Types Of Blackjack Bets



The first mention of a from the history of blackjack came from a Spanish dictionary dating back to 1611. Blackjack, the American card game where players try to reach 21, was originally known as Ventiuno. In 1613, Miguel de Cervantes mentioned this game in one of his novellas. While Cervantes is famous for writing Don Quixote, one of the most influential works of literature in the world, he was also an avid gambler. In fact, many of his famous characters were cheats and miscreants.

  1. 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 (typically only a dollar), and they generally have payoffs that are greater than.
  2. 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.

While Cervantes’ novel was written about two characters in the Spanish province of Seville trying to cheat at the game that would later become blackjack, other countries like France also picked up a variant of the game in the 18th century.

This blackjack side bet, which has been spotted in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and Tunica, is one of the better side bets in blackjack from the player’s perspective. The expected return ranges from 99.41% for a popular one-deck variation to a 96.15% for one of the six-deck variations. . Progressive Blackjack. This type of blackjack bears almost all features from the classic blackjack. The difference comes in the winnings. With each round, a player has a chance of winning the jackpot. For a player to participate in the next round, the player has to increase the bet by an additional amount. Hence the name, progressive blackjack.

When Ventiuno became popular in France, it was known as Vingt-Un. The game would be known by that name as it traveled through the rest of Europe, becoming popular in Britain and Germany by the second half of the 18th century.

Upon arrival in America in the 1800s, the popular card game went through another name change. This time the name was changed from the French Vingt-Un to its current name of blackjack. Common folklore holds that blackjack got its American name when casinos were trying to increase the game’s popularity.

Casinos would payout 10 times more than usual if the player’s hand consisted of an ace of spades and a “black” jack. While this is a cute story, there’s no evidence to back it up, and blackjack likely received its name a different way. The game increased in popularity during the Gold Rush and was a popular pastime among prospectors.

Sphalerite, a mineral known to indicate if gold or silver ore deposits were nearby, was nicknamed blackjack by miners thanks to its color. It’s suggested by scholars that the top bonus in the original game was referred to by players as blackjack, leading to the game itself taking on that name. Blackjack has many variants because the game has such a long history and has been played in so many countries.

If you’re in a casino, you may be perplexed when a dealer is offering a blackjack variant you’ve never heard of. Luckily, many alternatives are easy to understand if you already know how to play blackjack, so you’ll be able to fit right in and play at the table.

How American Blackjack Works

Types

Real money blackjack is played differently around the world, but we’ll describe the US rules a little bit before moving on to blackjack’s other popular variants.

In the US, each player and the dealer are dealt two cards at the start of the hand. One of the dealer’s cards is face up and one is face down. The values of numbered cards are as shown. Face cards like jacks, queens, or kings have a value of 10, and aces have a value of one or 11.

Players draw cards until they bust. You bust if your sum exceeds 21. Your sum will be different depending on whether the ace is high or low.

Let’s say you have an original hand of a five and a six, meaning your sum is 11. Then, you draw an ace. If the ace were to be high, your sum would be 22 and a bust. But because aces can be high or low, your sum is now 12. You draw a five, then decide to hold because you don’t want to risk busting.

While busting means you automatically lose, you still want to draw enough cards to get close to 21 without going over. Once you and other players finish drawing, it’s the dealer’s turn. The dealer will hit until he reaches 17.

If the dealer has a high ace in his hand, he will continue hitting and the ace will turn into a low ace. Once the dealer either busts or has the sum of 17 or more in his hand, the game is over. You are betting that your final sum is higher than the dealer’s sum.

A blackjack is when a player receives an ace and a card with a value of 10. The player will win if he receives a blackjack, but the dealer will not. And the player loses if he busts, even if the dealer busts, too.

If the player has a higher sum than the dealer without going over 21, the player wins. If the dealer and player end up with the same sum, then the bet is a push, and all stakes are returned.

Side Bets

Types Of Blackjack Games

Once you’ve gotten the hang of simply placing wagers on blackjack games, you may be interested in spicing up your game with side wagers. In a designated area next to the box for the main wager, you’ll find a box where you can make a side wager at most blackjack tables.

Some games will require the blackjack wager to equal or exceed the side bet wager, so you won’t be able to make a huge side bet without betting just as much on the actual game itself.

While blackjack is known to have a relatively low house edge compared to many other table games, side bets aren’t as great for the player value-wise. Side bets have a worse house edge than the game of blackjack does, but they’re still a fun way to add extra flavor to a regular game of blackjack.

1 – Spanish 21

Types Of Blackjack Systems

Spanish 21 has a few key differences from regular blackjack.

If you’ve been frustrated by hitting 21 at the same time as the dealer in regular blackjack, you’ll appreciate Spanish 21. The game pays out 3:2 any time a player hits a blackjack. Many venues offer late surrender in Spanish 21. If the dealer doesn’t have a blackjack, players can surrender and get half their stake back.

Spanish 21 and blackjack both have the dealer dealing two cards to themself to start the game. However, a key difference is if the dealer receives a visible ace in their hand, they’ll peak under the hole card to see if they have a blackjack.

If the dealer is dealt a blackjack, they’ll automatically win and the round is over (except if a player also hits a blackjack, then the player wins and gets paid 3:2).

2 – European Blackjack

The form of blackjack from which the American game evolved, European Blackjack, has a few rule differences from its American counterpart. European Blackjack is played with six decks while American Blackjack can be played with anywhere from one to eight decks.

In European Blackjack, the dealer will only get one face-up card to start the game. The dealer won’t deal himself the second card until the player has finished their hand. Compared to Spanish 21, European Blackjack doesn’t allow the dealer to check for blackjack if his face-up card is an ace.

This prevents the player from being able to double down as easily as other blackjack games since the player doesn’t know if the dealer has a blackjack until the game is over.

3 – Pontoon

Pontoon can be played amongst a group of people without a dealer. At the beginning of the game, no player will be the dealer. Then, the first player to draw a jack will become the banker, which is another way of saying “dealer.”

The combination of an ace and a face card, or a 10, is known as a pontoon. Like blackjack, a pontoon is the best possible hand to receive in the game. Unlike blackjack, pontoon’s next best hand is known as a five-card trick.

A five-card trick is any hand that has five cards in it but has a sum of less than 21. A five-card trick will beat a hand of three or four cards, even if the hand has a higher sum than the five-card trick. The banker will always win in pontoon if he has a hand equal to the players. Pontoon gives the banker a bigger advantage than the dealer has in American blackjack.

4 – Perfect Pairs

One of the most popular blackjack variants, Perfect Pairs is played all around the world. Playing perfect pairs is like playing a regular hand of blackjack but automatically includes a side bet. The side bet is whether the player will be dealt a pair as their first two cards.

There are three types of perfect pairs in the game:

  • Two cards with the same number value. For example, two nines or two kings
  • Two cards with the same number value and color, like an ace of spades and an ace of clubs
  • A perfect pair where the two cards are identical with the same value and suit

Conclusion

We hope this shed some light on blackjack history and provided you with information of the different variations of blackjack that are popular. What is your favorite variant of blackjack? Let us know in the comments.

Simon Beasor

Table Of Contents

With simple rules and easy to learn strategies, the game of blackjack is one of the most popular card games in both Las Vegas Casinos and online around the world.

Blackjack side bets add a layer of complexity to the game, though at much greater risk.

In this article we’ll take a look at the different side bet options, how they are structured and what side bets pay.

  • What are Blackjack side bets?
  • Why play Blackjack side bets?
  • Common side bets at most Casinos
  • Other side bets to look out for
  • Are Blackjack side bets worth playing?

What are Blackjack side bets?

Blackjack side bets are additional bets placed during a standard game of Blackjack. They involve predicting which cards the player, and sometimes the dealer, will receive.

Wagers are made before any cards are dealt and each side bet is based on chance rather than skill, although you can count cards to help you choose the most likely combinations for your best side bets.

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Why play side bets?

One of the most attractive features of the game of Blackjack is the low house edge compared to other games on the casino floor.

Good players will face a house edge of around 0.5%, and even if you play quite badly, that edge only rises to around 2%.

Types Of Blackjack Bets Poker

However, while the odds of losing big are low, the odds of winning are also poor.

Blackjack is mostly an even money game, rising to 2:1 at best if you are dealt a Blackjack.

Side bets offer you the chance to play much longer odds for higher player wins – as much as 5,000:1 in one case.

However, it must be noted that the house edge rises significantly for Blackjack side bets, with most bets carrying a house edge of 10% or more.

In other words, side bets make it a lot easier to lose money on blackjack.

Common side bets at most Casinos

There are a number of common side bets that you will find at most Blackjack tables.

These are clearly marked with the odds either printed on the Blackjack tables or available as a hand out or a side menu in the online version.

You should check the pay outs carefully before placing your bets as they can vary considerably between different Casinos or online sites.

The three main Blackjack side bets are:

  • Insurance
  • Perfect Pairs
  • 21+3

Insurance – this is the most common Blackjack side bet and allows you to cover yourself against Blackjack if the dealer has an ace face up.

This bet involves half of your original stake and pays out at 2:1 if the dealer has Blackjack. The insurance bet reduces the overall house edge.

Perfect Pairs – this side bet uses the player’s cards only, and pays out if you are dealt two of a kind as follows:

  • Mixed pair (two of the same value but different suit and colour) – pays 5:1
  • Coloured pair (two of the same value and the same colour) – pays 12:1
  • Perfect pair (two of the same card) – pays 25:1

The returns can vary between different Casinos and different pay tables and the house edge will depend on both the pay out and the number of decks used and can range from just 2 or 3% up to 11% or more.

21+3 – this side bet involves the player’s two cards and the upturned card of the dealer. It will pay out for a number of different combinations:

  • Flush – (all cards are suited) – pays 5:1
  • Straight – (all cards consecutive) – pays 10:1
  • Three of a kind – (not the same suit) – pays 30:1
  • Straight flush – (consecutive cards same suit) – pays 40:1
  • Suited triple – (three of the same card) – pays 100:1

The house edge for the 21+3 side bet will vary depending on the number of decks used, standing at 8.78% for four decks, 7.81% for five decks, 7.14% for six decks and 6.29% for seven decks.

Other side bets to look out for

Types Of Blackjack Bets No Deposit

The Casino industry is highly competitive, and so new side bets are being invented all the time to try and attract new Blackjack players.

Types Of Blackjack Bets Real Money

Some of these will flourish and become widely available, while others remain niche and can only be found in selected Casinos. Here are a few examples:

  • Royal match – pays 5:2 for any suited player’s cards and 25:1 for suited king and queen
  • Over/under 13 – pays even money for correctly predicting the sum of the player’s cards as less than or greater than 13. In most cases, exactly 13 will lose, but some Casinos will allow bets on exactly 13.
  • Super sevens – this bet pays out if one or more sevens are dealt in the player’s cards. One seven pays 3:1, two unsuited sevens pays 50:1, two suited sevens pays 100:1. If the third card dealt is also a seven, then the bet will pay 500:1 unsuited and 5000:1 suited. However it is important to make sure that the Casino will still deal a third card if the dealer has a Blackjack, as some Casinos will not do this.
  • Lucky ladies – this bet pays out if the player’s cards add up to 20, with an unsuited 20 paying 4:1, a suited 20 paying 10:1, a matched 20, same rank and suit pays 25:1, two queens of hearts 200:1 and two queens of hearts when dealer has Blackjack 1000:1.
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Are Blackjack side bets worth playing?

Blackjack side bets do not involve any skill and you are simply betting on the luck of the draw.

What’s more, the returns do not reflect the odds of each bet coming in, which gives the house a significantly larger edge.

Conclusion

Blackjack side bets are best viewed as a bit of extra complexity that adds up to a session at the Blackjack table.

However, you should not make them the main focus of your gameplay or your wagering, and you should be aware of the significantly increased house edge.

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