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Blackjack Side Bets Compared
Perfect Pairs, 21+3 and insurance all ride on the first cards dealt. Here’s how often each one wins, what it pays and what it costs over time, side by side.
At a glance (6 decks)
| Side bet | Wins when | Win chance | Top payout | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect Pairs | Your first two cards are a pair | 7.4% | 30:1 | 5.79% |
| 21+3 | Your two cards + the dealer’s up card make a poker hand | 9.7% | 100:1 | 4.62% |
| Insurance | The dealer has blackjack (only offered on an Ace) | 30.9% | 2:1 | 7.40% |
Payouts are Perfect Pair Blackjack’s paytables. House edge is how much of each bet you’d expect to lose over a long run. For comparison, the main game played with basic strategy has a house edge of well under 1%.
Perfect Pairs
The simplest side bet: does your first hand contain a pair? Mixed pairs pay 5:1, coloured pairs 10:1 and identical perfect pairs 30:1. It wins about once every 13.5 hands.
In this game: the Lucky Pair jackpot pays an extra 500:1 when your perfect pair matches the round’s Lucky Pair rank. That turns Perfect Pairs into a bet that pays back more than it costs over time, something no real casino would offer.
21+3
Three-card poker with your two cards and the dealer’s up card. Most wins are flushes (5:1) and straights (10:1). The big ones, a straight flush at 40:1 and suited trips at 100:1, are rare: about 1 in 484 and 1 in 4,821.
It has the lowest house edge of the three on this paytable and wins the most often of the two optional bets.
Insurance
Insurance wins most often, nearly one time in three, but at 2:1 that isn’t often enough. It has the highest house edge of the three, and basic strategy says never take it. See the full maths.
Which should you play?
- For the biggest win: 21+3 (100:1 suited trips), or Perfect Pairs with a Lucky Pair (500:1 on top) in this game.
- For the most frequent wins: 21+3. It wins roughly one hand in ten.
- To skip: insurance.
- For the best long-run value: no side bet beats the main game played well.
Want to see how the number of decks changes all of this? Try the odds calculator.
Side bets FAQ
Which blackjack side bet has the best odds?
Of the three, 21+3 has the lowest house edge on Perfect Pair Blackjack’s paytables (4.6% with six decks), followed by Perfect Pairs (5.8%) and insurance (7.4%). In this game the Lucky Pair jackpot makes Perfect Pairs the most generous overall.
Which side bet wins most often?
Insurance wins about 31% of the time it is offered, but it pays only 2:1. 21+3 wins about 9.7% of the time and Perfect Pairs about 7.4%.
Are side bets worth it?
In a real casino, side bets cost you more over time than the main game, which has a house edge of well under 1% with basic strategy. They are for fun and the chance of a big payout. With play money, there’s nothing to lose by trying them.