Vegas Blackjack Side Bets
The house edge for side bets is generally far higher than for the blackjack game itself. Nonetheless side bets can be susceptible to card counting. A side count, designed specifically for a particular side bet, can improve the player edge. Only a few side bets, like 'Lucky Ladies', offer a sufficient win rate to justify the effort of advantage. Payouts for these bets are less when compared to inside bets, but you’ll win more often. Inside bets are best suited to those of you who are ready to risk your bankroll for the chance of hitting a big win. However, there are some bets from the list that have the best roulette odds overall. Aug 01, 2019 Side Bets. Most blackjack variations, both in land-based casinos and online, will allow you the option to partake in a wide range of unique side bets that function separately on their own but alongside your current hand.
Table game purists love blackjack because of its simplicity and clockwork nature.
You start with two cards, as does the dealer, and by hitting, standing, doubling down, or splitting along the way, the goal always remains the same – reach a total of 21, or close to it, without going over. By applying the tenets of blackjack gambling strategy – which offers strict guidelines on how to play every possible player total vs. dealer up card scenario – skilled blackjack players can shave the house edge down to under 0.50 percent.
That makes blackjack in its most basic form one of the most favorable games spread on any casino floor. Thus, it’s no surprise to see blackjack reign supreme as the most popular table game offered by Las Vegas casinos for the last 50 years and counting.
Along the way, however, clever casino executives and gambling game designers have managed to do the seemingly impossible – improve on blackjack’s fundamental structure. Recognizing that modern gamblers like to have several irons on the fire, so to speak, these innovators have successfully integrated a slew of optional side bets alongside blackjack’s base gameplay.
Blackjack side bets come in all variety of formats, but the all share one thing in common – flexibility.
To celebrate the exciting world of blackjack side bets, I’ve taken to this blog to pen a series on several of the most popular options available in Sin City. You can learn about classics like the “21 + 3” side bet, the iconic “Lucky Ladies”, and its close cousin “Lucky Lucky” by visiting those pages for further insight.
And when you’re done there, bring it back to this page to brush up on one of the more interesting blackjack side bets ever devised – the “Perfect Pairs.”
Introduction to the Perfect Pairs Side Bet
The year was 1999 and Australian blackjack dealer John Wicks found himself growing a bit bored with the basic gameplay at his table.
To keep himself focused on the task at hand, Wicks began mentally tracking various patterns in the randomized deal of his multiple-deck shoe. Eventually, after noticing that players occasionally received paired holdings as their starting hand, Wicks began brainstorming the next big thing in blackjack.
Wicks realized that the eight-deck shoes which are standard in Australian casinos were capable of producing three different versions of a paired player hand.
First off, the player can look down to see a pair of any card rank in differing colors, such as the 7 of hearts and the 7 of spades. Next up were the so-called “colored” pairs, made up of two identical card ranks using the same colored suits (7 of spades + 7 of clubs; or 7 of hearts + 7 of diamonds). And finally, in the rarest combination, the eight-deck shoe could even dispense two identical cards like the 7 of spades + 7 of spades to form a “Perfect Pair.”
Wicks began letting his players know when they received these curious combinations, and inevitably, gamblers became intrigued by a random shuffle’s uncanny ability to make magic happen on the felt. As his players began celebrating the arrival of Perfect Pair combos, the proverbial lightbulb went off above Wicks’ head.
After tinkering with the idea for a while during his spare time – working out the probabilities and devising appropriate payouts – Wicks eventually secured patent protection for his new Perfect Pairs side bet. He convinced his home casino to give the experiment a trial run, and when players provided rave reviews, casino game manufacturing giant TCS John Huxley came calling with an acquisition offer.
Here’s how TCS John Huxley describes the Perfect Pairs side bet to potential casino operator customers:
“Perfect Pairs is both fast and easy to play. It has great player appeal and significantly boosts game turnover without affecting playing strategy. It has been proven to increase both cash drop and win/hold percentages and is extremely popular with players. It is a great enhancement to any Blackjack game.”
Today, the Perfect Pairs side bet is a mainstay in the Australian and Asian blackjack market, but you can also find several casinos in Las Vegas spreading the popular option.
How to Land a Winner on the Perfect Pairs Side Bet
I already went over the three qualifying hands that can trigger a Perfect Pairs side bet payout, but you can review those in the table below:
Perfect Pairs Side Bet Qualifying Hands
| HAND | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Perfect Pair | Any 2 cards of identical rank AND suit (7 of spades + 7 of spades) |
| Colored Pair | Any 2 cards of identical rank AND color (6 of spades + 6 of clubs) |
| Red + Black Pair | Any 2 cards of identical rank but different colors (5 of clubs + 5 of hearts) |
The best part about the Perfect Pairs side bet is that you don’t need specific cards to match up in order to win. Landing a lowly pair of deuces (2s), a pretty pair of Kings, or even an Ace-Ace combo will do the trick.
Now then, on to the good stuff… the sweet payouts awarded when you make a Perfect Pairs side bet winner. As you can see below, Wicks designed his Perfect Pairs side bet to be flexible based on each casino’s preferred payout settings:
Perfect Pair Side Bet Payouts
| HAND | PAY TABLE #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect Pair | 25 to 1 | 30 to 1 | 25 to 1 | 25 to 1 |
| Colored Pair | 12 to 1 | 10 to 1 | 12 to 1 | 15 to 1 |
| Red + Black Pair | 6 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 5 to 1 |
Pay table # 1 above is considered to be the standard for Perfect Pairs side betting, but you’ll run into the other three alternatives from time to time.
Blackjack side bets generally require players to wager at least the posted table minimum for the base game, which tends to be $5 in most Sin City table game pits. That means landing a true Perfect Pair can turn a minimum bet into $125 using pay table # 1, or $150 on pay table # 2.
Probabilities and House Edge Rates for the Perfect Pairs Side Bet
When using an eight-deck shoe in blackjack, players obviously have eight of each unique card to work with when trying to land paired starting hands. That is to say, the shoe contains eight different 2 of spades, 3 of hearts, 4 of clubs, and so on up the ladder.
But as the data presented below makes clear, drawing two of the exact same card (rank and suit) is quite rare indeed:
Perfect Pairs Side Bet Combos, Probabilities, and Expected Return Rates
| HAND | COMBOS | PROBABILITY | EXPECTED RETURN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect Pair | 1,456 | 1.69 percent | 0.421687 |
| Colored Pair | 1,664 | 1.93 percent | 0.231325 |
| Red + Black Pair | 3,328 | 3.85 percent | 0.231325 |
| Non-Pair | 79,872 | 92.53 percent | -0.040964 |
| Total | 86,320 | 1.00 | -0.040964 |
As you can see, the probability of landing a true Perfect Pair using an eight-deck shoe stands at just 1.69 percent.
And while you might suspect the odds would double in the player’s favor when it comes to colored pairs, the probability only rises slightly to 1.93 percent. You’ll have a better chance of landing a Red + Black pair at 3.85 percent, but all told, your combined win probability when wagering on the Perfect Pairs side bet is only 7.47 percent.
That means more than 9 out of 10 deals will produce no paired starting hand to speak of, causing your Perfect Pairs side bet to be collected by the house.
However, despite this low win rate, the Perfect Pairs side bet (when using pay table # 1) offers players a relatively favorable house edge rate of 4.09 percent.
That’s well within acceptable parameters for a table game side bet, and even a full-fledged casino game based on chance alone. To wit, double-zero roulette wheels provide the house with an inherent edge of 5.26 percent on every wager placed.
On a final not about house edge rates for the Perfect Pairs side bet, be sure to examine the pay table in use carefully before placing any wagers. When casinos opt for any of the three alternative pay tables, the house edge can fluctuate wildly as a result:
Perfect Pairs Side Bet House Edge Rates (by Pay Table)
| PAY TABLE | HOUSE EDGE |
|---|---|
| #1 | 4.09 percent |
| #2 | 3.37 percent |
| #3 | 7.95 percent |
| #4 | 2.17 percent |
That’s right, the standard pay table used on Perfect Pairs side betting action is actually the third-worst out of four options from the player’s perspective.
You should avoid pay table # 3 like the plague given its 7.95 percent house edge, but pay tables #2 (3.37 percent) and #4 (2.17 percent) provide a better chance of success over the long run.
Traps to Watch Out for When Playing the Perfect Pairs Side Bet
Other than the extremely high house edge rate incurred by playing Perfect Pairs against pay table # 3, the main trap used by casinos to prey on unsuspecting players concerns deck construction.
It doesn’t take a genius to realize that a side bet like Perfect Pairs becomes easier to win when more decks are in the shoe. More decks equals more cards of the same rank to work with, making the possibility of finding a pair on the deal much more likely.
Conversely, when the casino opts for smaller shoes containing fewer than eight decks, the player loses valuable variety in terms pairable cards. Check out the table below to see just how drastically fewer decks in the shoe affects your house edge on the Perfect Pairs side bet:
Perfect Pairs Side Bet House Edge Rates (by Pay Table and Number of Decks)
| DECKS | PAY TABLE #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 22.33 percent | 25.24 percent | 26.21 percent | 20.39 percent |
| 4 | 10.14 percent | 10.63 percent | 14.01 percent | 8.21 percent |
| 5 | 7.72 percent | 7.72 percent | 11.58 percent | 5.79 percent |
| 6 | 6.11 percent | 5.79 percent | 9.97 percent | 4.18 percent |
| 8 | 4.09 percent | 3.37 percent | 7.95 percent | 2.17 percent |
Any casino willing to commit highway robbery by using the Perfect Pairs side bet on anything other than an eight-deck shoe doesn’t deserve your business gambling real money on blackjack.
Whenever house edge rates rise above 5 percent, let alone the double-digits, sharp gamblers know instinctively to stay away and preserve their bankroll for better bets.
Conclusion
The Perfect Pairs side bet may not be perfect – what with only three qualifying winning hand types and relatively low payouts up top – but it’s still a fun way to spice up blackjack’s base game. Landing certain pairs like the 6-6, 7-7, or 8-8 can lead to extremely tricky situations for basic strategy players, and usually, these tough totals will result in a base game loser. But when you have the Perfect Pairs side bet in play, finding one of these difficult pairs becomes a blessing in disguise thanks to the supplementary payout subsidizing any potential losses to the dealer.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Side bets are an extremely popular way to diversify the gameplay and add some additional edge to it. As all things, it has it pros and cons. We will try to be short here and give all the basic details of various blackjack side bets options so you could decide for yourself. For more details – you can check the dedicated pages of each version and try these games for free before playing for real money.
Side Bets – Pros and Cons
It’s going to be short:
The good: side bets add additional rush to the standard black jack game play. Plus, they offer much higher payouts. Some, such as Progressive blackjacks for instance, can sometimes offer life changing multi-millions jackpots.
The bad: basic blackjack game is the best payout game can be found in casinos. Some game offer house edge lower than 0.3%!!! That’s not the case with side bets, where the house edge usually goes from 3% and up to even 10-15%.
Word of advice:
If we were asked for advice as whether to use side bets, we would say:
- If you enjoy them – go ahead.
- But! be aware that you are likely to loose more money faster.
- We would recommend to use them from time to time and not on every hand you play.
- Check the specific game rules before playing, as the payouts vary between one game to another, even within the same game variation (21+3 Blackjack by Felt Gaming will give you 3% more than similar game by Realistic Games and so on).
Free Side Bet Blackjack Games Online
Bonus Spin Blackjack
Hi Lo 13 Blackjack
High Streak
Lucky Lucky Blackjack
Progressive Blackjack
Super Fun 21
Black Jack Side Bets Odds & Payouts
| Bet | Rules | Common House Edge | Maximum Payout | Where to Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21+3 Blackjack | Combination of blackjack and three card poker (on players first 2 cards and dealers up card). | 3-5% | x100 | Guts Casino |
| Bonus Spin Blackjack | If you are handed a blackjack, you will get to spin the money reel for opportunity to win massive prizes. | $25,000 or Progressive Jackpot | N/A | |
| Buster Blackjack | Bet on whether the dealer goes bust. | 6-7% | x2000 | Vegas Casino Online |
| Hi Lo 13 | Whether the total of your first two cards will be higher than 13, lower than 13 or exactly 13. | 0.09 | x9 | Ignition Casino |
| High Streak Blackjack | Bet on your winning streak. | x10 | Royal Panda | |
| Lucky Ladies blackjack | You win if your first two cards are queens or you reach 20. | 12-25% | x1000 | Ignition Casino |
| Lucky Lucky Blackjack | You get extra payout for reaching 19,20,21 with specific cards. | 2-3% | x200 | Guts Casino |
| Match the Dealer Blackjack | Bet if on of your initial cards matches the dealer’s one. | 3-4% | x22 | Black Diamond Casino |
| Perfect Pairs | Most popular side bet. You win if your initial cards match. | 3-7% | x30 | Extreme Casino |
| Progressive Blackjack | Endless variations of the game, each one has its own trigger for progressive jackpot. | Progressive Jackpot | Miami Club Casino | |
| Suit ‘Em Up Blackjack | You win if your first two cards are suited. | 3-5% | x60 | Roaring 21 |
| Super Fun 21 | You win extra on Diamond blackjack and 5-6 charlie. | 0.09 | x2 | Vegas Casino Online |