Blackjack Side Bet Sampler: Each One Explained

A lady in formal server clothes displays a menu of Blackjack Sides on a red background

Playing blackjack isn’t just playing blackjack, like a burrito isn’t just tortilla and carne asada. There’s plenty more we can shove in there.

Your blackjack hand is often accompanied by a spicy side bet. These blackjack side bets aren’t part of your main hand. They’re optional wagers you can tack on before the final card is revealed. But before shouting out your side bet order, you should know exactly what’s on the table.

What are blackjack side bets?

Blackjack side bets are optional wagers you can place alongside your main blackjack hand, usually before the hand is dealt. They are not affected by the result of your regular hand, but rather, a completely separate event.

They’re flashy by nature, with big, impressive payouts, but that usually comes at the cost of crumb-sized win chances.

How do they work?

You must place most side bets before the cards are dealt; however, some are only offered under specific conditions, such as insurance or even money.

The side bet has a separate cost, as if you were ordering from a menu’s specials page. You’d have to opt in with another wager, and they have varying levels of payouts. If you win your regular hand, it doesn’t affect your winning or losing chances with the side bet.

All The Different Types Of Blackjack Side Bets

Blackjack side bets certainly aren’t slim pickings; they’re a Chipotle counter worth. Today, we’re the ones behind the counter, so we’ll walk you through each blackjack side bet and show you how they work.

Insurance

You’ll only be offered insurance when the dealer shows an ace. When you opt in, you’re betting the dealer has blackjack. If the dealer’s hidden card is a 10, your insurance bet pays 2:1.

But here’s the thing. The dealer has blackjack less often than not, so you end up losing your bet most of the time. As the old adage goes: never take insurance. And while we’re at it, never take even money, either, which is essentially the same thing.

21+3

With the 21+3 side bet, you’re betting that your first two cards plus the dealer’s upcard will form a three-card poker hand. So instead of blackjack vs poker, it’s blackjack with poker.

If your three-card combo completes one of the qualifying hands, you get paid based on the rank. A suited three of a kind pays 100:1, but it’s about as rare as eating an actual-baby-sized burrito without dropping any rice, which turns out to be about 0.2%.

Bet the Set

Bet the Set zeroes in on your first two cards. If they’re any type of pair, you get paid based on how perfect that match is. Non-suited pair pays 10:1, suited pair pays 12:1, and in some casinos, a perfect pair (Zendeya and Tom, but for today’s purposes, the same rank and suit) pays up to 30:1.

Blazing 7s

If your cards, or sometimes the dealer’s, are sevens, you win a payout if you made the Blazing 7s bet beforehand. A single 7 pays 2:1, two 7s pay 25:1, and three colored 7s pay 500:1. You could even win a progressive jackpot for landing three sevens in diamonds. If you win the bet—great! Now the question is: do you split the 7s or not?

Lucky Ladies

Blackjack is a game of 21. But with the Lucky Ladies side bet, the lucky number extends to 20. When you make this bet, you win a minimum of 4:1 if your hand adds up to 20. Even better if your 20 is made up of queens. The highest payout is 1000:1 for a pair of queen of hearts and the dealer has blackjack. Lucky gals, indeed.

Perfect Pairs

Like tacos and margaritas. This is one of the most common blackjack side bets. With Perfect Pairs, you’re betting that your first two cards will be a pair. Exact payouts vary, but a red/black pair pays about 6:1, a colored pair pays 12:1, and a perfect pair (matching rank and suit) pays up to 30:1.

Colored Pairs

Colored Pairs is a version of the Perfect Pairs side bet. You win 10:1 or 12:1 on most tables when your first two cards are both red or both black. It’s the “double orange chicken” of Panda Express orders.

Mixed Pairs

But what if you’re the type to order chow mein and kung pao chicken? Then you’d make a Mixed Pairs side bet, which is also part of the Perfect Pairs group. You win around 5:1 or 6:1 (depending on the table) when your first two cards match in rank but come in different suits and colors, like 8 of hearts and 8 of clubs. And if you do receive that duo, you’d better split those 8s.

Flush

A Flush side bet is part of the 21+3 bets. It means all three cards share the same suit, like fresh-diced tomatoes, salsa, and pico de gallo—same-same-but-different. A Flush side bet might be 2, 7, and 4 of spades. The order doesn’t matter. Like all other poker-based side bets, you must place a Flush side bet before the hand is dealt. It usually pays 5:1.

Three of a Kind

For the Three of a Kind side bet in blackjack, your two cards plus the dealer’s upcard must share the same rank, regardless of suit or color. It falls within the 21+3 family of poker-based side bets. The payout is among the highest, reaching up to 30:1.

If, however, you land Three of a Kind where all three share the same rank and suit, such as three queens of spades, the payout is 100:1. Of course, this would only be available in multi-deck blackjack games, where you have multiple matching cards.

Straight Flush

A Straight Flush is when you have three cards in sequence (your two + the dealer’s upcard), and they all share the same suit. This is another top-tier 21+3 bet, paying up to 40:1. An example of a Straight Flush would be 5, 6, and 7, all of spades.

Royal Match

A Royal Match is dependent only on your first two cards. If they appear with the same suit, you receive a 2.5:1 payout. If you happen to land a King and Queen of the same suit, that’s the big money hit and this bet’s namesake, offering a royal 25:1 payout.

Hi Lo

The Hi Lo side bet is a wager on whether one card will be higher than the other. That’s usually your first card against your second, or your first card against the dealer’s upcard. If you guessed right, you typically get paid even money. If the cards tie, most versions hand the win to the dealer or result in a push.

EZ Bust

For the EZ Bust side bet, it’s offered only when the dealer’s upcard is a 2-6. If you opt in, and the dealer busts, then you win even money. EZ PZ.

Side Bet Payouts

Seven hot sauces of varying heat are displayed on a dark red background, signaling the range of risky blackjack side bets.

Blackjack side bet payouts follow a clear ladder. The easier hits, the Frank’s RedHot of salsa, such as Mixed Pairs or Hi Lo, pay the least, somewhere within the 1:1 and 6:1 range.

The Tabasco middle ground covers slightly more difficult side bets, such as colored pairs, straights, or flushes, typically paying 10:1 to 40:1.

For the mouth-on-fire, Scoville-busting payouts, Suited Three of a Kind and the top of Lucky Ladies pay 100:1 and 1000:1, respectively. That might even result in an expletive-laden meltdown, courtesy of Gordon Ramsay on ‘Hot Ones.’

Are side bets worth it?

The short answer is no, not usually. They look tempting because of the big payouts, but they come with significantly higher house edges, even the “easy” ones.

That said, they’re not totally useless. If you treat them like a mini add-on from time to time, they can make the game more entertaining, like paying for extra guac. Just don’t rely on them as a strategy.

Which blackjack side bet has the best odds?

On a dark red background, a steaming hot burrito rests on a cutting board, its wrapper showing playing card suits.

Your best bet, literally, would be the Hi Lo bet, with around a 46% chance of winning. However, that’s also one of the least common blackjack side bets. The most common is 21+3, and you have up to a 4–5% chance of winning the Flush.

You can think of blackjack as a burrito, and the side bets as the burrito bar. Some are light add-ons, and others are flaming hot long shots, reserved only for the daring. If you’re ready to mix it up, grab a seat at the table and stuff a few side bets into your blackjack game at Cafe Casino.