Quick answer: Every side bet on a casino table is worse than the game it is attached to — usually three to twenty times worse. Blackjack played properly costs about 0.5%; the Perfect Pairs bet sitting next to it costs 4% to 11%. Baccarat’s banker bet costs 1.06%; the Tie next to it costs 14.36%. The pattern has no exceptions worth chasing.
The Ranking
| Bet | Attached to | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack, basic strategy | — | 0.5% |
| Baccarat — Banker | — | 1.06% |
| Baccarat — Player | — | 1.24% |
| 21+3 | Blackjack | 3% – 8% |
| Perfect Pairs | Blackjack | 4% – 11% |
| Baccarat — Tie at 9:1 | Baccarat | 4.84% |
| Insurance | Blackjack | ~7% |
| Baccarat — Player/Banker Pair | Baccarat | ~10.4% |
| Baccarat — Tie at 8:1 | Baccarat | 14.36% |
| Perfect Pair (baccarat, 25:1) | Baccarat | ~17% |
| Lucky Ladies | Blackjack | 17% – 24% |
The first three rows are the base games. Everything below them is an optional extra offered at the same table, and every one of them is a materially worse bet than simply putting that money on the main game.
Why They Are Priced This Way
Side bets exist because base-game edges are thin. A casino makes very little from a blackjack player using basic strategy — half a percent is close to break-even from the operator’s side once you account for floor costs.
The solution is not to change blackjack, which players understand and would notice. It is to place a second bet next to it with a much larger margin, sold on a bigger payout. The player sees “25 to 1” and the operator sees a bet earning twenty times what the main game earns from the same chips.
This is the same mechanism behind proposition bets in Sic Bo, where Small and Big run 2.78% and the tempting triples run past 18%. The loud bet in the middle of the table is always the expensive one.
Insurance Deserves Its Own Warning
Insurance is not really insurance. When the dealer shows an ace, you are offered a separate bet, at 2:1, that their hole card is a ten. In a six or eight deck shoe, roughly 30.8% of remaining cards are tens — so a bet paying 2:1 needs to win 33.3% of the time to break even. It does not, and the gap is about 7%.
The framing is what makes it work. It is presented as protecting a good hand, so players take it on exactly the hands they least want to lose — which is emotional logic, not mathematical logic. The only players for whom insurance is correct are card counters who know the shoe is ten-rich, and that is not a condition you can assume.
The One Honest Argument For Them
There is a case, and it is worth stating fairly: side bets are volatile, and volatility is entertainment. A ₱100 side bet that occasionally returns ₱2,500 feels different from grinding out even-money blackjack hands, and some players are buying that feeling rather than a return.
If that is what you are doing, do it knowingly and size it as entertainment spending. A small side bet alongside a properly-played base game is a defensible choice. What is not defensible is believing it is a good bet, or increasing it when it loses — which is when a 10% edge starts compounding quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is any side bet ever worth taking?
Not on expected value — every one carries a worse edge than the base game. The narrowest, such as some 21+3 pay tables around 3%, are merely bad rather than terrible. If you want one for the variance, pick from the top of the table above, not the bottom.
Why do side bet edges vary so much?
Because pay tables and deck counts differ between operators. The same-named bet can run 4% at one table and 11% at another. As with video poker pay tables, the posted payouts are the only way to tell, and they are worth reading before you commit.
Does taking insurance protect my hand?
No. It is an independent bet on the dealer’s hole card that loses money on average. Your original hand plays out identically whether you take it or not.
Are live dealer side bets different from RNG ones?
The maths is the same; only the presentation differs. Our comparison of live dealer against RNG odds covers why the format does not change the underlying numbers.
What should I do with that money instead?
Put it on the base game. The same chips on blackjack basic strategy or the baccarat banker bet buy you far more playing time for the same expected cost, which for most players is the actual objective.
Final Thoughts
Side bets are the clearest illustration of how casino margins are built. The main game is fair enough to keep you at the table; the bet beside it is where the money is made. Nothing about that is dishonest — the payouts are published and the odds are knowable — but it is only visible if you check.
Play the base game, skip the extras, and if you take one anyway, take it small and take it knowing what it costs. If gambling has stopped being entertainment, our responsible gambling page lists the support available in the Philippines.
