• Blackjack Pays 3 To 1
• Blackjack Pays 6 To 5
• Blackjack Pays 3 To 2
• Blackjack Pays 2 To 1
• Multideck Blackjack Pays 1 To 1

Promotions and coupons allow players to gain an advantage over casinos, which is usually card counters' territory. Some of the promotions we will discuss are so good that they can turn a disadvantageous game usually avoided into one actually preferred by players.

Some of the best casino promotions are tied to improved blackjack payoffs. In the previous article we discussed how payout ratios smaller than the standard 3:2 improve the house's advantage over players significantly. Logically, the opposite is also true.

Any blackjack payout exceeding the standard 3:2 greatly reduce the player's disadvantage and in some cases even turns it into an edge over the casino. Below you will see a few common promotions.

Multi-card 21 bonus

The common payouts for any BJ are 3-2 or 6-5. If you find a game that pays 2-1, it is probably either a variation or a side bet. I promise you that there will be some other rule changes, which will not be favorable to the player, to make up for this. A single-deck Vegas Strip game (blackjack pays 3:2, double down on any two cards, and dealer stands on soft 17), is pretty close to being a break even proposition for a basic strategy player. With four or more decks in play, and the same set of rules, the house has about a percent edge. The payouts for various Blackjack bets.

Some casinos offer a promotion that pays extra money on multi-card 21 combinations such as A-5-9-6, 9-3-9 and so on. They are not limited, however, only to these combinations and may include certain suited hands. These bonuses are not a game turner but would still make for a nice expectations boost for a game you would usually play.

A promotion as the the one described above is the casino offering a 3:1 payoff for a suited blackjack, in other words a blackjack of same-colored cards, e.g. A-K of hearts. This bonus boosts your expectation by little over 0.4%.

Tied blackjack is not a push

Blackjack Pays 3 To 1

This promotion pays the player's blackjack, with a standard 3:2 payoff, even if the dealer has a blackjack as well. Usually, a push is declared in this situation and although this rule might not turn a negative expectation game into a positive one, it will still boost player expectations by 0.3%.

£/€/C$88

100% up to

$/£/€200

+ 200 Spins

100% up to

$/£/€100

100% up to

$/£/€/C$200

+ 50 Spins

Blackjack pays 2:1

In the previous article we described certain traps players must avoid, including the 2-for-1 blackjack payoff, and we said it is something completely different from the 2:1 payoff.

Blackjack Pays 6 To 5

The 2-for-1 payoff is basically a synonym to even money, whereas the 2:1 payout is the most profitable promotion a player can get. In fact, it is so favorable to players that a game with a 2:1 blackjack payoff (as opposed to the standard 3:2 ratio) can be played at an advantage of 2.3 over the casino just with basic strategy.

Blackjack Pays 3 To 2

Here the player earns $200 for every $100 bet, compared to $150 with the 3:2 payoff, or a 33% increase. This is a huge difference in the long-term, turning around a game with negative expectations into a positive one.

Coupons

Casinos also offer various promotions through coupons which can be found in different sources such as casino funbooks, gambling magazines, advertisements and even the local newspaper.

Coupons are especially valuable to low-stake bettors as they allow them to receive complimentary items that are usually given out to higher stakes players. Coupons can get you free drinks, rooms etc.

Blackjack Pays 2 To 1

However, the most valuable coupons offer special in-game promotions like increasing the size of your bet. They usually match the amount of your bet, thus double it, without having to bet a single dollar extra. For example, if you bet $10 and you use such a coupon, it will raise your entire bet to $20 and if you win the hand, you will collect a profit of $20 plus your original bet of $10.

Multideck Blackjack Pays 1 To 1

Another very useful coupon is the so-called Free Ace Coupon, which represents an Ace. You hand it to the dealer after placing your bet and the coupon will act like an Ace. You will then be dealt only one other card to complete your original hand and the game continues as normal.