How To Play Blackjack 21 Plus 3
- How to play 21+3 Blackjack Once the first part of the game is done, and Deal is pressed – the cards will be dealt. As soon as you press the Deal button, the cards are dealt. Your two dealt cards will then be evaluated against the 21+3 pay table.
- A progressive jackpot is a casino-style jackpot which increases each time the game is played, if the jackpot is not won. When the progressive jackpot is won, the jackpot for the next play How To Play Blackjack 21 Plus 3 is reset to a predetermined value, then resumes increasing with How To Play Blackjack 21 Plus 3 each play.
21+3 Top 3 Getting Started with Blackjack. To start your game of 21+3 Top 3, you first have to choose your bet in order to play for. Lucrative Side Bets. The side bet places a bet on the hand created by your first 2 cards and the dealer’s up card. Colourful Payouts. In blackjack, you will. Playing the Game. Before the cards are dealt the player has two choices as to where they can place their bet. The first bet is mandatory and it is the blackjack bet. The second choice is optional and this is the 3 card poker side bet. The 3 card poker side bet cannot be played by itself. The player must have a minimum blackjack bet in order to play the 3 card poker side bet. 21 + 3 Blackjack – How to Play The rules of 21+3 Blackjack. The primary game in 21+3 blackjack is as standard as any regular blackjack game found. The +3 side bet. Before the cards are dealt a player can make a side bet in order to qualify for the +3 pays. Suited three of a Kind.
21+3 Blackjack is a very popular side bets blackjack variation, invented and patented by Derek J. Webb in 2000. The game is a combination of blackjack and three card poker, where your first 2 cards and the dealer’s face up card are used to combine a three card hand. If you are familiar with Perfect Pairs, then you can look at 21+3 as its further development.It is considered one of the latest additions and therefore it is not offered by most blackjack sites. Nevertheless, there are 3 versions of 21+3 Blackjack available online and we are sure that more to come.
Content1. Game reviews
2. 21+3 payout variations
3. Where to Play
4. 21+3 rules
5. Online games comparison
6. Summary
Game Reviews & Free Play
21+3 Payouts
21 plus 3 Blackjack has two common payout tables which you can find below, however some casinos offer their own rule sets. If you encounter any discrepancies, we recommend that you check the appropriate house edge before you proceed.
*We’ve also added option #3 since it’s the one used in IGT online casinos. The odds are calculated based on 6 deck games.
Option #1
Flush – 5:1
Straight – 10 to 1
3 of a kind – 30 to 1
Straight flush – 40 to 1
Suited three of a kind – 100 to 1
Odds: 95.38%
Option #2
Flush – 9 to 1
Straight – 9 to 1
Three of a kind – 9 to 1
Straight Flush – 9 to 1
Odds: 96.76%
Option #3
Flush – 5:1,
Straight – 10 to 1,
3 of a kind – 33 to 1,
Straight flush – 35 to 1
Suited three of a kind – 100 to 1.
Odds: 95.86%
Where to Play
| Casino | Bonus | Why it’s here | Best Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% up to $1000 | Best for USA and AUS casino | Single Deck – 0.08% house edge | |
| 100% up to £/$/€ 100 | Best for UK, Canada and EU | Classic Blackjack – 0.21% house edge | |
| 150% up to $1500 | Highest USA Blackjack Bonus | N/A |
21+3 Blackjack Rules
21+3 is based on European blackjack rules, meaning that the dealer doesn’t check for blackjack. Therefore in case the dealer has a natural, your doubles and splits will be lost as well. Other rules:
- Usually played with 6 standard decks.
- Dealer stands on all 17s.
- Double down rules vary, but usually you can double on 9,10, 11 value.
- Doubled down hands receive one card.
- Split up to 2 hands, including Aces.
- You can hit or double split hands, including Aces.
- Blackjack pays 3:2
- Similar value hands are push.
The house edge under these rules is 0.48%.
Blackjack 21+3 Online Games Comparison
There are three 21+3 games available online. The first can be found in Wagerworks (IGT) casinos. The second one was developed by Felt Gaming and can be found only in Unibet casino. The third one is a live dealer game by Evolution Gaming.
Basic Game Rules
We will mention only the rules that differ from the common ones listed above.
IGT (Wagerworks): You can split two 3 hands and re-split Aces. Double down on any 2 cards.
Felt Gaming: Standard rules
Evolution: Played with 8 decks. Also offers Perfect Pairs side bet. Double down on any 2 cards. Single card to split Aces.
21+3 Bonus Comparison
Evolution: Standard Option #1, but played with 8 decks which lowers the side bets house edge by roughly 1%.
Felt: Standard Option #1.
IGT (Wagerworks): Option #3.
Bottom Line
Wagerworks (IGT)
Base Game: 99.70%
Side Bets: 95.86%
Evolution Gaming
Base Game: 99.41%
Side Bets: 96.38%
Update: Realistic Games also offer 21+3 blackjack. The special rules are: based on American Blackjack (dealer checks for blackjack). Double down on any 2 cards. Split Aces receive only 1 card. Bonus payouts are as on Option #1, except the 3 of a Kind which pays 25:1. Under these rules basic odds are 99.59%. The side bet odds are extremely low, just 92%.
Blackjack Variations > Blackjack
Blackjack is a casino table game in which players try to make hands which score as close to 21 points without going over. In order to win, players must make a better hand than the dealer. While it may sound simple, blackjack is an exciting game of strategy, luck, odds and risks, which has made blackjack one of the most popular gambling games in the world.
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The Basics of How to Play Blackjack
Every game of blackjack starts in the same way: each player makes a bet. In any given game of blackjack, there can be anywhere from one to several players competing against the dealer; however, each player plays against the dealer independently, and in any given hand, some players may win while others might lose. For the sake of simplicity in this article, all examples will feature just a single player.
The player and the dealer are both dealt initial two card hands out of a shoe, which contains some number of standard 52-card decks – usually, between one and eight decks. Both of the player’s cards are face up, while the dealer will have one card face up (known as the up card), and one card face down.
Scoring Blackjack Hands
Each card in blackjack is worth a different number of points. Numbered cards – those of ranks between two and ten – are worth a number of points equal to their printed rank. For instance, a seven is worth seven points. Face cards – jacks, queens and kings – are each worth ten points.
Aces can be worth either one or eleven points. Essentially, aces are worth eleven points unless that would result in the hand going over 21 points, in which case they can count as one point instead. Hands with an ace that still counts as eleven points are known as “soft” hands, as opposed to those in which aces must count as one point, which are known as “hard” hands. The difference is that a soft hand cannot go over 21 with an additional card, since the ace may simply go from counting as eleven to being worth a single point.
Blackjacks and Insurance
If the player starts with a hand that is worth 21 points – in other words, an ace and a ten or face card – then the player has a blackjack. This will almost always result in the player immediately winning. The odds paid for a blackjack are normally 3-2, though some tables may only offer 6-5 or other unusual odds.
How To Play 21+3 Blackjack
However, it is also possible for the dealer to have a blackjack. If the dealer’s up card is an ace or a ten-point card, the dealer will check to see if they have a blackjack (under some rules, the dealer will only check at this point if the up card is an ace). If the dealer has a blackjack, all players immediately lose, unless the player also has a blackjack, in which case they push.
In addition, if the dealer is showing an ace, the dealer will offer insurance to players. Players may purchase insurance for half the price of their initial bet. If the dealer has a blackjack, the insurance bet pays 2-1; the net result of winning the insurance bet but losing the original bet is for the player to come out even for the hand. If a player has a blackjack, most dealers will over “even money” for the blackjack, offering a 1-1 payout as an alternative to risking a push if the dealer also has blackjack. This is simply the insurance bet under another name.
Hitting and Standing in Blackjack
Assuming the neither the player or dealer has a blackjack, the player now has some choices to make regarding their hand. In making these decisions, the player should take into account both his own hand, as well as the dealer’s exposed card.
If the player is happy with his hand and doesn’t wish to risk taking any additional cards, he may stand. This ends their options and locks in their hand on whatever score they currently have.
Alternately, the player can “hit.” If a player hits, the dealer deals another card to them. If this card takes the hand over 21 points, the player “busts,” and loses all bets immediately. Otherwise, the player again has the choice of hitting or standing. A player may hit as many times as they like, provided they do not exceed 21 points. Once a player chooses to stand, they are done playing their hand.
The Dealer’s Hand
Once all players have played their hand, the dealer reveals their second card. The dealer may now attempt to improve their hand, based on rules that should be printed on the table. In most cases, the dealer must hit with a hand of 16 or less, and must stand with a hand of 17 or greater. The dealer will continue hitting until the rules tell the dealer to stand, or the dealer busts.
If the dealer busts, all players remaining in the hand immediately win even money on their bets. If the dealer stands, the player’s hand is compared to the dealer’s hand. If the player’s hand is higher, the player wins even money on all bets. If the player’s hand is lower, the player loses all bets. If the player and dealer tie, all bets push.
Example Hand #1
The player is dealt 5/3, for a hand worth 8 points. The dealer is showing a K. The player chooses to hit, and receives a Q, making his hand worth 18 points. The player now chooses to stand.
The dealer reveals his down card, showing a 6. The dealer now has K/6, worth 16 points. The rules say that the dealer must hit with 16, and therefore takes another card. He receives a 7, bringing his hand to 23 points. This means that the dealer busts, and the player wins even money on his bet.
Splitting and Doubling Down
Players also have two other options that they may invoke when they receive their initial two card hand. If the player has two cards of the same rank, they may choose to split their hand into two. This is done by making a second bet of equal size to the original bet. The two cards are separated into two separate hands, each of which is dealt a new second card. Under many rules systems, players are allowed to split their hands additional times if they receive a pair after splitting. For instance, if a player starts with 44, then chooses to split, they may end up with two hands of A4 and 44. The player may then split the new 44 hands, resulting in a total of three hands, each being played for a single bet. Each of these hands wins or losses individually, so it is possible to win some hands and lose others after splitting.
The player may also choose to double down on their first two cards. By doubling down, a player agrees to take only one more card, after which they will stand, meaning they are stuck with whatever hand they have after receiving their third card. If a player wishes to do this, they will need to make a second bet of equal size (if they do not have enough money to do this, they may double down for less than the original bet size). This option allows the player to wager more money when the odds are strongly in their favor, with the accompanying risk of ending up with a bad hand that they normally would have continued hitting with.
Example Hand #2
The following hand covers many possible situations in blackjack. Follow it carefully; if you understand what has happened in this hand, you should feel comfortable playing blackjack online or at a casino!
The player begins with the hand of 8/8 (16 points), while the dealer begins with an ace showing (11 points). The dealer first offers the player the option to purchase insurance, which the player declines. The dealer checks for blackjack; he does not have blackjack, and therefore the hand continues as normal.
The player now has many options. The player chooses to split his hand of eights by making a second bet. The dealer deals two additional cards to the player, resulting in the player now having the following hands:
8/K (18 points)
8/3 (11 points)
First, the dealer asks what the player would like to do with their hand of 8/K. The player chooses to stand with this hand.
Next, the dealer asks what the player would like to do with their hand of 8/3. In this case, the player chooses to double down by making an additional bet. The player is dealt a J, giving their hand a total value of 21 points.
The dealer now reveals their hand, showing a 9. This gives the dealer a hand of A/9, worth 20 points.
The player’s hands are compared to the dealer’s hand. The hand worth 18 points loses, causing the player to lose one bet. However, the hand worth 21 points wins, winning two bets, since the player doubled down on this hand. Overall, the player ends up winning one bet.
Online Blackjack Rules – Common & Alternate
Blackjack Rules – There are many variations of blackjack online & offline. We have broken down common blackjack rules along with alternate blackjack rules that you may run into while playing blackjack.
Now that you have learned how to play blackjack we suggest next you check out our basic blackjack strategy article which will help you play with optimal strategy minimizing the house edge and therefore allowing you to potentially win more!
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