Casino games tend to be repetitive after a few hours of a play. Since most betting rounds end quickly, after a few hours of playing the same game it sometimes get a little boring. Both we and the casinos know that fact and to gain a small advantage many casinos offer certain side bets to go alone with their games.
The thing about side bets is that even players who know that these bets offer horrendous odds for the player sometime decide that they want to take a shot at it. This happens for various reasons like running hot (The “I can’t lose” mentality), running cold (trying to get back to break even as fast as possible) or just plain boredom. A good example for a side bet is the one offered in various video poker games offering the player a “Double or Nothing” by choosing a random card and hoping that the computer’s random card will be lower ranked than the player’s. It’s a fun bet but really not something you would like to do if you are looking for a profit.
Some casinos offer progressive blackjack jackpot and the side bet (which usually costs 1$ to play) looks something like this:
25$ if your first two cards are unsuited Aces 100$ if your first two cards are suited Aces 250$ if you first three cards are unsuited Aces 2500$ if your first three cards are suited Aces The Jackpot if your first 4 card are suited Aces (all the same color)
Remember that progressive jackpot is offered in multi deck games so being dealt four aces of spades in a row is possible although very rare. The actual requirements and pay out table at the casino you will be playing in might be a little different but they generally look like the one above and the house edge is more or less the same.
The attractive thing about playing the progressive blackjack side bet is the small investment required to make coupled with the big payoff of hitting the jackpot. Everyone one of us gets dealt pocket aces from time to time so the chance at an easy 25$ seems very attractive. In reality the chances are slim and the pay out of 25$ is not enough to make this bet even closely profitable. The chance of being dealt two aces back to back is only 0.0041% not nearly as close to being break even. The chances of hitting the jackpot (which is usually the real reason we are playing this side bet) is only 0.00000296%.
So if you are a gambler who likes getting good odds on his bets you now know that the progressive jackpot is something you need to avoid. However, there is what is a called a break even point in a progressive blackjack game. This point is reached when the jackpot becomes so big that you actually do have a chance to turn a profit by continuously placing the side bet – the jackpot needs to be a little more the 250,000$ to make this bet mathematically profitable. So, if you manage to find such a big jackpot, you can place a couple of bets and feel good about yourself that you are making a bet with a positive expectation.
Owen Moore is a writer for [Online Blackjack] (link: http://www.home-blackjack.com/) site home-blackjack.com For more blackjack strategy articles please visit our site.
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