Understanding Blackjack Side Bets: Are They Worth It?
Blackjack Side Bets: What You Need to Know
- Blackjack side bets are optional wagers made beyond the main game bet, offering different ways to win based on various outcomes of the player’s and dealer’s cards.
- Popular side bets include Insurance, Perfect Pairs, and 21+3, each with their own payout rates and odds of winning.
- While side bets can add excitement and potential for a larger payout, they usually come with a higher house edge compared to the main blackjack game, increasing the player’s overall risk.
- The value of side bets often depends on the player’s individual strategy and risk tolerance. Some players enjoy the extra entertainment and potential rewards, while others prefer to stick to the standard game due to its lower house edge.
- Understanding how each side bet works, calculating potential returns, and considering your own comfort with risk are key to determining your payouts and whether side bets are worth it in blackjack.
Side bets in blackjack are optional wagers which can be made in addition to the standard one-hand bet. The side bet is independent of the outcome of the original blackjack hand. This means you can lose your main bet, but still win the side bet, or vice versa. Though an entertaining addition to the game, most blackjack side bets are ultimately not worth the cost. Let’s explore them in more detail.
How To Place Blackjack Side Bets
If you make a $10 wager in the main betting area, you can also make another wager to the “side” of this main wager, depending on the table. Let’s say you place $5 on that spot. This additional side wager will now play independently to the main bet.
The photo below shows a standard blackjack table which also offers a “Pair Square” side bet.
As you can see, the main wagering area is marked on this table with a white circle. The main betting areas in blackjack can also be designated with a square, or sometimes just with a logo. And they aren’t always designated with a different color. It all depends on each individual casino.
Next to the main betting area you can see a square that says “Pair Square”. If you want to place a Pair Square side bet, you would do so here.
Standard blackjack tables do not have this side betting area printed on the table layout; it varies depending on the game you are about to play.
What Are The Available Blackjack Side Bets?
Here’s a list of the most widely-available side bets in blackjack, presented here in no specific order or preference:
- Blackjack Insurance
- Pair Square
- Match the Dealer
- Lucky Lucky
- Lucky Ladies
- Super 7s
- Over-Under 13
- Royal Match
- Easy Match
- Rummy
- Blazing 7
- 21+3
- Perfect Pair
Remember, although there are many different side bets in blackjack, they are not always offered. It all depends on the casino itself, and this includes online casinos. The one exception to this is the Insurance wager, which is a standard side bet in all traditional blackjack games.
Let’s take a deeper look at each of the above side bets, including how they play and their odds.
1. Blackjack Insurance
This is the most common side bet in blackjack and is available on all standard blackjack tables. You can place it when the dealer’s up-card is an Ace. It’s purpose is to insure against the dealer’s 21 – or Blackjack – hand. The house edge on this side-wager is about 8.5%, so it’s not a very good bet.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say that your first two cards are 10-value cards, which means you have a total of 20. A very good hand in blackjack. But the dealer is showing an Ace. This means that if the dealer also has a 10-value card as his down-card, the dealer will now have Blackjack (21), and your great hand will lose. So, the dealer will ask if you would like to buy insurance before they look at their down card.
The insurance wager typically pays 2:1. If you take insurance, you will win your side bet if the dealer does have a Blackjack, but lose your main bet. If the dealer does not have a Blackjack, then you lose the insurance wager, and win the main bet.
For example, let’s say you have a $15 main wager and a $5 insurance wager.
- If the dealer DOES have a Blackjack, you lose your $15 main wager, but you win 2:1 on your insurance side bet.
- At 2:1, you’ll get two chips for each one, so for your one $5 chip you now get two $5 chips. This makes a total of $15, because you also get to keep the original $5 wager.
- This means you have now lost $15 on the main wager, but you won $15 on the side bet.
- However, as you wagered a total of $20 ($15 on the main bet + $5 on the insurance bet), you are still down $5. And that’s why the insurance side bet is NOT the best choice.
Read our in-depth article for more information on when to take insurance in blackjack.
2. Pair Square
This side bet is simply a pair of the same kind. For example: two Kings, or two 8s, or two 10s, and so on.
If they are of different suits, this usually pays 10:1. If they are of the same suit, this usually pays 15:1.
The house edge on this bet is about 10.6%.
3. Match The Dealer
This is a wager where you bet that your first two cards will be an exact match to the dealer’s first two cards. For a 6-deck shoe game, the unsuited match usually pays 3:1, and the suited match usually pays 14:1.
Again, this may vary depending on the individual casino and it’s rules.
4. Lucky Lucky
On this side bet in blackjack, your payout will depend on the value achieved by your first two cards PLUS the dealer’s up card. The Lucky Lucky side bet payout chart is as follows:
- 19 or 10 as your first two cards + the dealer’s up card pays 2:1
- 21 (mixed suits) as your first two cards + the dealer’s up card pays 3:1
- 21 (same suit) as your first two cards + the dealer’s up card pays 15:1
- 6-7-8 (mixed suits) as your first two cards + the dealer’s up card pays 30:1
- Three 7s as your first two cards + the dealer’s up card pays 50:1
- 6-7-8 (same suit) as your first two cards + the dealer’s up card pays 100:1
- Three 7s (same suit) as your first two cards + the dealer’s up card pays 200:1
The house edge on the Lucky Lucky side bet on a six-deck shoe is about 2.7%. That makes this one of the better blackjack side bets overall.
5. Lucky Ladies
In the Lucky Ladies side bet you are wagering that your first two cards will total 20. The payout chart is as follows:
- 20 (different suits) as your first two cards pays 4:1
- 20 (same suit) as your first two cards pays 10:1
- 20 (same rank) as your first two cards pays 25:1
- 20 (Both Qs of Hearts) as your first two cards pays 1,000:1
The house edge on the Lucky Ladies side bet is a whopping 25%! That’s why you will see so many casinos offering it, but it’s NOT a good bet for you!
6. Super 7s
This is a simple wager on how many 7-value cards your hand will have. The payout chart is as follows:
- Any 7 as your first card pays 3:1
- Two 7s (different suits) as your first two cards pays 50:1
- Two 7s (same suit) as your first two cards pays 100:1
- Three 7s (different suits) as your first three cards pays 500:1
- Three 7s (same suit) as your first three cards pays 5,000:1
The house edge on this side bet is about 11.4% if playing with a 6-deck shoe. This makes it an average side wager at best.
7. Over-Under 13
Over-Under 13 is simple wager on whether your first two cards will total over or under 13.
The Ace always counts as 1, which means that your hand tends to lose.
This side wager usually pays about 10:1. The house edge on the “over 13” is about 6.6%, and about 10.1% on the “under 13”.
8. Royal Match
Sometimes also known as “Royal Match 21,” this is a simple wager that your first two cards will be the King and Queen of the SAME suit.
If you hit this in a single-deck game, it mostly pays about 10:1. But single-deck blackjack games are nearly impossible to find these days. Most games will be with a 6-deck shoe and pay out 25:1.
This is one of those games where the side bet gets better the more decks there are in the shoe. But remember that the more decks there are in the shoe, the harder it is to play the main game, so there is a trade-off here. The house edge for the Royal Match side bet, per decks played, is as follows:
- Single Deck: 10.9%
- Two Deck: 8.4%
- Four Deck: 7.1%
- Six Deck: 5.9%
- Eight Deck: 6.5%
As you can see, once we get to 8-decks, the house edge starts to increase again. Most blackjack games play with the 6-deck shoe with the slightly lower 5.9% edge. However, it’s still not a good wager.
9. Easy Match
This is an even simpler side bet, where you are wagering that your first two cards will be of the same suit. For most multi-deck blackjack games the pays are about 5:2, although the single-deck version pays 3:1.
10. Rummy
The rummy side bet is where your first two cards PLUS the dealer’s UP card form a valid Rummy hand. A valid Rummy hand can be any of the following:
- Flush: three cards all of the same suit
- Straight: three cards of consecutive value
- Three-of-a-kind: Three cards of the same value
The payouts are usually as follows, and the house edge is about 4.2%.
- Flush 4:1
- Straight 4:1
- Three-of-a-kind 9:1
11. Blazing 7
This is very similar to the Super 7s side bet in that it depends on how many 7s you have in your hand. If you get 7-7-7, then you usually win 777:1 on your side wager. This wager is usually offered as a Progressive, and that’s what makes it a bit different from Super 7s.
This side bet is usually either a $1 or $5 bet, depending on the game. For the $1 wager, the house edge is around 2.2%, and for the $5 wager it’s about 2.4%.
However, this can be somewhat deceptive, because this factors in the Progressive. The fact is that for this to be a 50-50 game, or at least close to less than 1% house edge, on the $1 option, the jackpot will have to be in excess of $24,000.00, while for the $5 side bet this will have to be in excess of $120,000 (rounded figures).
12. 21+3
This is another variation on the first three cards: Your first two cards PLUS the dealer’s up card. The payouts are as follows:
- All 3-cards suited – known as a Flush – pays 5:1
- All 3-cards consecutive – known as a Straight – pays 10:1
- All 3-cards of the same value – known as a 3-of-a-kind – pays 30:1
- All 3-cards consecutive AND suited – known as a Straight Flush – pays 40:1
- All 3-cards of the same value AND suited – known as Suited 3-of-a-kind – pays 100:1
The house edge on a 6-deck shoe game is about 7.2%.
13. Perfect Pair
In this side bet, your first two cards decide the value. The payouts are as follows:
- Your first 2 cards of DIFFERENT suits and colors pays 5:1 (mixed pair)
- Your first 2 cards of SAME VALUE and SAME color pays 12:1 (colored pair)
- Your first 2 cards of the SAME CARD & SUIT (i.e., K-K, 10-10, etc.) pays 25:1 (Perfect Pair)
The house edge on this game depends on rule variations and payouts. For example, Perfect Pairs pay 30:1 in some online casinos, but there are rule variations in the base game which may affect the overall odds and pays. So, in general, the house edge on the Perfect Pair side bet is about 10.7%.
What Are The Best Side Bets In Blackjack?
The house edge on the Lucky Lucky side bet – on a six-deck shoe – is about 2.7%, and that makes this side bet one of the better ones. This is comparable with single-zero European Roulette, which also has a 2.7% casino edge. So, comparatively, this side bet is “not too stinky.”
But this is a relative term – because even a 2.7% edge ADDS to the overall house edge on blackjack. A standard blackjack game can be played to a house edge of just 0.54% with perfect blackjack strategy.
The only other side bet which may be of value is the Blazing 7s, IF played as a Progressive, and IF the Progressive amount has already reached, or exceeded the required amount. Only then might it make sense.
Are Side Bets In Blackjack Worth It?
None of the other blackjack side bets are worth the cost. Remember this simple saying from the old-time gamblers of Las Vegas:
“If the Casino allows you to do it – and even promotes that you do it – then this means it’s good for THEM, and not good for YOU!”
When you add any side bets to your blackjack game, you are eroding your advantage from the main game. That’s because you have your MAIN wager also riding on the outcome.
So – general advice – stay away from side bets, save the money, and learn to play better perfect blackjack using our blackjack strategy charts.
