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Golden 21

Introduction

Golden 21 is a straightforward side bet I observed at the Four Queens Casino in Las Vegas in January 2015. This bet rewards players based on the poker-like hands formed by their first two cards. The odds of this side bet are owned by Score Gaming.

Rules

Golden 21 payouts depend on the player's initial two cards, detailed as follows:

Pay Table

Hand Pays
Ace/king suited 30 to 1
Straight flush 5 to 1
Pair 3 to 1
Blackjack 1.5 to 1
Straight 1 to 1

Analysis

The table below illustrates my evaluation of Golden 21 considering six decks, revealing a house edge of 7.35% in the bottom right cell.

Golden 21

Event Pays Combinations Probability Return
Ace/king suited 30 144 0.002968 0.089043
Straight flush 5 1,728 0.035617 0.178086
Pair 3 3,588 0.073955 0.221865
Blackjack 1.5 2,160 0.044521 0.066782
Straight 1 5,184 0.106851 0.106851
All other -1 35,712 0.736087 -0.736087
Total   48,516 1.000000 -0.073460

The subsequent payout table outlines the house edge for various deck counts, applying the same payout structure as before.

House Edge Table

Decks House Edge
8 7.10%
6 7.35%
5 7.54%
4 7.84%
2 9.34%
1 12.37%