How To Beat The 21+3 Blackjack Side Bet – Casino.Org News

21+3 was first introduced in Las Vegas in 2001 and has grown to become one of the worlds most popular side bets in the past 20 years.

If youve ever wondered how to play or what tolook for in a good 21+3 game, weve got you covered.

The dealer will deal you your first two cardsand then turn over their upcard.

If your first two cards and the dealers topcard make a straight, a flush, or a three of a kind, youve won!

One of the reasons for its popularity is that its so easy to play.

The bet is placed in a small circle off to the side of the main wager, which is why its called a side bet.

Either online or in a land-based casino, you should be able to find the bet for as low as $1, although in some places like Las Vegas, you may only see it for $5 and up.

In the original game now owned by GalaxyGaming and found on land-based blackjack tables worldwide a straight, flush,or three of a kind was paid a simple 9 to 1.

But as online casinos flourished and other companies saw the potential, the pay tables evolved.

Some games now pay a progressive jackpot on things like three aces suited, or perhaps 270 to 1 for a three of a kind suited.

The critical thing to remember is that theyall play basically the same. Your first two cards and the dealers top cardneed to combine to make a winning hand.

Several of the online providers offer different payouts depending on the hand dealt.

The most common of these is this payout table from IGT, which has a 4.14 percent house edge with a six-deck shoe.

Or the very similar payout from Evolution Gaming which has a 3.62 percent house edge with a six-deck shoe.

The very popular top three side bet oftenaccompanies the 21+3 side bet since they are both owned by Galaxy and marketedtogether to casinos.

It requires that you bet both the 21+3bet and the top three bet. Then if your two cards and the dealers up card area three of a kind, youre paid 90 to 1.

A straight flush gets you a 180 to 1, andthree of a kind suited gets you 270 to 1. You also get your 9 to 1 payout onyour regular 21+3 bet.

The house advantage on just the top threebet is approximately 9 percent.

The number of decks in play can influence the houseadvantage by a few tenths of a point on your blackjack hand.

But the house advantage on your 21+3 bet canchange by several whole percentage points depending on the number of decks inplay.

The original 21+3 offered up by Shufflemasterat casinos across Europe, America and Asia is a prime example.

Heres the paytable from 1-8 decks:

The casinos advantage is more than twice asmuch if you play the 21+3 side bet on the double-deck game vs. an eight-deckshoe.

Even on the IGT and Evolution payout tablesdiscussed above, the difference between a six-deck shoe and an eight-deck shoeis almost a whole percentage point.

So this game is best played with everypayout paying 9 to 1 and on an eight-deck shoe.

Failing that, look for as many decks aspossible, with one of these pay tables preferably.

While a lower house edge is always a betterbet, can the game be beaten?

Eliot Jacobson, a table games hacker of sorts,showed that a simple count of suits was enough to beat the game, albeit with avery low expected return and a high degree of difficulty.

But as many casinos went to progressive pay tables with three ace of spades or something similar, many individuals and teams realized they could look for progressive payouts that were large enough to give the player the advantage.

In these very limited cases, the mathematicalpendulum had swung to favor the player as the size of the jackpot grew tooffset the slight house advantage.

So it never hurts to keep an eye out for largeprogressive meters when scouting for a 21+3 table.

Conversely, small jackpots on theseprogressive games may mean that you are playing at a much worse house advantagethan you would be just playing on a conventional game, so beware.

21+3 is a simple, fun side bet, which, ifyoure careful, doesnt have to have a huge house advantage.

It can add a lot of excitement for just a $1 or $5 bet, and it gets the whole table pulling together in a way that blackjack doesnt always.

Thats the reason its been around for twodecades and will probably be around for at least two more.

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How To Beat The 21+3 Blackjack Side Bet - Casino.Org News