Definition
Side Bet
Also known as Side Bets, Optional Bet
By Abhinav VasudevanReviewed Editorial policy
In short
A side bet is an optional wager alongside the main game, usually on a specific card combination or occurrence. Side bets almost always carry several times the house edge of the game they sit beside.
Side bets sit next to the main game and pay for specific occurrences. A pair in your opening hand, a suited three-card combination, a particular total. They are optional, they are heavily promoted, and they are uniformly bad value.
The pricing
| Side bet | Game | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Perfect Pairs | Blackjack | 4–11% |
| 21+3 | Blackjack | 3–8% |
| Lucky Ladies | Blackjack | 17–24% |
| Insurance | Blackjack | 7.5% |
| Dragon Bonus | Baccarat | 2.6–9.4% |
| Perfect Pair | Baccarat | 5.3% |
| Tie | Baccarat | 14.4% |
| Any Triple | Sic Bo | 13.9% |
Against main games at 0.5% (blackjack), 1.06% (baccarat) and 2.7% (roulette), these are between five and forty times more expensive per pound staked.
Why they exist
Precisely because the main games are cheap.
Blackjack played with basic strategy returns 99.5%, which is a poor product for an operator. Side bets restore the margin without changing the advertised game, and they are placed by exactly the players who chose blackjack for its low edge.
This is not hidden, the paytables are printed, but the framing invites the bet. A £1 side bet next to a £25 main bet feels trivial, and over a session it frequently costs more than the main game does.
The counting exception
Some side bets are countable, in the sense that their expected value depends on deck composition more sharply than the main game does. Card counters track certain side bets separately and bet them only when the composition is favourable.
This is a genuine advantage-play technique and it requires the same infrastructure as card counting generally. For anyone not doing that, it is irrelevant.
The simple rule
Side bets are entertainment with a price attached, and the price is high. If the appeal of a game was its low house edge, the side bet undoes that decision.
Common questions
Are casino side bets worth playing?
No. They carry house edges from 2.5% to 24%, against 0.5% for blackjack and 1.06% for baccarat. They exist precisely because the main games are cheap, and they restore the margin the operator gives away.
Why does every table game have side bets?
Because blackjack played correctly returns 99.5%, which is a poor product for an operator. Side bets recover margin without changing the advertised game, and they are placed by exactly the players who chose it for the low edge.