Perfect Pairs
Perfect Pairs is the most widely offered blackjack side bet. It wins if your initial two cards form any type of pair. There are three tiers of pair, each with a different payout:
| Pair Type | Description | Typical Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed Pair | Same value, different colour and suit | 5:1 |
| Coloured Pair | Same value and colour, different suit | 10:1 |
| Perfect Pair | Same value and same suit (identical cards) | 25:1 or 30:1 |
The house edge on Perfect Pairs typically falls between 4% and 6% depending on the exact pay table and number of decks in the shoe. It wins roughly 7.5% of the time in a standard 8-deck game. That means you lose approximately 92.5% of the time — the attractive higher payouts on rarer hands offset this mathematically, but the residual edge stays with the house.
21+3 (Three-Card Poker Bonus)
The 21+3 side bet combines your two hole cards with the dealer's one face-up card to create a three-card poker hand. It wins when those three cards form:
| Hand | Typical Payout |
|---|---|
| Flush | 5:1 |
| Straight | 10:1 |
| Three of a Kind | 30:1 |
| Straight Flush | 40:1 |
| Suited Trips (identical cards) | 100:1 |
The 21+3 side bet carries a house edge of approximately 3.2% at standard pay tables in an 8-deck game. It is one of the more popular side bets because a Flush — the most common winning hand — is relatively achievable, keeping engagement high.
Lucky Ladies
Lucky Ladies pays based on your first two cards totalling 20. The closer to identical the two cards, the higher the payout. A pair of Queen of Hearts (the "Lucky Ladies") while the dealer holds blackjack can pay up to 1,000:1 at some tables — a figure designed to attract attention, though the probability is remote. The standard house edge on Lucky Ladies is 17–24% depending on the number of decks, making it one of the least favourable side bets available.
Royal Match
Royal Match wins if your first two cards share a suit. A "Royal Match" (King and Queen of the same suit) pays the top prize; a simple suited pair pays a lower amount. At typical 8-deck pay tables (10:1 for Royal Match, 2.5:1 for suited), the house edge is approximately 3.8%.
Over/Under 13
An older side bet where you wager whether the total of your first two cards will be over 13 or under 13. Aces count as 1. Exactly 13 always loses. The house edge is 6.6% for Over 13 and 10% for Under 13 — the asymmetry is because there are more ways to go over 13 than under when Aces count as 1. This bet is now rare but occasionally found at RNG blackjack tables.
Verdict: Are Side Bets Worth It?
Side bets are entertainment, not strategy. For every €100 you place on the main blackjack hand with perfect basic strategy, you expect to lose less than €0.50 over time. For every €100 you place on a Perfect Pairs side bet, you expect to lose €4–6. That gap is significant over any substantial session.
That said, some players genuinely enjoy the extra volatility and the possibility of a large side-bet payout in an otherwise routine hand. If you place side bets, treat them as a separate entertainment budget, not an extension of your main bankroll management.
Also available: GRAI-licensed bookmaker →
Frequently Asked Questions
Blackjack Side Bets: House Edge Comparison
| Side bet | House edge | Top payout | What it pays on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insurance | ~7.5% | 2:1 | Dealer has blackjack |
| Perfect Pairs | 3–8% | 25:1 | Same suit pair in first two cards |
| 21+3 | 3–7% | 100:1 | Flush/straight/three-of-a-kind with dealer upcard |
| Lucky Ladies | 24% | 1,000:1 | Two Queen of Hearts + dealer blackjack |
| Bust It | ~8% | 12:1 | Dealer busts with 8+ cards |
Should Irish Players Use Blackjack Side Bets?
Blackjack's main game has one of the lowest house edges in a casino — around 0.4–0.5% when playing basic strategy correctly. Side bets typically carry house edges of 3–25%, dramatically increasing the casino's mathematical advantage. The attractive payouts (100:1, 1,000:1) obscure the fact that these events occur rarely enough to make the bets poor value.
- Insurance: never take insurance unless you are card counting — it's one of the worst value bets in blackjack
- 21+3 and Perfect Pairs: lower house edges than most side bets, but still 3–7× worse than the base game
- Recommendation: skip all side bets and focus on correct basic strategy for the main hand; your expected loss rate will be a fraction of what side bets cost
Additional wagers placed alongside your main Ante bet. They typically pay based on your initial two cards or a combination of your cards and the dealer's up card. Independent of the main game outcome.
Wins if your first two cards form a pair. Three tiers: Mixed Pair (5:1), Coloured Pair (10:1), Perfect Pair (25–30:1). House edge typically 4–6%.
Uses your two cards plus the dealer's up card to form a three-card poker hand. Pays for Flush through Suited Trips (100:1). House edge approximately 3.2% at standard pay tables.
They carry much higher house edges than the main game (3–24% vs. under 0.5% with basic strategy). Treat them as entertainment spending, not strategy.
Some are theoretically vulnerable (Lucky Ladies, certain Perfect Pairs variants) because they depend on specific card compositions. Online casinos shuffle frequently enough to make counting impractical in practice.