Blackjack: Lucky you

Here’s another side bet with a few nice payoffs but a rather uninspired name, called Lucky Lucky. Don’t ask me where that came from, but one indication might be that the game is commonly found more in Canada than the U.S. (kidding).

In this one, like many others, the online blackjack payoff is based on the combination of your first two up cards and the dealer’s first up card. Like a stingy slot machine, your best payoff in this one is in the form of three sevens. Let’s go through some of the statistics. I do have to say, after taking all of them into account, the overall house edge is an extremely favorable 2.6%, making this one of the best side bets to try your hand at…if you can find it.

The top payoff gives you back 200:1 on your original bet, and it hits if the combination of the three cards is three suited sevens. The odds are 0.0016% of this coming up, though, with only 80 possible combinations in the decks. Next on the list is a 100:1 payoff for getting 6,7,8 in a row, suited. The odds on this one actually climb proportionately to the payoff, and land at 0.017 percent.

The next two are the same as the first two, only without the suited requirement. The 777 one pays off 50:1, with a probability of hitting at 0.03 percent. The 678 pays 30:1, and will hit 0.26% of the time.

Now, here’s where you actually start to see where the 2.6% house edge comes into play. The rest of these strategy blackjack payoffs make the entire side bet extremely favorable to the player, as you’re getting paid off much of the time, whether it’s those high odds or just enough to keep you coming back.

A suited 21 pays off 15:1, with the odds of hitting at 0.53 percent. Even an unsuited 21 pays 3:1, and you’ll see those a nice 8.1 percent of the time.

Rounding out the bottom are any combination of 20, and any combination of 19, both paying the player 2:1 on their bet. The 20 has a 7.5 percent chance of coming up, while the 19 is slightly lower at 7.2 percent.

Overall, this is a very winnable and sustainable side bet, and a nice compliment to regular play.