Side Bets

One of the first games I posted about on this blog was the blackjack side bet Twenty One Plus Three (21+3). In this post, I showed that there was very little possible profit against 21+3, even using perfect play.

The Upcard Luck (UL) blackjack side bet is a bit wacky to describe. Payouts are based on the dealer's up-card together with the two cards the player is dealt. In this sense, it is similar to both Lucky Lucky and 21 + 3. There would certainly be intellectual property issues if this bet made it big. Right now, though, it has very few placements.

“Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.” – Unknown (not Groucho Marx)

A long long time ago, in a casino far far away, there was a blackjack side bet called “Over/Under 13” (OU13). The player had the opportunity to wager that his two cards would total more than 13 (Over) or would total less than 13 (Under). A total of 13 lost for both wagers. These were even-money wagers, nothing fancy.

My dog told me I have gone off the deep end with this article and I don’t disagree: I decided to investigate computer-perfect play against the Over/Under 13 blackjack side bet (OU13). In other words, I assume an AP is using a computer program. As each card is dealt, the AP enters that card into his program. The program then computes the edge for both the Over 13 bet and Under 13.

This post gives an overview of the relative vulnerability of the blackjack side bets I've written about in this blog. Some of these side bets have been spectacular one-time opportunities for APs. Others are ongoing income earners: moderately vulnerable, but not so weak as to be burnt out. And some are both popular and safe.

One ongoing method to beat baccarat is to use the knowledge of the rank of exactly one card in the shoe to gain an edge on one hand per shoe (see this post). One card out of 416 may not seem like a lot, but to the "known-card" AP it's a pot of gold.