The 7 card is a big player in blackjack side bets. Sometimes called Super Sevens bets, this side bet is a proposition wager on whether or not the first card you are dealt is a 7. This bet traditionally pays off at 3-to-1. Another Super Sevens side bet is whether the first two cards you receive are 7s.

The Buster Blackjack side bet acts independently of the original blackjack hand. It’s possible for the player to lose a hand but win the Buster Blackjack side bet. The odds vary by casino operator but here’s an example of Buster Blackjack odds you might see. 250-to-1: Dealer busts with 8+ cards; 50-to-1: Dealer busts with 7 cards; 15-to-1. In terms of six-deck blackjack, the Match the Dealer side bet offers payouts of 4 to 1 on a single unsuited match; 8 to 1 on two unsuited matches; 11 to 1 for a single suited match; 15 to 1 for a single suited match plus an unsuited match; and 22 to 1 for two suited matches. 21+3 Blackjack is a very popular side bets blackjack variation, invented and patented by Derek J. Webb in 2000.The game is a combination of blackjack and three card poker, where your first 2 cards and the dealer’s face up card are used to combine a three card hand.

Perfect Pairs blackjack plays almost exactly like a regular
game of 21. The big difference is the “perfect pairs” side bet,
which offers the opportunity to win a large jackpot. As with
most side bets with large payouts, the house edge is higher than
you’re probably prepared for.

The purpose of this page is to explain how to play Perfect
Pairs blackjack, what the house edge is for both the main game
and for the optional side bet, and the correct basic strategy to
follow while playing.

How to Play

The rules for playing Perfect Pairs are the same as a
standard game. You get two cards. The dealer gets two cards. You
get to hit, stand, double down, etc. You bust if you go over 21,
and the dealer does too.

The only difference is the side bet. This bet is won or lost
separately from your main bet.

You win the main bet by either getting closer to 21 than the
dealer or still being in the hand when the dealer busts.

You win the perfect pairs bet by getting a pair. That sounds
easy enough, but the payout is based on how good your pair is.

Here’s a typical payout table:

• Different colors and different suits: 5 to 1
• Same color but different suits: 10 to 1
• Same color and same suit (the eponymous perfect pair):
  30 to 1

Of course, different casinos will have different payouts. You
might only see 25 to 1 in some casinos for a perfect pair, but
another, more generous property might offer a 35 to 1 payout.
The amounts can vary for the other combinations, too. You might
see 6 to 1 or 12 to 1 payouts instead of 5 to 1 and 10 to 1.

Casinos are experts at manipulating the payouts for some
hands in order to adjust the house edge accordingly. They’ll
compare how many people play at one set of payouts with how much
they’re projected to earn, and they optimize accordingly. They
want the most action with the highest edge. Adjusting the
payouts for the side bets is one way they can accomplish this.

The House Edge

The house edge for the perfect pairs side bet hovers between
2% or and 11%.

You’ll only see a perfect pair come up once in about every 60
hands on average. Depending on what kind of luck you’re having,
you might see it come up a little more often or a lot less
often, but the frequency should hover right around those
numbers.

The house edge for blackjack is hard to calculate, as it’s
based on a large number of situations.

But calculating the house edge for this individual side bet
isn’t hard at all.

You start by calculating the odds of getting each hand and
comparing that with the payout for each hand.

We’ll assume that you’re playing in a game with 8 decks for
purposes of this example.

For the top payout of 30 to 1, you have to calculate the odds
of being dealt a 2nd card that’s the same rank and suit as your
first card. With 8 decks in play, you have 416 cards total, but
one of those has already been dealt. That leaves 415 cards, but
only 7 of them will make your hand. So the probability of
getting a “perfect pair” is 7/415, or about 1 in 59.

• That’s a 1.69% chance of winning 30 units.

For same color but different suits, we use a similar
calculation. You have 415 cards, and 8 cards which will make
your hand. The probability of making this hand is 8/415, or
about 1 in 51.

• That’s a 1.93% chance of winning 10 units.

For the lowest paying hand, which is a pair of different
colors and different suits, we use another similar calculation.
You still have 415 cards, but you still only have 16 cards which
will make your hand. (Some of these cards will make a higher
paying hand, so they don’t factor into the calculation.) The
probability of making this hand is the same as before, 16/415,
or about 1 in 26.

• That’s a 3.86% chance of winning 5 units.

The expected value of each of those payouts can be calculated
by multiplying the percentage chance of hitting the hand by the
payout, as follows:

• 1.69% X 30 = 0.507
• 1.93% X 10 = 0.193
• 3.86% X 5 = 0.193

When you add those 3 possibilities together, you get the
payback percentage for the bet.

• 0.507 + 0.193 + 0.193 = 89.3%.
• Subtract that from 100%, and your house edge is 10.7%.

A casino which offers a higher payout on these hands would
offer a lower house edge. And changing the number of decks would
also affect the payout percentage, for obvious reasons.

Here’s an example of how changing the payout on a hand would
change the house edge:

Suppose you got 35 to 1 instead of 30 to 1. That would change
the expected value on that payout from 0.507 to 0.5915. That’s a
huge difference of about 9%, which would decrease the house edge
to 1.7%, making this a much more reasonable bet.

Here’s an example of how changing the number of decks in play
would change the house edge:

Suppose you have 6 decks in play instead of 8. Instead of a
7/415 chance of hitting your hand, you now have a 5/306 chance
of hitting your hand. That’s a 1.63% chance of hitting the top
paying hand, instead of 1.69%. So the house edge on this side
bet would actually go up with fewer decks in play.

A Simple Strategy for the Perfect Pairs Bet

Be advised that this strategy does nothing to eliminate or
reduce the house edge. It’s just a fun way to take advantage of
the perfect pairs side bet without losing too much money and
still having a chance to hit one of those big payouts.

The idea is to set aside a separate bankroll of betting units
equal to the payout for a perfect pair.

If you’re playing in a casino that offers a 25 to 1 payout
for a perfect pair, and you’re playing for $5 per hand, set
aside $125 for the perfect pair bet. (That’s $5 times 25.)

Use that $125 to bet $5 each hand on the perfect pair side
bet until you run out of bankroll or until you hit a perfect
pair and get your 25 to 1 payout.

There’s a reasonable chance you’ll hit a perfect pair at some
point between 1 and 60 hands. If you hit it during the first 25
hands, you’ll have generated a profit, possibly a large one. If
you don’t hit a perfect pair, you’ve only lost $125.

Play your regular blackjack hand as normal, as if you didn’t
have any money put on the perfect pair bet. You’ll use
standard basic strategy to play your normal blackjack hand.
Depending on the other rules variations, you’ll be facing a
house edge of around 1%, maybe less.

Summary

Perfect Pairs Blackjack is a fun little variant with an
interesting side bet with a relatively high house edge. But the
house edge on this bet isn’t much higher than the house edge on
games with comparable high payout bets like roulette—in fact, in
some cases you might even be able to face a slightly lower house
edge than in roulette. It all depends on how much the payouts
are for the various hands.

A simple money management technique that enables you take a
shot at this big payout without risking a huge amount of money
involves setting aside a separate bankroll specifically for that
side bet. By making that amount the equivalent of the payout for
the perfect pairs bet, you give yourself a reasonable chance at
hitting this min-jackpot before you run out of money. The sooner
you get lucky, the more you’ll profit.

But as with any negative expectation bet, you’re going to see
more losses than wins in the long run. Money management
techniques can’t chance the odds of a game, and Perfect Pairs
blackjack is no exception to this rule of thumb.

Overview of 21+3 Blackjack

The 21+3 side bet is optional, and its size does not need to be the same as the main bet. In order to play the side-bet, you need to participate in the main hand.

Placing a bet in the 21+3 square is all you need to do to participate. As soon as the deal is made, and before any player takes any actions the 2 player cards and the dealer’s up-card (or only card in European Blackjack) are compared to the pay table.

There are several variations of 21+3 payouts, the most simple pays from a ‘flush +pair’ and up, with 9-to-1 payouts in each case. When pairs are also included, this is hit more often, so the prizes are lowered to reflect this. There are 3-to-1 for all hands (pair, flush, straight, trips and straight flush) or there are staggered pay tables.

When the prizes are staggered, a straight flush or better can win significant money. Here is an example:

• Flush – Pays 5:1
• Straight – Pays 10:1
• Straight Flush – Pays 35:1
• Three of a Kind – Pays 33:1
• Suited 3 of a Kind – 100:1

Keep in mind that depending on the pay table, the house edge can get as high as 13% for this side bet. You can find examples of games (depending on the number of decks in use) where this is around 2.78% instead.

Strategy for 21+3 Blackjack

It goes without saying that knowing the correct basic strategy of the base game is a prerequisite here. Without this you are just handing money to the house.

Blackjack Side Bets Payout Odds

Your main ‘strategy’ decision over the long run with the 21+3 side-bet is whether to play or not. The house edge is bigger than in most base games. If you know this, then you get to decide whether the added interest and entertainment (and chance of a windfall win) are worth it to you. If the extra engagement from the 21+3 bet works for you – then you can simply add a little to your bankroll to cover this.

Card counters can beat this game by memorizing the suits as they are dealt. It is possible on some deals to find one suit over-represented as the shoe gets smaller – turning the edge positive for players. The expected hourly rate for this is very low compared to other forms of counting. Online the deck is shuffled after each hand, making card counting impossible.

Blackjack Side Bets Payout Against

Pros and Cons of 21+3 Blackjack

Adding a poker style hand to blackjack makes for an interesting variation – though I do wonder whether ‘purists’ in either discipline would approve! Depending on which of the pay tables you use there is the chance of a 9-to-1 or even bigger windfall. That elusive suited 3-of-a-kind (paying 100-to-1) would certainly be memorable.

Blackjack Side Bets Payouts

Whether you participate depends on your attitude towards side-bets in general. Some players like these bets, and are happy to pay the extra house-edge for the chance of the occasional big win. Others scorn these bets as long-term losers.