Unless your a very skilled counter, you’ll be better off using the simplified count above. The unbalanced count is fairly complicated, with its multi-level taps. If it’s only $5, and you get good rules -0.6%, then your cost would be (100 hands/hr)($5/hand)(-0.6%) = $3/hr, leaving you with a $19/hr job. Of course, you’ll almost certainly have to make the main bet too (e.g., the Cosmopolitan wouldn’t let me make bonus bets on my friend’s blackjack hand). But, more likely, they’ll limit you to a $25 max bet. That works out to an average return of +0.88% per dealt hand.ĭepending on the side bet limits, counting this bet could be profitable. This practical count yields 14.4% betting opportunities, with an average +6.1% edge per bet. Practically, you’d use the unbalanced count in the table above and bet with a running count of +25 or more. That’s an average return of about 1.0% per dealt hand. If the cut card is placed after the 5th deck, then an ideal count (using perfect shoe composition) yields 14.7% betting opportunities, with an average +6.73% advatange per bet. The EORs are fairly high, as listed below. The basic house edge for a 6-deck shoe game is -6.91%. If the dealer doesn’t bust on 3 cards, you lose. You make the side bet before the hand begins, and if the dealer busts on 3 cards, you win according to the paytable.

It seemed countable, so I ran the numbers today. I ran across the Bust It blackjack side bet last weekend at the Palazzo in Las Vegas.

Push your luck blackjack side bet