You’ve probably heard people say to stay away from blackjack side bets. Or maybe you’ve heard people say that the side bets are for suckers. Count me among those people. As I have said many times, side bets have a higher house edge than the traditional blackjack game, which with basic strategy can be lowered to 0.5%.
“But I really want to play some side bets,” you say. “Can’t you give me some advice?” First of all, you realize that you’re asking for advice on ignoring my advice, right? Okay, I will look past that and help you out. Here is my advice for blackjack side bets.
Blackjack side bets can come in the traditional game – such as taking insurance – or in blackjack variations – such as Triple Sevens. In either case, the side bet has a higher house edge than the normal game, meaning that the money you wager on that side bet is more likely to be lost than if you had bet it on the regular game. With that in mind, I have two pieces of advice.
First, if you simply want to play some blackjack side bets and variations as something different, try doing it for free. Most online casinos offer free blackjack games. I advise playing the free games if you simply want something new. You get to experience a different way to play blackjack without losing more of your money.
If you must wager money on the game to have fun, though, I suggest you follow my second piece of advice: Recognize that you are probably throwing your 꽁머니 money away. You should treat side bets the same as progressive slots. They offer a worse house edge than regular slots, but if you win it will be worth it. You probably won’t win, though. People play progressive slots, knowing that they are unlikely to win anything, in the hopes that against all odds, they will hit the jackpot. The same should be your mindset for side bets. Wagering on a side bet will likely cost you your money, but if you do happen to win, it will be pretty exciting. Some side bets – those that have the lowest odds of occurring – pay out huge prizes. To some people, taking a shot at that big money is worth the likelihood of losing your wager. If you are okay with that, then it’s okay to spend money on a side bet. Just know the odds of the bet and the probability of being unsuccessful.
Online Blackjack Advantages: Clean Air
I have written a lot about the advantages of online blackjack over playing at a brick and mortar casino. There is one advantage, though, that did not occur to me until I read about the dealers suing Wynn Casino.
Some blackjack dealers at Wynn Casino in Las Vegas have filed a lawsuit, which actually dates back to October 2009, arguing that dealer Kanie Kastroll was exposed to second-hand smoke as the result of the casino failing to provide a safe and smoke-free environment.
The truth is that many casinos have signs and rules that prohibit smoking on the casino floor. However, those rules go largely ignored. Let me put it this way. If a high roller is puffing away on a cigar while he bets hundreds of dollars on each hand, do you think a casino employee is going to ask him to stop smoking? No, they will do anything in their power to keep him happy and keep him playing.
Some players find the smoke annoying and as the lawsuit indicates, many dealers also find it annoying or, worse yet, unsafe. If you play blackjack at a brick and mortar casino and are annoyed by a smoker at your table, you can always move to another table, but why should you have to? Plus, what if a smoker goes to that table or if there are no empty tables far enough away from smokers?
If you play your blackjack online then you don’t have to worry about that, unless a family member smokes. If so, then that’s something you need to deal with anyway. You might want to tell them that it bothers you. In any case, when you play online blackjack, you can control the environment because the environment is your home. You can make sure it is smoke free or if you are a smoker, you can smoke as much as you want without getting dirty looks! You can also control the air temperature, how dark the room is, how loud the games are and more. You can also choose the music you listen to while you play, which is a benefit because some casinos have terrible music.
So that is just another thing to keep in mind. There are some things that online casinos cannot duplicate, but in other ways the online version is better. Getting to control your environment is one of those ways.