Blackjack Side Bet: Red Flex Bet house advantage

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Ozzy -
Assuming all players busted, does he still continue to play his hand if he has any black cards?


APs -
Out of curiosity, does seeing extra cards for free help or hurt card counters? Would your answer change if it was a shoe game rather than a CSM?

See!

Everyone hated my, "Two Off the Top," side bet for the very reason that there could be extra cards getting pulled out at the end of the hand, and look, this side bet already (potentially) does the same thing.

I'm going to answer your question to the best of my ability DJTeddyBear, and I am nowhere near the BJ level of many of our posters. I would say that free cards almost always help very early on in the shoe because (absent an extreme count) you're not going to be playing at an advantage early on in the shoe anyway, at least, not in terms of HE. I would say that whether or not free cards help late in the shoe is situational. If the free cards are low, then they always help. If the count is advantageous, and the free cards happen to be Tens/Aces, then that's probably going to irritate an AP. If the count is disadvantageous, but the draw pulls out a few low cards, then that is helpful.

I will say that some people will always be upset over the concept of having cards burned unrelated to the base game.

Quote: Mission146

I will say that some people will always be upset over the concept of having cards burned unrelated to the base game.

That's a given, for sure. I was just too lazy to mention it.

Surely no one would get mad, except maybe me, when after all hands had busted, the dealer then proceeded to take an Ace or two
to complete the side bet. I mean what players want their first card to be an Ace anyway. LOL

I maintain it is bad game design if the dealer has to pull out extra cards to resolve the side bet. However, in this case it would rarely happen. Every player at the table would have to bust and at the least the dealer's first two cards would have to be red, with the need to draw more. Another weakness to this side bet is that it is so countable it pretty much requires a CSM. However, it has a nice simple concept and doesn't require any strategy changes on the part of the player. I might add they could just as easily make a "black" version of this bet too. All in all, I give this one a B.

Just because a side bet makes it into a rinky-dink casino doesn't mean it is the next bread slicing machine. I've seen much worse games and side bets to make the casino floor. In non-competitive environments, players will be on just about anything, and casinos will put in just about anything.

Quote: Wizard

Just because a side bet makes it into a rinky-dink casino doesn't mean it is the next bread slicing machine. I've seen much worse games and side bets to make the casino floor. In non-competitive environments, players will be on just about anything, and casinos will put in just about anything.

For the record this is a more competitive environment than you might think, the largest casino in the west is 20 minutes south of there. The one thing that reccomends Elsinore is that it is the rare California cardroom where you do not have to pay a 50 cent or $1 collection for each hand you play. While I will stop by for 3 or 4 hands of baccarat when I have to pay a commission, I don't get the Asian players that will play Pai Gow Poker of all games. You pay $1 a hand just to push half the hands? Come on!

Yeah this bet would be very countable if they didnt use a CSM for all of their games

and yes the dealer will still deal out his hand if he has all black cards, or everyone busts and there are no live hands, even if nobody has bet on the reds

keep in mind they also have a rule there that if the banker hand busts 8-8-8 then player busted hands do not lose.

Quote: bigfoot66

keep in mind they also have a rule there that if the banker hand busts 8-8-8 then player busted hands do not lose.

Is this a player-banked casino? Usually such places have such a rule, because "21" games are illegal.

Regardless of that, I just added to my blackjack side bet page a couple table on Red Flex. I welcome all comments.

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