Poll

1 vote (4.54%)
4 votes (18.18%)
6 votes (27.27%)
1 vote (4.54%)
5 votes (22.72%)
2 votes (9.09%)
No votes (0%)
4 votes (18.18%)
4 votes (18.18%)
1 vote (4.54%)

22 members have voted

Wizard
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Wizard
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July 10th, 2016 at 4:50:37 PM permalink
Buster Blackjack is a side bet if the dealer busts. The win depends on the number of cards required. I think this side bet has been around for a while. I thought I wrote up a page on it, but couldn't find it, so just created a new Buster Blackjack page.

Please click on the link and let me know what you think. As always, I welcome all questions, comments, and especially corrections.

The question for the poll is would you play Buster Blackjack, assuming you were playing blackkjack in the first place?
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
Wizardofnothing
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July 10th, 2016 at 6:35:04 PM permalink
Mike you were quite comical with the options toniggt
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Acender
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July 10th, 2016 at 10:16:58 PM permalink
With a high enough count, could the buster bet become lucrative?
Ibeatyouraces
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July 10th, 2016 at 11:16:32 PM permalink
Quote: Acender

With a high enough count, could the buster bet become lucrative?



https://apheat.net/2013/04/25/card-counting-the-buster-blackjack-side-bet-6-decks/
DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
Wizard
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July 11th, 2016 at 3:19:54 AM permalink
Quote: Wizardofnothing

Mike you were quite comical with the options toniggt



Thanks. To be honest, I'm starting to run low on ideas.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
charliepatrick
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July 11th, 2016 at 3:39:21 AM permalink
I'm depressed - the house edge is fairly high so surely it should be rated as in the "best avoided" category.
Acender
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July 11th, 2016 at 9:19:06 AM permalink
Quote: Ibeatyouraces

/2013/04/25/card-counting-the-buster-blackjack-side-bet-6-decks/



That's actually quite reasonable. Not a bad SB at all.

Quote: charliepatrick

I'm depressed - the house edge is fairly high so surely it should be rated as in the "best avoided" category.



Take some happy pills and make some buster bets. The future is a bright one!
Paradigm
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July 11th, 2016 at 9:36:19 AM permalink
With almost 92% of wins paying 2-1, this bet requires red action to have any juice for the player. Works well and gets action in So Cal market where it is difficult to play anything less than $15 min BJ. $15-$25 main bet with a $5-$10 Buster bet seems to work.

A $5 main with a $1 Buster bet that is going to pay you $2 when the dealer busts...not so exciting for me, but AGS is placing it aggressively these days. It will be interesting to see how sticky it is outside of its So Cal original market.
Joeman
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July 11th, 2016 at 1:29:07 PM permalink
So, I was playing the demo and was dealt a BJ. Since I had the Buster bet up, dealer finished out his hand, eventually drawing to a 21. It pushed my main BJ bet! I assume this is a glitch in the app, and not an actual rule of the bet?

Not happy with how the marshmallow was insufficient in melting the chocolate bar in a s'more, my Mom would pre-make the s'more and wrap it in aluminum foil. Then, we would put these "packages" on a grate over the campfire for a few minutes. It was literally a "hot mess" to try and eat, but... Best. S'mores. Ever.
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gordonm888
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July 11th, 2016 at 4:23:49 PM permalink
First, if the players all bust then usually the dealer does not hit his hand to determine whether hhands of <17 would ahve gone bust. - do you lose the Buster BJ side-bet in this situation? Or does the dealer hits his cards anyway if he has less than a 17 in order to determine the outcome of the sidebet? If the dealer does not always play out his hand, the House Edge on the sidebet should be calculated assuming that the dealer does not play the hand when all players go bust -and thus the calculated side-bet should be a function of the number of players at the table.

I am very confused by this site:

Quote: Ibeatyouraces

https://apheat.net/2013/04/25/card-counting-the-buster-blackjack-side-bet-6-decks/



The House edge is quoted to be different than what the Wizard just calculated for what appears to be the same assumptions on BJ rules. In this site's quoted simulation of 100M hands on a six-deck game with a card count of the A,2,3 cards, I don't understand if the dealer is assumed to play out his <17 hands when the player goes bust.
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miplet
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July 11th, 2016 at 4:40:40 PM permalink
Quote: gordonm888

First, if the players all bust then usually the dealer does not hit his hand to determine whether hhands of <17 would ahve gone bust. - do you lose the Buster BJ side-bet in this situation? Or does the dealer hits his cards anyway if he has less than a 17 in order to determine the outcome of the sidebet? If the dealer does not always play out his hand, the House Edge on the sidebet should be calculated assuming that the dealer does not play the hand when all players go bust -and thus the calculated side-bet should be a function of the number of players at the table.

I am very confused by this site:



The House edge is quoted to be different than what the Wizard just calculated for what appears to be the same assumptions on BJ rules. In this site's quoted simulation of 100M hands on a six-deck game with a card count of the A,2,3 cards, I don't understand if the dealer is assumed to play out his <17 hands when the player goes bust.


Differant pay table. I'm on my phone right now, but I did http://miplet.net/blackjack/busterblackjack.xlsb a while ago. Should be able to edit pay table and deck composition. I assume the dealer always plays out his hand.
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Wizard
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July 11th, 2016 at 6:17:38 PM permalink
Why no love for the state flag of Wyoming?

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Wizard
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November 11th, 2016 at 7:31:20 PM permalink
I saw a new pay table for Buster Blackjack and added it to my page. This one pays premium wins if the player has a blackjack and the dealer busts with seven or more cards.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
MLU
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August 1st, 2017 at 5:59:58 AM permalink
Hi Miplet,

Just having a quick look at your sheet. Call me naive but can you explain the titles H, D, S, C above the table on the left hand side. I can make a guess but just want to be sure. Thank you in advance!
charliepatrick
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August 1st, 2017 at 6:18:25 AM permalink
They are the four suits - I guess it's to cater for other card games where the suits matter. In Spanish 21 a few decisions depend on whether your two cards are Spades or not.
MLU
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August 1st, 2017 at 6:57:11 AM permalink
Thats exactly what I thought I just wanted to make sure. Thanks Charlie!
Paradigm
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August 1st, 2017 at 9:12:04 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard

I saw a new pay table for Buster Blackjack and added it to my page. This one pays premium wins if the player has a blackjack and the dealer busts with seven or more cards.


So AGS added 6 units to the 6 Card Bust payout and an 800-1 & 2000-1 pay event and the HE only moved down 0.000116?
UCivan
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August 1st, 2017 at 11:00:52 AM permalink
Buster Blackjack side bet is on every table at every casino in Northern CA: Thunder Valley, Graton, Cache Creek, etc. When I said every table, I meant it's on single deck, double deck, shoe, BJ Switch, ZIP blackjack, etc. ($1 to $50). The participation is over 80%, regularly.
UCivan
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August 1st, 2017 at 11:10:21 AM permalink
Quote: Wizard

Thanks. To be honest, I'm starting to run low on ideas.

WOO, may I suggest you analyze Zombie Blackjack.
mlpb237
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November 7th, 2020 at 6:59:32 AM permalink
hi,wizard, i read the page and i wonder how to calculate the probabilities of each situations.
first i think use number of combination is not reasonable.
then i think about number of permutation, when calculate the probabilty of buster with 3 cards,
B3=permutation of (sum of 3 cards>21 and sum of first 2 cards <17)
All=permutation of all 3 cards dealt
then the probabilty= B3/All
is my calculate right?
Wizard
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November 8th, 2020 at 9:20:35 AM permalink
Quote: UCivan

WOO, may I suggest you analyze Zombie Blackjack.



I already did.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
Halesini
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November 11th, 2020 at 10:18:07 AM permalink
I visited Vegas in Feb2020 having not been for 3 years. It was noticeable how many casinos were offering Buster Blackjack whilst I couldn't find one offering the Top 3 variant of 21+3 (three card poker hands with 270/1 for suited trips, 180/1 straight flush, 90/1 trips). That suggested Buster was making the casinos a lot more money than Top 3 ever did (its still available and popular here in the Uk).

Buster Blackjack looks crazy. Realistically you may see dealer bust with 5 or 6 cards what less than 10% of the time they bust? and as for 7 or 8 I think I have yet to see that. Easily looks one of the worst bets in the casino. But clearly its attractive to some players.
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