The Blackjack Streak
Let’s keep the side-bet fever going with a look at another option in this line of gambling, called Streak. This side bet doesn’t have you betting on a certain combination of cards coming up like the others we’ve looked at so far. This one focuses on allowing you to bet on how many hands in a row you’re going to win. Sort of like the exact opposite of taking insurance out on your investment. Instead, you’re putting more eggs in the same basket, but hey, if you like a winning streak, the payoff is healthy. You have to decide the streak number before you place the wager, though. You obviously just can’t go until you lose and then claim the highest number on the win side as your streak bet after the fact.
More known in the Atlantic City casinos than in Vegas or abroad, streak is an easy side bet to make and forget about, since you don’t have to do any separate identification of your hand, nor does the dealer. You just have to keep track of how many hands in a row you win, and depending on how high that number gets, the payoff continues to increase. I like this bet because each time you can stand to increase your total winnings while not having to put up any more money.
Here are some general odds that you face if you take this side bet. The overall probability of winning a hand is around 43%, while the odds of losing are higher at 47%. And the accepted general odds of a tie come in at just under 9%. So taking that into account and factoring in basic math, the odds of hitting the first level of a streak (2) is 22.5%. This pays 3:1 on your wager. The odds of your streak reaching three is about 10.7% with the payoff on this one at 8:1. The odds of four in a row drops more than half to about 5% and offers an 18:1 payoff. And the odds of winning five hands in a row (which is generally the top streak bet you’ll want to make, although many casinos allow you to go higher) is 2.4%, with a 38:1 payoff.
As opposed to royal match which can be found on most US online casinos, where the odds don’t justify the payoff, I find streak well worth the gamble if you can find a casino that offers it. Winning five hands in a row is certainly not unheard of, and if you hit that number on a $10 bet, that $380 return could easily wipe out any real-game losses you’ve experienced thus far.