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Introduction
How you do in the blackjack game has no effect on the outcome of the rummy side bet. The house edge for this side bet (assuming a standard 9 to 1 payout) is 4.14%. If you know much about blackjack, you won’t be surprised by this. Most side bets in blackjack have lousy odds when compared to the main game, which usually has a house edge of less than 1% — assuming you’re playing with perfect basic strategy. Rummy Blackjack in Costa Rica. In some casinos, when the dealer has a blackjack and a player has two 7s, the casino won't deal a third card to the player and the house edge on this side bet is 12.6 percent. However, some casinos will give the player a third card in this situation and the house edge drops to 11.4 percent.
Rummy is a popular blackjack variant found in Costa Rica. Most Costa Rican casinos don't offer blackjack at all, claiming it is illegal. So, if you like 21-based games, and depending on which casino you're in, you may be stuck playing Rummy.
- Rummy Introduction. Rummy is a popular blackjack variant found in Costa Rica. Most Costa Rican casinos don't offer blackjack at all, claiming it is illegal. So, if you like 21-based games, and depending on which casino you're in, you may be stuck playing Rummy.
- In blackjack games where a rummy side bet is available, the main game proceeds as normally. How you do in the blackjack game has no effect on the outcome of the rummy side bet. The house edge for this side bet (assuming a standard 9 to 1 payout) is 4.14%. If you know much about blackjack, you won’t be surprised by this.
- Most Common Live Blackjack Side Bets. The game of Blackjack starts with placing a main bet or Ante. With this bet, you predict that you will create a hand that is closer to 21 than the dealers without exceeding this number. While this bet pays 1:1 or 3:2, depending on the outcome of a round, side bets pay bigger prizes, but also involve more risk.
Rules
These are what I'm calling the 'benchmark rules' for Rummy, which most casinos follow. Some casinos adopt stingier rules; for those instances, see the rule variations section below.
- Four to six decks.
- An ace and 10-point card count as 21 points. Thus, there is no 3-2 bonus for a winning 'blackjack,' because there are no blackjacks.
- Dealer stands on soft 17.
- Double any two cards.
- Early surrender.
- Double after split allowed.
- Re-split any pair, including aces, up to four hands.
- Draw to split aces not allowed.
- The following bonuses for a three of a kind and straight flush apply to the first three cards of the original hand only.
Rummy Bonuses
Player hand Unsuited Suited Total 21 Three of a kind 3 to 1 5 to 1 5 to 1 Straight flush n/a 3 to 1 5 to 1 - Bonuses pay immediately, even if the third card causes the player to bust.
- If the player gets a bonus after doubling, then the bonuses apply to the total amount bet.
- Splitting voids any chance of a bonus.
Strategy
The following table shows the basic strategy, assuming the rules above. Please note the bonus exceptions for two suited player cards to the right of the table.
House Edge
Assuming the benchmark rules and basic strategy above, the house edge is 1.00%.
Rule variants
The following table shows some rule variants you may see and the effect on the house edge.
Rule Variants
Rule | Effect |
---|---|
Draw to split aces | -0.17% |
4 Decks | +0.02% |
No re-splitting aces | +0.06% |
Dealer hits soft 17 | +0.16% |
No surrender | +0.47% |
It is interesting to note that the house edge goes up as the number of decks goes down. I assume because it becomes harder for the player to make three of a kind bonuses.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Cindy Liu and CrystalMath for their assistance in this analysis.
Written by:Michael Shackleford
If you’ve spent some time in Las Vegas casinos or even played online, you’ve heard of some of the more common blackjack side bets.
The most common of these, of course, is insurance, which is available in every blackjack game I’ve ever played.
In this post, I look at insurance and 6 other blackjack side bets.
I also offer some analysis of why I think these are bets with lousy odds. (See my post about blackjack probability for more details about how the odds work in blackjack.)
See if you agree with my reasoning.
1- Insurance Is the Most Common of the Various Blackjack Side Bets
An insurance bet is basically just a bet that the dealer has a blackjack. The insurance bet is only available when the dealer has an ace showing for her face-up card.
When you take insurance, you have a chance of getting some money back even if the dealer wins. (And the dealer always wins with a blackjack, unless you also have one — in which case, it’s a push.)
Insurance pays off at 2 to 1 odds, and the size of your insurance bet must be half the size of your original bet.
If the dealer’s upcard is an ace, the player is offered the option of taking “insurance” before the dealer checks the hole card.
If you’re making an insurance bet, you’re betting that the dealer’s face-down card — her “hole” card — is a 10. Since there are a lot of 10s in the deck — the 10s, jacks, queens, kings, and aces — insurance SEEMS like a good bet.
Why Insurance Is a Bad Bet
But it’s not.
Here’s why:
If the dealer had a blackjack 1 out of 3 times, this would be an even-money wager.
But the dealer actually has a blackjack slightly less than 1 out of 3 times.
You have 51 cards left in the deck. There are 16 cards worth 10 in the deck. This means the probability of having a 10 is 16/51, which is 31.37%.
The probability of winning the bet would need to be 33.33% or higher for you to break even in the long run on insurance.
But if you’re counting cards, insurance can sometimes be a positive expectation bet.
In all card counting systems, a deck relatively rich in 10s is a deck with a positive count.
It’s easy to calculate the house edge for insurance in blackjack. The odds are 35 to 16 that you’ll win the bet, and the payoff is 32 to 16,
This means the house edge is 3/51 or 1/17, which is the same as 5.89%.
In a game with an overall house edge of 1% or lower, taking a bet with a house edge of 5.89% is foolhardy at best.
You can read more about insurance in blackjack at LasVegasAdvisor.
2- “21 + 3” Is an Interesting Blackjack Side Bet, Too
The 21 + 3 side bet is becoming more common. It’s a bet on the result of your first 2 cards and the dealer’s face-up card. 21 + 3 combines poker hand rankings with blackjack.
The following poker hands pay out when you achieve them with those 3 cards:
- 3 of a kind of the same suit
- Straight flush
- 3 of a kind
- Straight
- Flush
A 3 of a kind of the same suit is the best possible hand in 21 + 3. It consists of 3 of the same card — when you’re dealing with a game made up of multiple decks, it’s possible to wind up with a suited 3 of a kind. This usually pays off at 100 to 1 odds.
A straight flush consists of 3 cards of the same suit that are also adjacent in ranks. For example, if you have the 10 and the jack of clubs, and the dealer’s up-card is a 9 of clubs, you have a straight flush.
This is the 2nd- best possible hand in 21 + 3 and usually pays off at 40 to 1 odds.
A 3 of a kind is just 3 cards with the same ranking, like 7s or jacks. This usually pays off at 30 to 1.
A straight is 3 cards in consecutive order, but they don’t have to belong to the same suit. This one pays off at 10 to 1.
A flush is 3 cards of the same suit and pays off at 5 to 1.
The house edge for the pay table used in this example is 3.7%, but it varies based on the specific payoffs. The pay table varies from casino to casino, but this is a common one.
Blackjack Rummy Side Bet Odds Genesis Open
You’ll even find some casinos offering a game where the payout for all these hands is more or less the same, like 7 to 1 regardless of which hand it is. That’s one of the worst versions — with a house edge of over 7%.
3- What about Perfect Pairs? Is That a Good Bet?
The Perfect Pairs side bet pays off when you get a pair, and it pays off more when you meet specific criteria:
- Mixed suits
- Same colors
- Perfect pair
A mixed pair is the easiest to get, of course — this means that your pair is made up of different suits AND colors, and it usually pays off at 5 to 1 odds.
A colored pair consists of 2 cards of the same ranking and the same color, even if the suits differ. If you have the 7 of diamonds and a 7 of hearts, you have a colored pair. This one pays off at 10 to 1.
A perfect pair is when you have 2 cards of the same suit AND rank. For example, if you have the 7 of spades AND another 7 of spades, you have a perfect pair. The payout is 30 to 1 for this one.
Different casinos might have different payouts for the Perfect Pairs side bet, but the one I used in the example is common.
The house edge for the version described is 3.4%.
With a different pay table, the house edge might be higher.
More Common Side Bets in Blackjack
Those are the most common side bets in blackjack, but you’re not limited to those. Various casinos offer various other side bets.
Here are some of the more common of those:
4- Lucky Ladies
The lucky ladies side bet is a bet that you’ll have a total of 20. If the cards are unsuited, the hand pays out 4 to 1. If the 2 cards are of the same suit, you get a 10 to 1 payout.
When you have 2 cards of the same rank and suit, like both jacks of clubs, you’ll get a 25 to 1 payout.
A pair of queens is a 200 to 1 payout.
And if you have a pair made up of the queens of hearts, and if the dealer has a blackjack, you get a 1000 to 1 payout.
5- Over/Under 13
Best Blackjack Side Bets
The over/under 13 side bet is one of the easier bets to understand. You’re predicting whether you’ll be dealt a hand totaling more than or less than 13. Some casinos also allow you to be on getting an exact total of 13. The over/under bets pay even money.
The house gets its edge because they win on an exact total of 13, regardless of whether you bet over or under.
6- Royal Match
The royal match side bet is another easy one. If your cards are suited, the hand pays out at 5 to 2. If you have a king and a queen of the same suit, the payout is 25 to 1.
7- Super 7s
The super 7s side bet pays off any time you get at least one 7 in your hand. The more 7s you get, the more the bet pays off.
A single 7 is a 3 to 1 payout. If you get a pair of 7s, you get a 50 to 1 payout. And if those 7s are both suited, you get 100 to 1.
If you get a 3rd 7, you get 500 to 1 if they’re not suited and 5000 to 1 if they’re all of the same suit.
Not all casinos give you a 3rd card when the dealer has a blackjack, which (of course) increases the house edge.
The house edge for any of these bets is 5% or higher.
And keep in mind that the payouts I’m listing are typical, but you can and will see variance in rules from table to table and from casino to casino.
Why Do Players Make these Side Bets?
If everyone knows that the house edge is so high on these side bets, why do players make them?
Blackjack Rummy Side Bet Odds Against
The truth is that many blackjack players NEVER make side bets, and that’s the best strategy.
But some people at the blackjack table like to hit jackpots, and they feel like the house edge on these side bets is comparable or better than the house edge they would see playing a slot machine.
The only way you can see 5 to 1, 10 to 1, 50 to 1, or higher payouts in blackjack is to take advantage of these side bets.
Finally
The 7 blackjack side bets explained in this post include:
- Insurance
- 21+3
- Perfect Pairs
- Lucky Ladies
- Over/Under 13
- Royal Match
- Super 7s
Blackjack With Poker Side Bet
The house edge for all these side bets is sky-high. In a game where the main game has a house edge of between 0.5% and 2%, you should never take a sucker bet like this.