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Boost Your Blackjack Winnings

One of the reasons for Blackjack’s popularity is how simple it is to play. Essentially, you only have to place one bet at the start of each round. However, there are many Blackjack games that offer side bets. These are optional bets that give players the chance to win even more. As you explore the different versions of Blackjack on offer, you may come across many different side bets, each of which works in a slightly different way. Here is an explanation of some of the more common ones:

Player/Perfect Pairs

This is one of the side bets that you are like to come across most often. It wins if the player’s first two cards are a pair. Very often there are different payouts for three different types of pair. A Mixed Pair is two cards of the same value, but from different suits and different colours and it usually pays at 5:1. A Coloured Pair is two cards of the same value and of the same colour and it usually pays at 12:1. A Perfect Pair is two identical cards and it usually pays at 25:1.

21+3

This side bet is on the player’s first two cards combining with the dealer’s up card to form one of five types of hand:

• Flush – Three cards of the same suit. It usually pays at 5:1
• Straight – Three cards in numerical order. It usually pays at 10:1.
• Three of a Kind – Three cards of the same value. It usually pays at 30:1.
• Straight Flush – Three cards of the same suit in numerical order. It usually pays at 40:1.
• Suited Three of a Kind – Three identical cards. It usually pays at 100:1.

Progressive Jackpot

Some versions of Blackjack give you the chance to win a progressive jackpot. You need to place the side bet to enter the jackpot game, and then the jackpot is usually won if you are dealt four consecutive aces. Very often there are additional payouts available, such as 5000:1 for three suited Aces, 2500:1 for four unsuited Aces, 250:1 for three unsuited Aces, 100:1 for two suited Aces, 50:1 for two unsuited Aces, and 5:1 for any Ace.

Royal Match

This is a bet on the first two cards dealt to a player being of the same suit. It pays 5:2 for cards such as 6 and 9 of Hearts, and 25:1 if players are dealt a Royal Match, i.e. a King and Queen from the same suit.

H3: Over/Under 13

This is a bet on the value of the player’s first two cards and whether it will be above or below 13. The bet usually pays 1:1.

Buster

This is a bet on the dealer going bust and the more cards the dealer holds, the more the player wins. If the dealer is holding 3 or 4 cards when busting it pays 2:1, with 5 cards it pays 4:1, with 6 cards it pays 18:1, with 7 cards it pays 50:1, with 8 or more cards it pays 250:1. If the dealer busts with 7 cards and the player has Blackjack it pays 800:1 and if the dealer busts with 8 or more cards and the player has Blackjack then it pays at 2000:1.

Lucky Ladies

This is a bet on the player’s first two cards being worth 20. The payout depends on the cards in the hand. An unsuited 20 pays 4:1, a suited 20 pays 10:1, a matched 20 (cards with the same rank and suit) pays 25:1, two Queens of Hearts pay 200:1 and two Queens of Hearts when the dealer has Blackjack pays 1000:1.

Make the Most of Roulette Betting Options

Roulette is built upon a very simple premise, you are just betting on where the ball will stop within the wheel. However, to make the game more interesting and exciting, there are many different types of bets that you can place

The main bets are split into two categories, Inside Bets and Outside Bets, and they can all be placed with a single chip. Inside Bets are those that require chips to be placed within the betting area and Outside Bets require the chips to be placed on the perimeter of the betting area.

Inside Bets

• Straight Up: This is the most straightforward bet; it is on an individual number and it pays 35:1
• Split Bet: This is a bet on two numbers that are next to one another on the betting area and it pays 17:1
• Street Bet: This is a bet on one of the twelve rows of three numbers on the betting area known as ‘Streets’ and it pays 11:1.
• Corner Bet: This is a bet on four numbers whose corners meet on the betting area and it pays 8:1.
• Line: This is a bet on two neighbouring streets and it pays 8:1.
• Basket: This is a bet on the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3 and it pays 6:1.
• Top Line Bet: This is only available in American Roulette as it is a bet on the numbers 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 and it pays 6:1.

Outside Bets

• Column Bet: This is a bet on one of the three columns of 12 numbers one the betting area and it pays 2:1
• Dozen Bet: This is a bet on one of the three groups of twelve numbers, 1 – 12, 13 – 24 or 25 – 36, and it pays 2:1.
• Red/Black Bet: This is a bet on all the red numbers or all the black numbers and it pays 1:1.
• Even/Odd Bet: This is a bet on either all the odd or all the even numbers and it pays 1:1.
• Low/High or 1 to 18/19 to 36 Bet: This is a bet on all the low numbers (1 – 18) or high numbers (19 – 36) and it pay 1:1.

As mentioned, the above bets can all be placed with single chips. However, there are some common betting patterns made up of multiple chips and using the racetrack betting area they can be placed very quickly. The bets are as follows:

• Voisins du Zero: This is a bet on the numbers that neighbour 0 on the Roulette wheel. It requires nine chips, a mixture of split, triplet, and corner bets.
• Tiers du Cylindre: This is a bet on the numbers in the third of the wheel opposite 0. It requires six chips that are placed as split bets.
• Orphelins: This is a bet on the numbers that aren’t included in either a Tiers du Cylindre or a Voisins du Zero bet. The bet covers 8 numbers and requires 5 chips.
• Jeu Zero: This bet covers the number included in the Voisins bet but in a different way. The bet requires four chips, a mixture or straight up and split bets.

Amazingly, there are even more common bet types found in Roulette. The final two that you should be aware of are:

• Neighbours: This is a bet on a number and the two numbers either side of it on the roulette wheel. The bet requires five chips and they are all placed as straight bets.
• Final Bet: This is a bet on all the numbers that share the same last number. They are placed as straight up bets.

Maximise Your Slot Spins

Slot machines are simple games that do not require you to learn about complicated bets or side bets. However, you still want to make the most of every spin so that you can have as much fun as possible. The secret to doing this is to manage your slots’ bankroll properly.

There are two basic principles to slots bankroll management. The first is that you want to bet as much as possible on every spin and the second is that you want to play as many spins as possible while following the first principle.

Very often, newcomers to online slots are drawn to games that have huge maximum bets of hundreds of coins. If the games have coin sizes that go up to £0.10 or even higher, then this means that it is possible to bet £20 or more per spin. Therefore, if a player has a bankroll of £100 for a session, they will not be able to play many spins at all before they run out of money.

This means that you should be looking for slot machines that have a maximum bet that suits your budget, allowing you to play at least 50 spins per session and ideally more. You need to optimise your bankroll to give yourself the best chance of winning payouts.

The long-term aim is to build up your winnings so that in time, you can progress to a more expensive slot. However, you want to do this without putting your entire bankroll at risk. One way of doing this is to cash out your winnings immediately and keep them separate from your initial bankroll, so that you do not end up playing them away.

Imagine that you decide that you can afford to spend £200 a month playing slots. You then need to divide the £200 in to units. A unit is your minimum bet. If £10 is your minimum, then your £200 translates into £20 units. If a unit is £5, then you have double the number of units, 40, which gives you twice the number of individual bets.

Realistically, if your monthly bankroll is £200, then £5 is too large a bet as you are likely to burn through it very quickly. Many people recommend risking 5% of a bankroll per gaming session. This means that if you want to play 20 sessions in a month, you will have £10 to spend per session.

If you are spinning a slot machine that has a maximum bet of 5 coins and the biggest coin is £0.05, it means that you can make 40 bets (spins) per session. Realistically, this will not be enough to satisfy the majority of players. If you decide to play fewer sessions per month, then you will be able to enjoy more bets per session.

For instance, you may decide that 10 sessions in a month is enough for you. By reducing the number of sessions you are having, you have doubled the maximum amount you can risk per session. If you have a bankroll of £20 for a session, then it means that you can play 80 spins in a session before you lose your bankroll. On the vast majority of slots, this should be more than enough to ensure that you do hit a few winning spins, and that way can extend your playing time.

The most important things to remember are to never bet money that you can’t afford to lose and to stop playing once you have run through your bankroll. Many people also recommend stopping to play once you have made some winnings, as this way you can be sure that you won’t lose them.