevens is available at some Microgaming-powered casinos and offers a progressive pot that pays $80,000 on average. The progressive pot drops once every year or so. To play for the huge prize or a portion of it, you need to place an optional side bet of $1.

The entire pot goes to the player who obtains a hand of three sevens of diamonds. Needless to say, this affects the way you should play this hand, requiring you to deviate from basic strategy. Splitting paired sevens would obviously destroy your chances of winning the pot.

You are better off hitting your sevens no matter what card the virtual dealer shows in an attempt to draw a third card of this rank and pocketing a portion of the progressive prize. In this vein, smaller payouts from the progressive pool are awarded for the following hands:

• 1 seven of any suit pays 5 to 1.
• Paired sevens of any suit pay 25 to 1.
• Paired sevens of the same suit offer a payout of 50 to 1.
• Trips with sevens of any suit pay out at odds of 250 to 1.
• Trips with suited sevens (bar sevens of diamonds) pay at odds of 1,000 to 1.
• Triple sevens of diamonds award the entire progressive jackpot.

Progressive Blackjack with Side Bets by Playtech

Playtech’s take on progressive blackjack allows you to play anywhere between one and five hands per round. A single-hand version of the game is also available at some Playtech-powered casinos. Similarly to Microgaming’s version, you must play the jackpot side bet to even stand a chance of collecting the progressive prize.

The side bet is again a nominal amount, only a dollar. However, playing it each round can quickly leave you with an empty balance so we advise caution with this side wager. To win the pot or the entire prize pool, you are expected to draw one or more aces.

You should draw the aces consecutively, which means hands like [As][7h][As] do not qualify for larger portions of the pool. We recommend you wait until the jackpot goes being $581,000 as otherwise, you are playing a negative expectation game. The payouts for the progressive side bets are as follows:

• A single ace in your hand offers the smallest payout of 5 to 1.
• A pair of aces awards a payout of 50 to 1.
• Two aces of the same suit pay 100 to 1.
• Three offsuit aces pay 250 to 1.
• Four offsuit aces pay 2,500 to 1.
• Three aces of the same suit pay 5,000 to 1, the biggest portion of the pool.
• Four suited aces award the entire progressive jackpot.

Side Bets and Theoretical Player Return Percentages

The massive payouts are easily one of the most enticing aspects of playing the blackjack side bets, along with the added excitement these wagers yield to one’s gameplay. With that said, casinos do not offer side bets just to spice things up a little for their patrons.

The main goal here is to attract more customers to the blackjack table and lull them into playing bets with a huge negative expectation value. Or no value at all, depending on how you look at things.

As much as we hate to say it, side bets offer a significantly lower theoretical return to player than that in the main blackjack game. We advise you to look up the table below to see precisely what you are up against in terms of house edges and player return percentages with the most common side bets. By way of comparison, the base game has a house edge of roughly 0.50% with perfect basic strategy and an RTP of 99.50%.

Blackjack Side Bet Strategy Explained

Top 3 Blackjack Side Bet