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In BETween

Introduction

 

Much like Red Dog, the goal is for one card to fall between two others in rank. In this case, the primary goal is the dealer's up card to fall between the player's initial two cards. As of 2019, this side bet is becoming popular, with several placements I'm aware of.

The name of this bet is rather unclear. Judging by the table felt, it would seem to be titled just "In." However, the AGS web site, the company that markets the game, refers to it as the "In BETween." So, I'm going to go with that.

Rules

 

The side bet is based on standard blackjack rules. The primary object is for the dealer's up card to fall between the player's two initial cards in rank. For tight spreads of three ranks or less, the pays get larger. There is also a premium win for a three of a kind. The full pay table is below. All wins are on a "to win" basis.

In BETween — Pay Table

Event Pays
Triple match 30
One-card spread 10
Two-card spread 6
Three-card spread 4
All other spreads 1
 

Analysis

 

The following table show the probability and contribution to the return for the In BETween bet using one deck of cards. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 10.46%.

In BETween Return Table -- One Deck

Event Pays Permutations Probability Return
Triple match 30 312 0.002353 0.070588
One-card spread 10 1,408 0.010618 0.106184
Two-card spread 6 2,560 0.019306 0.115837
Three-card spread 4 3,456 0.026063 0.104253
All other spreads 1 29,184 0.220090 0.220090
Loss -1 95,680 0.721569 -0.721569
Total   132,600 1.000000 -0.104615
 

The following table show the probability and contribution to the return for the In BETween bet using two decks of cards. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 7.76%.

In BETween Return Table -- Two Decks

Event Pays Permutations Probability Return
Triple match 30 4,368 0.003998 0.119931
One-card spread 10 11,264 0.010309 0.103091
Two-card spread 6 20,480 0.018744 0.112463
Three-card spread 4 27,648 0.025304 0.101217
All other spreads 1 233,472 0.213680 0.213680
Loss -1 795,392 0.727965 -0.727965
Total   1,092,624 1.000000 -0.077582
 

The following table show the probability and contribution to the return for the In BETween bet using four decks of cards. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 6.04%.

In BETween Return Table -- Four Decks

Event Pays Permutations Probability Return
Triple match 30 43,680 0.004925 0.147742
One-card spread 10 90,112 0.010160 0.101597
Two-card spread 6 163,840 0.018472 0.110833
Three-card spread 4 221,184 0.024937 0.099750
All other spreads 1 1,867,776 0.210583 0.210583
Loss -1 6,482,944 0.730923 -0.730923
Total   8,869,536 1.000000 -0.060417
 

The following table show the probability and contribution to the return for the In BETween bet using six decks of cards. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 5.42%.

In BETween Return Table -- Six Decks

Event Pays Permutations Probability Return
Triple match 30 157,872 0.005248 0.157453
One-card spread 10 304,128 0.010111 0.101107
Two-card spread 6 552,960 0.018383 0.110298
Three-card spread 4 746,496 0.024817 0.099268
All other spreads 1 6,303,744 0.209567 0.209567
Loss -1 22,014,720 0.731874 -0.731874
Total   30,079,920 1.000000 -0.054182
 

The following table show the probability and contribution to the return for the In BETween bet using eight decks of cards. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 5.10%.

In BETween Return Table -- Eight Decks

Event Pays Permutations Probability Return
Triple match 30 386,880 0.005413 0.162389
One-card spread 10 720,896 0.010086 0.100863
Two-card spread 6 1,310,720 0.018339 0.110032
Three-card spread 4 1,769,472 0.024757 0.099029
All other spreads 1 14,942,208 0.209061 0.209061
Loss -1 52,342,784 0.732344 -0.732344
Total   71,472,960 1.000000 -0.050970
 

The following table summarizes the house edge by number of decks.

House Edge Summary

Decks House Edge
1 10.50%
2 7.80%
4 6.00%
6 5.40%
8 5.10%
 

External Links

 

Discussion about the In BETween bet in my forum at Wizard of Vegas.