Ø  Lucky Lucky – A side bet with a complex payoff on 678, 777, 21, 20, or 19 suited or unsuited.

Ø  Pair Square – Bet that the first two cards are of the same rank

Ø  Perfect Pairs – Bet the first two cards are a pair with various payoffs.

Ø  Sweet 16 – Bet the first two cards are a low pair, ace or 16-21 points.

Ø  Streak – Bet on streaks of wins.

Ø  Push Your Luck – Bet that the player's hand ties with the dealer's hand. The player wins 10 times the side bet.

Note: Casinos are constantly coming up with new side bets. Michael Shackleford keeps an up to date list and analyses of such bets on his excellent site at: www.wizardofodds.com/blackjack/appendix8.html.

Blackjack Win/Play Variations

Ø  Player 21 ties dealer 10 up Blackjack – If the dealer has a ten up and an ace down and the player has any 21, there is a push.

Ø  Dealer wins tied 17 – This awful option causes tied 17 hands to be lost instead of pushed.

Ø  Dealer wins ties – With this option, you lose your bet on a tied hand. This awful rule sometimes is added to counteract another unusual option that heavily favors the player.

Ø  Five cards unbusted wins – (Five Card Charlie) With this rule, the player always wins when he receives five cards without busting. Very rare.

Ø  Six cards unbusted wins – With this rule, the player always wins when he has received six cards without busting.

Ø  Seven cards unbusted wins – With this rule, the player always wins when he has received seven cards without busting. This rule makes almost no difference and can be ignored.

Ø  Player 22 counts as 21 – With this rule, the player does not bust with a total of 22.

Ø  Dealer ten up exposes hole card – Where this rule exists and the dealer up card is a ten, the dealer flips over the hole card. This is a very valuable rule and will not be found in a casino without some other option that hurts the player.

 © 2009 Norman Wattenberger