Dealer Total's Blackjack Side Bets

Introduction

The Dealer Total side bets are a set of five side bets on the dealer's eventual total. They are offered on blackjack tables titled Set it Up 21. I noticed these bets at the Downtown Grand casino in Las Vegas on March 28, 2024.

Rules

The following are the rules as were played at the Downtown Grand.

1. Six ordinary decks are used.
2. Card values are as in blackjack, which I assume the reader is familiar with.
3. There are five side bets, based on the eventual dealer total, as listed below.
4. A dealer blackjack shall count as a win for the "21 or 22" point bet.
5. I assume the dealer will always draw out his hand, even if every player busts.
6. The game was dealt from a continuous shuffler.
7. Side bet limits were $1 to $25.

Available Bets and Pays:

• 17 or 18 — Pays 2 to 1
• 19 or 20 — Pays 2 to 1
• 21 or 22 — Pays 3 to 1
• 23 or 24 — Pays 6 to 1
• 25 or 26 — Pays 9 to 1

Analysis

Following is my analysis of the Downtown Grand game, which consisted of six decks and the dealer hitting a soft 17. The expected value shows how much the player can expect to win of each wager. The negative numbers indicate a dealer advantage. The best bet is on a 19 or 20 at a 4.84% house edge.

Other Statistics

As long as I did the math for these side bets, I present the following tables showing the probability of all possible dealer outcomes for 1, 2, 6 and 8 decks as well as the dealer hitting on or standing on a soft 17.

The following table shows the dealer probabilities when the dealer hits on a soft 17.

The following table shows the dealer probabilities when the dealer stands on a soft 17.

Written by: Michael Shackleford