Side bets in blackjack

The rules of classic blackjack are simple — you can get your head around them in a couple of minutes, and much of the game’s popularity comes down to that simplicity. But some players want the opposite — a bit more complexity: more ways to bet and to win. Plenty of online casinos meet that demand and offer side bets. To get ahead of ourselves: they’re far from available at every table, so players who enjoy them seek out tables with the side bets they’re after.

What a side bet is and how it works

The term side bet (additional bet) describes the idea fairly precisely: in blackjack there’s one main bet¹, which you make in any case, but you can make another one too — one that wins on entirely different conditions. So a side bet can win even when the main bet loses, and vice versa. While the main bet is mandatory, the side bet is strictly optional: even at a table that offers side bets, you’re under no obligation to make them.

Side bets are usually placed before the deal, because you can win as soon as the first cards are dealt. The payout depends on the table’s terms and on what exactly the bet was on — we’ll get to that below.

The main rule: the house edge is always higher

Some inexperienced players see side bets as an extra advantage — as if it’s one more way to win money. In reality that’s a serious misconception. While the main blackjack bet carries a house edge² of around 0.5%³, side bets carry 2–17%, which is a lot in any case.

Important: a beginner sees the huge potential payout but overlooks how hard it is to hit. In theory you could land a big win early in a session and, by walking away right then, come out ahead. But over the long run, every side bet without exception just drains your bankroll faster — so they’re best viewed as entertainment and a bit of a thrill, not as a way to improve your own results.

Payout differences between providers

Every payout quoted in this article should be treated not as gospel but as a guide: each provider and each table is free to set its own pay schedule. Visionary and LuckyStreak stand out for the worse — side bets turn up often at their tables, but pay noticeably less than at the big names Evolution or Playtech. So if side bets interest you, only sit down at a new table after checking its pay table — that’s the only way to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Perfect Pairs

Among the many side bets, a few have become widely recognized — worth looking at in detail so you know what’s on offer. In multi-deck blackjack the easiest to grasp is Perfect Pairs: a bet that your first two cards will be a pair. By a pair we mean matching rank: two sixes, say, or two queens. Suits and colours matter too — whether they match or not affects the payout.

As the table shows, payouts for the same result can differ — that depends on the policy of the provider and the casino where you play. To avoid getting caught out by an unexpectedly low payout, always check the pay table in the table’s description in advance.

21+3

If Perfect Pairs is a bet on your own cards, then 21+3 is a bet on a three-card combination: your two cards plus the dealer’s upcard. All three matching is unlikely, so you’re betting on one of the poker hands. The payout depends on which one you make.

With 21+3, too, be sure to check the pay table of the specific table in advance — the actual payout may differ from the one here. For instance, Visionary iGaming and LuckyStreak pay just 9:1 on 21+3 — no matter which poker hand you actually made.

Lucky Lucky — the same idea under a different name

In essence, Lucky Lucky is a version of 21+3 under a different name: here too you’re betting on a three-card combination (your two cards plus the dealer’s upcard), but with a different pay table; it’s effectively a trademark with very similar contents. Three suited sevens pay 200:1, and overall this bet is considered the most favourable: the house edge is only around 2.7%, which is excellent compared with the other side bets.

Lucky Ladies

In spirit, Lucky Ladies resembles Perfect Pairs, but here it doesn’t matter whether the cards match in suit and rank — what matters is that together they make 20. This bet is set up very differently from table to table: a different set of combinations counts, and they’re paid differently too. The ideal is considered a pair of queens, but even here there’s no consensus: at some tables it’s queens of hearts, at others queens of spades, plus there’s a variant where a pair of queens of spades pays even more if the dealer has a blackjack. Either way, Lucky Ladies is considered the least favourable over the long run: its house edge averages an astronomical 17%.

Buster Blackjack

A bust (bust) by the dealer is good news for you in itself: it usually means you’ve won the main bet, as long as you didn’t bust yourself. Buster Blackjack is a chance to win even more in that situation: you bet that the dealer will bust. The main bet can still win or lose — the side bet works independently. The payout is usually progressive: the more cards in the dealer’s busted hand, the more you collect.

Insurance and Even Money

Insurance against a dealer blackjack (Insurance) is available even under classic rules; in essence it too falls into the side-bet category, since it requires another bet — though not before the hand, but during it. When the dealer’s first card is an ace, you can stake an extra half of your main bet; if the dealer turns out to have a natural blackjack, insurance pays 2:1. The main bet is then very likely lost (unless it’s a tie), but insurance covers the loss. Yet experienced players who work to keep losses down practically never take insurance: its long-run house edge is around 7.4%, since a dealer blackjack, even with an ace showing, comes up only 31% of the time, and the other 69% is a pointless loss of the insurance bet.

Important: by declining insurance you’re simply playing by basic strategy. Taking it every time gives the house about a 1.97% edge, whereas playing without insurance keeps the figure at around 0.5%.

Closely tied to insurance is the Even Money option: when the dealer shows an ace and you already hold a blackjack, you can accept a 1:1 payout right away to avoid a push if the dealer also has blackjack, and lock in at least some win. But Even Money can’t be counted as a side bet: you don’t stake any extra money, you simply agree to 1:1 before the dealer’s second card is revealed.

Non-standard formats and rules

Blackjack is a game of variety. In this article we’re covering side bets specifically, where you risk money beyond the main bet. But besides side bets there are also tables with special rule variants — let’s look at them briefly, since they affect your results too.

• Ties win — a tie rule under which there’s no push with the bet returned at this table: where other tables would call a push, here the dealer is declared the winner. For the player it’s a disaster — the house edge becomes enormous; tables with this rule are best avoided, unless they offer some very generous compensation.
• Match Play 21 (also Spanish 21) — a specific variant that many experts don’t consider blackjack at all. Its defining feature is that the decks have no tens at all; because of that a natural blackjack comes up less often, doubling makes less sense in spots where it would be logical in the classic game, and a strong hand is harder to make. But, first, all of this applies to the dealer too; second, such tables often offer compensating rules: doubling after a split, resplitting aces, bonuses for certain 21-point combinations and a surrender option, at least late surrender. In other words, the RTP here can be normal, comparable to classic blackjack — but it’s crucial to study the table’s detailed rules in advance and not rely on ‘classic’ basic strategy.
• Atlantic City — essentially classic eight-deck blackjack, but with a set of strong rules: the dealer standing on soft 17, doubling after a split, late surrender and Dealer Peek⁴. The same set may go by another name too — ‘Atlantic City’ has simply caught on as a brand.

Are side bets worth playing

First and foremost, the answer depends on your goals. If you understand that side bets will burn through your bankroll faster and you’re fine with that in exchange for the entertainment — then yes, go ahead and play them; but a careful player definitely doesn’t need them. What’s more, even experienced players, when they want a bit of fun, set aside only 5–10% of their total bankroll for side bets — meaning it’s just one part of a session, no more.

If you do decide you want side bets, be sure to read the table’s pay table before you play: bets with the same name at different tables can pay differently, and it’s better to pick the ones that pay more generously. That’s only sensible: even knowing the house edge is high, no player sets out to lose all their money as fast as possible — and to avoid that, you need to win more often and more.

Important: when you play side bets, keeping your discipline is critical. Many players chase side bets because of the big promised payout, and when it doesn’t come, they’re ready to blow past their pre-set bankroll just to take another shot at the jackpot, again and again. That’s a direct road to problem gambling — and to losing money that should never have been at risk.