Eliot Jacobson Ph.D.

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).