Player blackjack side bet

I just returned from two weeks in Europe. On my visit to the Admiral Casino in Liechtenstein (another country crossed off my list) they had three blackjack side bets, as follows:

Colored blackjack pays 19 to 1
Suited blackjack pays 77 to 1
Dealer bust pays 5 to 2

It shouldn't take a math wizard to see that either the pay for a colored blackjack is too low or a suited one too high. Half of colored blackjacks are suited blackjacks so the win should be about twice as much but it is 3.9 times as much (on a for one basis). I brought it to the attention of the casino manager, but he just shrugged.

I thought I had a page on side bets that simply pay on a player blackjack but couldn't find it, so made a new one. So, please check out my new page on a player blackjack. This was a hard page to title. If you have any better ideas, I'm all ears. I welcome all other corrections and comments on the page.

The question for the poll is would you make a side bet on some form of a player blackjack?

Maybe something like:

Blackjack-Player Natural Side Bets

In the post above, you said Admiral Casino in Liechtenstein, but in the linked article, you said Casino Liechtenstein.

Also, while you mentioned the disparity in payouts, you didn’t mention bringing it to the casino manager’s attention, or his reaction, as you did above.

Otherwise, good article.

Hi Wizard,

Thanks for you awesome site and for your work! I didn't see this post, and I've just created a new topic. But it is very related to your question

I found an interesting sidebet in a casino in switzerland: in case of Blackjack the payout is 20 to 1 (you bet 10 and receive 200), with any other point you lose the side bet.

Here the info about the table:

6 decks
Continuous shuffle machine ( ƒ¼ )
No hole card
In case of dealer BJ you lost all the split and double bets (but there is no effect on the sidebet)
Split up to 3 times
Double down allowed only with 9,10,11

You may bet only 1 o 2 times the minimum bet on this sidebet, and you may access to the sidebet only betting on the main bet too.


I made some computes, and I think that this is one of the sidebet with the minimum house edge that I ever seen (under 1%). Am I right?

If so, according to you there is a way to beat the CSM, maybe in the first seat? I¡¦ve notice that the first card of the next round is already out of the CSM when the last card of the dealer is dealt. So, maybe only for this card, you may make estimate a dynamic probability to receive an Ace or a Tens? For instance in a round with 18 or more cards dealt (7 seats + dealer) without aces, the probability of a blackjack in the first seat could change a lot.

What do you think about it?

Best Regards,

df

I think the odds of getting a blackjack are just below 5% on six decks. Paying 20-1 is really fair for a sidebet.

Quote: SM777

I think the odds of getting a blackjack are just below 5% on six decks. Paying 20-1 is really fair for a sidebet.

Wiz Appendix:

"Let n be the number of decks. The probability of a blackjack is 2*(4/13)*(4n/(52*n-1)). If n=6 the probability is 192/4043 = 4.75%."

My thoughts are that they made a poor HE blackjack game and an attractive side bet. You probably have to bet at least the same amount on the BJ hand as the side bet. Thus, the combined edge of the two will I'm sure be negative. The rules he described above are for one of the worst blackjack games ever... though we don't know "all" of the rules we need to know.

donaldfra - check out this page and plug in ALL of the assoicated rules (H17 vs S17... early vs late surrender - or none, etc, etc). The HE of the BJ game is almost 1%... all this game would need is to pay 6:5 on BJ to really hammer it down as awful.

Yes. I confirm that you have to bet at least 10 euros on the original bet. And max 20 euros on the sidebet. I did not try to bet 10 on the original + 20 in the sidebet.

The he on the original bet could be worst then 1% with these rules? They pay bj 3:2.
Dealer stands on s17. No surrender

I have to clarify. The side bet is paid with 19 pieces plus the original bet.