A.P Heat

At G2E (2013) this year I saw a side bet that seemed very familiar to me, Dealer Bust 21 (DB21), at the TCS John Huxley booth (as of August, 2016, DB21 is offered by AGS). DB21 is yet another blackjack side bet that pays if the dealer busts. This one has a unique distinction: I was the mathematician who did the original mathematical analysis.

The use of fear to influence the opinions and actions of others towards some specific end is called “fear mongering.” One of the most infamous cases of using this tactic was Lyndon Johnson’s “Daisy” commercial, which was used it in his 1964 election campaign against Senator Barry Goldwater (

Ultimate Texas Hold'em (UTH) is one of the most popular novelty games in the U.S. For example, only Three Card Poker and Let it Ride have more placements in Nevada. What makes UTH so successful is its similarity to Hold'em poker together with the chance for a huge payday if the player makes a top hand.

I was visiting a casino in August, 2011 when I noticed a side bet on the table I had not seen before: “Slingo Bonus Bet 21.” The bet pays purely on the total of the player’s two cards, with an Ace counting 11. I could tell right away that the bet was countable.  One of the wagers the player could make was that his hand would be a blackjack.

One of the most common blackjack side bets in California card rooms is known as Buster Blackjack (BBJ).  I found this documentation online. The player who makes the BBJ wager wins if the dealer busts.

A few months back I was delivering a game protection seminar at a casino that was locked down tight. They had no obvious issues, so I was struggling to find something meaningful to present to them. As I examined their Three Card Poker (3CP), I observed it was dealt from an iDeal shuffler.

Shortie (SBJ) is a blackjack side bet that is an extreme version of the “Under 13” bet (see this post). Quite simply, SBJ wins if the player’s first two cards total 9 or less (where Aces always count as 1).

Caribbean Stud (CS) is not a common game in U.S. casinos, but worldwide it continues to have a strong presence. CS has a well-known vulnerability to player collusion, where a full table of seven players can get a practical edge of about 1.4% over the house (see this post).

Hole-carding 3CP was one of the first advanced plays I was involved with. Back in 2002, when I saw a dealer flash her hole-card in 3CP at my local casino, I was excited and quickly computed optimal strategy and the edge. I thought this was a one-off, that I would not see 3CP hole-cards anywhere else.

The “Lucky Lucky” (LL) blackjack side bet has payouts based on the player’s two cards and the dealer’s up-card. After the player makes the LL bet, the values of the player’s two cards and dealer’s up card are summed. Hands that total 19, 20 or 21 are winners, with bonuses for suited hands and for the hands 6-7-8 and 7-7-7. All other hands lose. As usual for blackjack, an Ace counts as 1 or 11.

In this post, I discussed card counting the Buster Blackjack (BBJ) side bet in the six-deck case. The player wins the BBJ side bet if the dealer busts. The payout is based on the number of cards in the dealer’s busted hand, with a top payout for an 8+ card dealer busted hand.

In the past few years there has been a proliferation of blackjack side bets based on the theme of the dealer busting.  Among these side bets are “Bet the Bust,” “Bust Bonus,” “Bust It,” “Buster Blackjack,” and “Dealer Bust 21.” The market probably has room for one of these to be moderately successful: the winner of that battle is still to be determined.

Of all the currently available side bets for blackjack, the news that Lucky Ladies (LL) is vulnerable to card counting has been out the longest. The reason is simple: LL pays for any player total of 20, so ten-valued cards are a premium.

Back in 1997, during one of my early outings as a blackjack card counter, I saw my first automatic shuffling machine. This one had metal arms that attempted to duplicate the physical act of shuffling like a human might do. As you may expect, the thing was awful at its job. Clumps of cards fell through the process virtually untouched. It was clumsy, sloppy and noisy.