Blackjack: Field of Gold
Many online casinos offer a very simple side bet, although elusive (only seen it or heard of it being played in a handful of casinos state-side), and one that yields very favorable house odds is called Field of Gold. The side bet is a fixed amount, and since it’s tallying up card value, Aces are always counted as one here. And that’s really it, there are no wacky wheels or anything on this one, it’s just straight payout based on the value of your first two cards. Here’s the rundown:
The highest payout is Ace/Jack suited, which bring in 25:1. Don’t stop reading yet, I know 25:1 on a blackjack side bet isn’t the greatest “high-end” payout, but when you see the overall odds and potential combinations for victory, you’ll become a believer. Anyway, the odds of getting this in your hand are just under 0.3%. in a standard, six-deck game. This leaves you with a 7.4% return if it hits.
Next is a pair of bullets, which wins 10:1 on your bet, and carries a 0.57 percent chance of occurring. So, doing the math again, there’s a 5.7% average return on this part of the side bet.
The rest of the returns are minimal, but so plentiful that it significantly helps your return odds for each hand.
A total hand value of 3 or 4 pays off 3:1, and has a 3% chance of hitting. A value of 9 or 10 pays 2:1, with a favorable 10% chance. A straight blackjack wins 1.5:1 (sounds familiar), and the odds of that (which you already should know) are about 4.4%. And finally an 11 or 12 value wins 1:1, and carries a percentage of 13.5.
How does that all boil down? Let’s break it up by deck. The overall house edge in a one-deck casino game here is 6.6%, which is extremely favorable for a one-deck side bet. And as the decks increase, your odds improve. Two decks is 6%, four decks is 5.75%, five decks is 5.7%, six decks is 5.66%, and an eight-deck game brings the house edge down to 5.62%.
So, if you can locate this side bet at any of the US online casinos, it’s well worth the gamble for any number of decks. It also forces you to count your value each time, which isn’t a bad habit to work into your blackjack discipline anyway.