Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games, thanks to its mix of skill and luck. But in recent years, live blackjack tables have introduced exciting side bets… extra wagers that promise big payouts. Are these side bets a smart move, or do they just drain your bankroll? Let’s break down the math to find out, so you can get ahead of other players when using your 22Bet login!
How Do Blackjack Side Bets Work?
Side bets are optional wagers you can place alongside your main blackjack bet and usually pay out based on specific combinations, like getting a pair or hitting 21 in a certain number of cards.
Common Types of Side Bets
- Perfect Pairs – Bet that your first two cards will be a pair (same rank).
- 21+3 – Combines your two cards and the dealer’s up card to form a poker hand (e.g., flush, straight).
- Lucky Ladies – Pays out if your first two cards total 20.
The House Edge
The house edge is the casino’s built-in advantage. In regular blackjack, skilled gamblers can reduce the house edge to less than 1%, but side stakes are different. They often have a much higher house edge, sometimes 5% or more.
For example:
- Perfect Pairs – House edge around 5-6%.
- 21+3 – Between 6-9%.
- Lucky Ladies – Can reach 25% on some pay tables!
Why Do They Have Such Bad Odds?
Casinos know that players love big, flashy payouts. A small stake could win 50x or even 100x your money, but the chances of hitting those wins are extremely low.
Probability vs. Payouts
Let’s take Perfect Pairs as an example:
- Mixed Pair (same rank, different suits) – Pays 5:1.
- Colored Pair (same rank and color) – Pays 10:1.
- Perfect Pair (same rank and suit) – Pays 30:1.
Sounds great, right? But the probability of getting a Perfect Pair is only 0.58% (less than 1 in 170 hands), and the casino prices these bets so that, long-term, they always win.
Are They Ever Worth It?
The short answer: Almost never.
When Might They Make Sense?
- For fun – If you’re playing for entertainment and don’t mind losing the extra cash.
- Promotions – Some hosts offer bonuses on side bets (e.g., “Win a Progressive Jackpot on 21+3!”).
- Card Counting (Rarely) – A few side wagers can be exploited with advanced strategies, but this is very difficult.
Can Card Counting Affect This?
Because they usually depend on the first few cards dealt, side bets are more difficult to take advantage of. There are, however, certain exceptions.
For example, tracking high-value cards may at times have an impact on the Lucky Ladies side bet, which pays out for a pair of Queens, but the odds of hitting a 20 go up a little if there are a lot of 10s and face cards left in the deck.
Similar to this, modified counting methods may have a slight impact on the 21+3 wager, which mixes dealer and player cards to create poker hands. Players with expertise may monitor suited cards to predict straights or flushes, but the intricacy of these equations frequently surpasses the small benefits. For a fractional edge, deck tracking must be almost flawless.