| This game combines a Three Card Poker side bet with blackjack. Essentially the player makes a side bet that his first two dealt cards plus the dealer's upcard will be a flush, straight, straight flush or three of a kind. If so the side bet pays 9 to 1. In a six-deck game, the casino's edge is 3%; more respectable than most side bets, but still higher than the casino's edge on traditional blackjack. 5 Card 21 This side bet pays 2 to 1 if the player gets a winning 5-card hand totaling 21. There are about 20 deviations from basic strategy for any player who wants to try for the 5-card 21 and the house edge is only 0.2%. You'll find the complete basic strategy in Stanford Wong's book, Basic Blackjack. Over/Under bet This side bet allows a player to wager that the likelihood of his two initial cards will total either over 13 or under 13 (if the total is exactly 13 the player loses both the over and under bet). Arnold Snyder studied this bet in great detail and reported his results in the Over/Under Report. The bottom line is that the house has an edge of 6.6% for the over bet and 10% for the under bet (typical 6-deck game). This side bet is not recommended if you are a basic strategy player. However, Snyder went on to demonstrate that by using card counting techniques, it's possible for the player to actually gain the advantage. Good bet if you learn the counting system for it. Super 7s Here the player makes a side bet in the hopes he is dealt one or more 7s. For example, if his first card is a 7, the payoff is 3 to 1. If his first two cards are unsuited 7s, it's a 50 to 1 payoff and if both 7s are suited, the payoff skyrockets to 100 to 1. Finally if the player is dealt three 7s, the payoff is 500 to 1 if unsuited and a whopping 5,000 to 1 if suited. Although the high payoffs are inviting when you do the math the casino's edge is around 11%. That's a suckers bet in anybody's book. Royal Match A player makes a side bet and gets paid a bonus if the first two cards are suited (3 to 1) and a 10 to 1 bonus if the two suited cards are a king and queen (royal match). These payoffs are for single-deck games and the house edge is around 4%. The payoffs can vary from the above and the odds change if more decks of cards are used. But no matter, I've yet to see an established payoff high enough that reduces the house edge to a respectable level. Avoid this side bet. Streak |
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