Live casino blackjack is one of the most interesting games to experiment with. It stands out in that regard compared to baccarat or roulette. You are given so many opportunities to change something. Whether it is how the dealer draws their cards, or if you are allowed to see them the dealers cards immediately! Yes, when it comes to popular live casino variants, nobody beats blackjack.
Most Common Live Blackjack Side Bets
While those games are thrilling, they often come with different rulesets. That can be fun from time to time. However, you just want to relax with a few rounds of regular blackjack sometimes. For those of you looking to add a dash of spice without playing a variant, side bets are the answer! Today, we will look at some of the most common and popular blackjack side bets available to players.
Perfect Pairs
This is a side bet we have seen on almost every blackjack table we have played. It is easy to see why it is so popular, too. Punters get a chance to get a decent prize for a relatively simple task. Casinos get to drop your house edge if you decide to play this side bet. If keeping the low house edge is something you care about, you skip out on side bets altogether. Everybody wins!
As its name implies, Perfect Pairs rewards you for getting a pair of matching cards in your hands. The closer they match, the bigger the payout. Just numbers matching will result in a 6:1 prize, while a coloured pair pays 12:1. The biggest reward is for a pair of identical cards, where both number, colour and symbol are the same. This will result in a satisfying 25:1 reward!
21 + 3
One more super common live blackjack side bet is 21 + 3. It requires more effort to learn, but it pays better and has a better house edge than Perfect Pairs. When playing this side bet, your first two drawn cards and the dealer’s face up card will try to form a three-card poker hand. What prize you receive will then depend on what card combinations you are able to form.
A flush earns you a 5:1 payout, while a straight rewards a 10:1 win. A three-of-a-kind side bet win will get you a 30:1 score and a straight flush will pay 40:1. The best prize is won when you earn a straight flush, which requires three same suit cards with consecutively growing numbers. This pays a mouth-watering 100:1 prize if you win!
Hot 3
If you’re looking for a similar side bet as 21 + 3, this is the one you want. Like before, you are forming a specific combination of cards with your first two cards and the dealer’s face-up card. Unlike 21 + 3, the result is to get a 19, 20 or 21. Just scoring a 19 or 20 total will earn you a 1:1 and 2:1 payouts, respectively.
Depending on which cards form the 21 hand, you will receive different cash prizes. An unsuited 21 is worth 4:1 and a suited 21 pays 20:1. The best reward comes from getting three sevens, which earns a 100:1 payout!
Bust It
For players looking for a risky side bet, we can think of no better choice. Bust It tasks players with making the dealer bust. The more cards the dealer gets before busting, the better your payout! A plain three-card bust just pays a 1:1 cash prize. If you can make the dealer bust with eight cards, you will receive a staggering 250:1 prize!
Lucky 7s
This is the simplest side bet currently available on the market. Your only goal is to keep track of sevens; the more sevens you draw, the better your payout is. To win, you must draw at least one seven, which results in a 3:1 prize. If your second card is also a seven, you receive a 25:1 win. If both sevens have the same suit, the win increases to 50:1 instead! If the dealer’s face-up card is also a seven, you receive a 100:1 payout. Meanwhile, getting three sevens with matching suits can grant the top prize of 500:1! Keep in mind it also has the highest house edge of all available side bets. If it were up to the livecasino24.com team, we would skip this one!
