How to play
Side Bet 21 is classic blackjack with two optional side bets placed next to your main bet. The side bets are decided by the first cards dealt, so they’re paid before you play your hand.
- Choose a chip and tap Bet for your main blackjack bet.
- Optionally tap Pair Bonus and Poker 3 to add side bets (10 to 100 each).
- Press Deal. The side bets are settled right away, then you play the main hand: Hit, Stand, Double or Split.
Blackjack rules. Six decks. The dealer stands on all 17s and checks for blackjack under an ace or a 10. Blackjack pays 3 to 2. Double on any first two cards, double after split, split up to four hands. Insurance is offered against an ace.
The side bets
Pair Bonus wins when your first two cards are a pair:
| Pair | Example | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Perfect pair (same suit) | 8♥ 8♥ | 25 to 1 |
| Colored pair (same color) | 8♥ 8♦ | 12 to 1 |
| Mixed pair | 8♥ 8♠ | 6 to 1 |
Poker 3 makes a three-card poker hand from your two cards and the dealer’s face-up card:
| Hand | Example | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Suited three of a kind | 7♥ 7♥ 7♥ | 100 to 1 |
| Straight flush | Q♠ K♠ A♠ | 40 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 7♥ 7♦ 7♠ | 30 to 1 |
| Straight | A 2 3, or Q K A | 10 to 1 |
| Flush | three cards of one suit | 5 to 1 |
The odds
We calculated the side bets exactly, counting every combination of cards from the six-deck shoe:
| Bet | House edge |
|---|---|
| Main hand, following the hint | under 0.5% |
| Pair Bonus | 6.11% |
| Poker 3 | 4.62% |
The Pair Bonus figure can be checked by hand: after your first card, 5 of the 311 remaining cards make a perfect pair, 6 a colored pair and 12 a mixed pair, so the bet returns (5 × 26 + 6 × 13 + 12 × 7) ÷ 311 = 93.89% of what you stake. The main hand figure comes from 1,000,000 simulated hands: 0.27%, which with that many hands means somewhere between about 0.05% and 0.5%.
Tips
- The side bets cost more than the main game. They’re for fun: the main hand following the hint gives up under half a percent, the side bets 4.6% to 6.1%.
- Poker 3 is the better of the two and wins more often: about one deal in ten.
- Side bets don’t change how to play the hand. The hint only looks at the main hand.
For three hands at once, try Multi-Hand 21.
If you enjoy Side Bet 21, try Siebzehn und Vier or Six Bonus Baccarat next.
