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Royal 20's
Introduction
Royal 20's is a blackjack side bet based on the player's first two cards. If they total 20 points, the player wins up to 25 to 1. I saw it at the Cannery casino in Las Vegas on Feb. 28, 2017, but know it has been around since at least 2012.
Rules
- The game is based on blackjack with ordinary 52-card decks.
- The Royal 20's side bet shall pay according to the player's first two cards and the pay table below. All wins are on a "to one" basis.
Royal 20's Pay Table
| Event | Pays |
|---|---|
| Suited face cards | 25 |
| Suited 20 | 10 |
| Unsuited 20 | 5 |
If this explanation was not clear, click on this rack card image for a larger version.
Analysis
Following is my return table based on six decks of cards. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 18.06%.
Royal 20's Return Table -- Six Decks
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suited face cards | 25 | 180 | 0.003710 | 0.092753 |
| Suited 20 | 10 | 1,068 | 0.022013 | 0.220134 |
| Unsuited 20 | 5 | 3,888 | 0.080139 | 0.400693 |
| Loser | -1 | 43,380 | 0.894138 | -0.894138 |
| Total | 48,516 | 1.000000 | -0.180559 |
The following table shows the house edge for various common numbers of decks.
Royal 20's House Edge
| Event | Pays |
|---|---|
| 8 | 17.57% |
| 6 | 18.06% |
| 5 | 18.44% |
| 4 | 19.03% |
| 2 | 21.96% |
External Links
- Discussion about Royal 20's in my forum at Wizard of Vegas.