Live Casino Side Bets

Brick-and-mortar casinos have introduced a broad range of side bets over the last few decades as a way of attracting more customers to their tables. The approach is apparently successful since the same tendency can be observed across many live dealer tables available online.

Online players have a choice from a host of exciting side bets at the live tables powered by software suppliers like Evolution Gaming, Playtech, Ezugi, and Visionary iGaming. One thing side wagers have in common are the higher house edges they yield.

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These vary between different side bets, depending on the payout structure. Some side wagers yield a bigger casino advantage than others. Nevertheless, there are plenty of options for you if you can live with that. SuperCasinoSites takes a look at some of the most common side bets you will find in live blackjack, poker, and baccarat.

Live Casino Side Bets in a Nutshell

Live CasinosIn a nutshell, side bets are optional wagers that bear no relation to the outcome of the main bets you post on the live table layout. These are typically posted at the very start of the betting round before any cards have been dealt. In card games, side bets normally win whenever the players’ and the dealers’ cards form certain qualifying hands.

With some side bets, like those from the Perfect Pairs category, payouts are awarded whenever the two cards in the player’s starting hand comprise suited, colored or mixed pairs. The longer the odds of forming a specific combination, the bigger the payout for the respective side wager.

These optional wagers are posted in specially designated betting boxes on the live table layout. They are usually settled before the playing round commences although this is not always the case. For example, the optional bets from the Buster category are settled at the end of the round after the live dealer has completed their hand.

Speaking of payouts, most side wagers have minuscule chances of winning, much lower than those of winning in the main game. Discrepancies in the casino odds and the true odds of winning cause a heart-rending peak in the house edges of most side bets.

What is more, the outcome is normally based on chance rather than skill so you better be careful with side bets and post them only occasionally. Side wagers truly are a gold mine from the perspective of live casinos because they increase their take, yielding additional profits.

Live Blackjack Side Bets
Side Bet Perferct Pairs 21+3 Bust It Hot 3
Winning Criteria First two drawn cards of player/dealer are a pair Player’s first two cards and the dealer’s first card form a three-card poker hand Player must guess how many cards the dealer will bust with (needs to be more than 3) Player’s first two cards and the dealer’s up card must total 19, 20, or 21
Payout 6 to 1 for a mixed pair
12 to 1 for a colored pair
25 to 1 for a perfect pair
Range between 5 to 1 and 100 to 1 for different hand rankings Even money for 3 cards
2 to 1 for 4 cards
9 to 1 for 5 cards
50 to 1 for 6 cards
100 to 1 for 7 cards
250 to 1 for 8 or more cards
Even money for a total of 19
2 to 1 for a total of 20
4 to 1 for an unsuited total of 21
20 to 1 for a suited total of 21
100 to 1 for 3 7’s
RTP 95.9% 96.3% 93.82% 94.6%

Side Bets in Live Dealer Blackjack

Blackjack is one of those casino games whose structure easily yields itself to the introduction of side bets. Many of the live dealer variations available online offer a broad range of options for side bettors, with the most popular side wagers being grouped into two main categories, Perfect Pairs and 21+3 (Rummy). Let’s have a closer look at what they are all about and how they pay.

The Perfect Pairs Group of Side Bets
The 21+3 Group of Side Bets
Other Side Bets in Live Blackjack

Side Bets in Live Casino-Banked Poker

Similarly to blackjack, poker is also capable of supporting a proliferation of side betting options. And by poker, we have in mind the variations where you play against the house’s bank rather than conventional poker where you compete against other players. This allows the poker games to support an almost unlimited number of players. Let’s see what live dealer poker has to offer to side bettors.

The Bonus Side Bet in Live Casino Hold’em Poker
The 5+1 Side Bet in Live Carribean Stud Poker
First 5 Side Bet in Live Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker
Other Side Bets in Live Poker

Side Bets in Live Dragon Tiger and Baccarat

1Overview

Unlike poker and blackjack, baccarat does not offer an impressive diversity of options for side bettors. Nevertheless, it is possible to find live tables online where you can experiment with a couple of side wagers. Some of those are available in the traditional version of this chance game. The others you can find in its simplified variant Dragon Tiger.

2Pair Side Bets

Pair Side Bets are accepted in Baccarat Squeeze, No Commission Baccarat, Baccarat Control Squeeze, and Speed Baccarat by Evolution Gaming. Side bettors can win additional payouts at odds of 11 to 1 if either the Player or the Banker hand constitutes any pair. Either outcome requires an individual side wager.

3Tie Side Bet

The Tie Side Bet can be placed in Live Dragon Tiger. It wins at odds of 11 to 1 if the Dragon and Tiger cards are of the same rank, i.e. they pair.

4Suited Tie Side Bet

The Suited Tie Side Bet is similar to the Tie wager, the only difference being the Dragon and Tiger cards must form a suited pair. Of course, this yields a higher bonus payout of 50 to 1.

Side Bets Paytables Comparison

Live Casino side betsWe mentioned earlier side bets pay at different casino odds, depending on which platform your live casino of choice uses. Because of this, it is highly recommended to compare what different software providers offer in terms of payouts so you can choose the platform that gives you the most value for your money.

We believe the side-by-side comparison featured in the table below will save you lots of time and effort. The table includes the payouts for the two most popular groups of side wagers – Perfect Pairs and 21+3.

Side Bet Payouts Offered by Different Live Casino Platforms
Side Bet Evolution Gaming Ezugi NetEnt Playtech Visionary iGaming BetConstruct Extreme Live Gaming
Perfect Pairs 25 to 1 25 to 1 30 to 1 25 to 1 11 to 1 25 to 1 25 to 1
Colored Pairs 12 to 1 12 to 1 10 to 1 12 to 1 11 to 1 12 to 1 12 to 1
Mixed Pairs 6 to 1 6 to 1 5 to 1 6 to 1 11 to 1 5 to 1 6 to 1
Suited Trips 100 to 1 100 to 1 100 to 1 100 to 1 9 to 1 N/A 100 to 1
Straight Flush 40 to 1 40 to 1 40 to 1 40 to 1 9 to 1 N/A 40 to 1
Offsuit Trips 30 to 1 25 to 1 25 to 1 30 to 1 9 to 1 N/A 30 to 1
Straight 10 to 1 10 to 1 10 to 1 10 to 1 9 to 1 N/A 10 to 1
Flushgr 5 to 1 5 to 1 5 to 1 5 to 1 9 to 1 N/A 5 to 1