20+ bonus blackjack - edge?

[davidpom]

Hi, can anyone help shed the light on the house edge on the BASE GAME for Vegas 20+ bonus blackjack as featured here? I've checked the wizardofodds and other reputable sites but come up with basically nothing.

If someone really wants to go to town and calculate the edge on the SIDE BET, that would be interesting - but it's bound to be HORRIBLE.

[actuary]

Originally Posted by davidpom

Hi, can anyone help shed the light on the house edge on the BASE GAME for Vegas 20+ bonus blackjack as featured here? I've checked the wizardofodds and other reputable sites but come up with basically nothing.

If someone really wants to go to town and calculate the edge on the SIDE BET, that would be interesting - but it's bound to be HORRIBLE.

Hey David, the house edge can be calculated using the wizradofodds website: http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack/ho...alculator.html

According to my interpretation of the rules posted on Virgin's site, the house edge is 0.269%.

Also, according to my calculations the 20+ bonus bet has a house edge of 9.7%. My calculations were done in excel and I'm attaching the work below so that someone can confirm my calculations.

[davidpom]

Thanks for your help there Actuary, it is appreciated. If the maths is right, then a base game edge of .269 seems pretty good on the surface. I had a gut feel it would be between .3 and .5 percent, so the edge you calculate is even better than I thought. Virgin must be expecting lots of players to take the side bet - which puts a clear disadvantage to the player into the mix.

Side bets are generally always bad - but 9.7% is probably the worst example I've seen. That's worse than perfect pairs and royal match overall I would guess. I remember perfect pairs being 7-8% on average dependent on payout.

Thanks again for the assistance. :-)

[actuary]

Originally Posted by davidpom

Thanks for your help there Actuary, it is appreciated. If the maths is right, then a base game edge of .269 seems pretty good on the surface. I had a gut feel it would be between .3 and .5 percent, so the edge you calculate is even better than I thought. Virgin must be expecting lots of players to take the side bet - which puts a clear disadvantage to the player into the mix.

Side bets are generally always bad - but 9.7% is probably the worst example I've seen. That's worse than perfect pairs and royal match overall I would guess. I remember perfect pairs being 7-8% on average dependent on payout.

Thanks again for the assistance. :-)

9.7% is steep, but I've seen worse. Lucky Ladies is a popular side bet and carries a house edge of over 24%, under the most common pay table! Despite that these are very bed bets to the average player, some are beatable, and can be pretty valuable to the advantage player. This 20+ bonus bet would be very easy to beat using traditional card counting techniques, but unfortunately, I think it is only offered online and Virgin shuffles after every hand.

Now, the best side bet I have ever seen would have to be a baccarat side bet called "Lucky Bonus". It carries a house edge of -2.34%, in other words, the player has the advantage! The only casino I know that has it, limits this bet to 10% of your banker bet, which means you are still playing at an overall disadvantage.