Make Money with Side Bets in Blackjack

Side Bets in Blackjack

Side bets, as a rule, as sucker bets as well. You avoid them like a plague. But there are exceptions to this rule. In blackjack, you can make money with side bets, though only if you choose the right ones and know how to overcome the house edge.

The right side bets are Over or Under 13 and Super 7 s, also known as Lucky 7 s. It is with Over or Under 13 that you can really make money with side bets. Not shockingly, it is very hard to find. You could find it in land-based casinos at one time, but just as soon as the casinos figured out how much money the players were making off it, they took down the Over or Under 13. In rare instances you can still find it around town. If you do, be sure to play there.

Anyway, how the side bet works is simple. First, a few words about side bets. A side bet is a bet made separately from the actual game. Whether you win or lose the main game does not affect the outcome of the side bet. You could win one and lose the other, or win both or lose both. Most of the time, side bets are a waste of your gambling money. Their appeal lies in their novelty. Some gambling experts have done the math though, and found that occasionally one can make money with side bets.

How to Make Money with Side Bets

In the Over or Under 13 side bet, you simply wager that your starting two cards will be either over 13 or above 13. Average blackjack players - those who don't count cards - face a 6% house edge for "over" bets and a whopping 10% for the "under" bet. So if you're just playing for fun and not money, make sure you stick with the "over" bet.

For card counters and shuffle trackers, it is different. Depending on whether it is a "high" or "low" count, there will be times when it is good to make an "under" side bet or "over." And that is how you make money of it.

Now as for the Super 7 or Lucky 7 side bet. You wager that your first card will be a 7. If you get one, you win. If you get two or three 7 s, you get paid more. The payment scheme depends on the host casino. A single 7 may be paid 3 to 1, double cards at 50 to 1 and triple cards at 500 to 1 (unsited).

For this to be profitable, you need to know how to keep track of deck "clumps." In other words, learn shuffle tracking. When you notice several 7 cards clumped together, follow that and then make your "novelty" bet right when you think it's about to appear. This helps disguise your card counting business anyway, since counters aren't known to make side bets.

Note that the Super 7 side bet only works with tables where the decks are actually dealt like in real life. So it can't be used in most Internet-based casinos. But if you find either of these blackjack side bets, do try to play them. They can be both fun and profitable.