PanaloKO 21+3 Side Bet: The Five Winning Hands and Their Cost
21+3 is a blackjack side bet on the best three-card poker hand from your first two cards plus the dealer's up-card.
Key facts and contents
- PanaloKO American Roulette
- American roulette adds a second green pocket, the double zero, so the wheel has 38 pockets.
- PanaloKO Baccarat Third Card Rule
- The Player hand draws a third card on a total of 0 to 5 and stands on 6 or 7.
- PanaloKO Baccarat Odds
- In Pragmatic Play's published baccarat rules the theoretical return is 98.94 per cent on Banker, 98.76 on Player and 85.64 on Tie.
- PanaloKO French Roulette
- French roulette uses a single-zero wheel, and its zero rules protect even-money bets.
- PanaloKO Roulette Racetrack
- The roulette racetrack is an oval betting area that lays the single-zero numbers out in wheel order.
The 21+3 side bet asks one question: do your first two cards and the dealer’s up-card make a poker hand? You stake on it before the cards are dealt, and it settles the moment the up-card shows. Your blackjack hand can lose and 21+3 can still pay. If you play tables from the lobby’s Live game section, this page tells you what to look for in the rules panel; the full table picture sits on the live casino tables overview.
The five hands that win 21+3
Pragmatic Play’s Live Blackjack game help names five winning three-card combinations, and says that when a hand makes two of them only the higher payout is paid. The published pay table for that game reads:
| Hand | Example | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Suited trips | Three aces of hearts | 100 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 10, jack, queen of spades | 40 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | Three queens, different suits | 30 to 1 |
| Straight | Ace, 2, 3 or queen, king, ace | 10 to 1 |
| Flush | 2, 6, king of clubs | 5 to 1 |
Every other three-card combination loses the stake. The ace counts at either end of a straight, as in the two examples above. Pay tables differ from table to table, so open the Bet Limits and Payouts window of the table you sit at before you stake.
What 21+3 costs you per round
The same Pragmatic Play help text gives 21+3 a theoretical return to player of 96.30 per cent. Take that from 100 and the house keeps 3.70 per cent of every stake over the long run. A worked example: on a ₱100 side stake the expected return is ₱96.30, an average cost of ₱3.70 per round.
Compare that with the main game. The same document gives 99.41 per cent for blackjack played by the optimal strategy, an edge of 0.59 per cent. The side bet costs roughly six times as much per peso as the hand beside it.
Blackjack side bets compared
21+3 is one of several blackjack side bets, and the cost differs. Here are the two the Pragmatic Play help text prices, with the house edge worked out as 100 minus the return:
| Bet | Return | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| Main hand, optimal play | 99.41% | 0.59% |
| Perfect Pairs | 95.90% | 4.10% |
| 21+3 | 96.30% | 3.70% |
Perfect Pairs wins on a pair in your first two cards and costs a little more than 21+3. Neither side bet changes the result of your main hand. Sizing them as a small fraction of your stake keeps the cost visible, and the bet unit meaning shows how to set that fraction.
How to check the 21+3 box at your table
Before staking anything on 21+3, run through this short list.
- Open the table’s rules or Bet Limits and Payouts window and find the 21+3 row.
- Read every payout against the five hands above; a lower figure on any row raises the cost.
- Note the side-bet limits, which are usually lower than the main-bet limits.
- Decide your stake as a fixed share of your bet unit, and keep it there.
If the table lists fewer than five hands, or different odds, the 96.30 per cent figure no longer applies to that table.
Where 21+3 sits next to other live games
Baccarat and roulette price their bets differently. The baccarat odds on Banker, Player and Tie show a main bet costing about one per cent, and the American roulette double zero page shows a flat 5.26 per cent across the wheel. Set against those, 3.70 per cent for a side bet with a 100 to 1 top prize is the cost of chasing a rare hand.
| Bet | Cost per round |
|---|---|
| Banker, baccarat | 1.06% |
| 21+3, blackjack | 3.70% |
| Any bet, American roulette | 5.26% |
FAQ
Does my blackjack hand have to win for 21+3 to pay?
No. 21+3 settles on the three cards alone, your first two plus the dealer's up-card, so it pays even when your main hand later loses.
Can I place 21+3 without a main bet?
Pragmatic Play's Live Blackjack help says side bets go down only after a main bet is placed. Read your own table's rules panel for its version.
Magkano ang bayad sa 21+3 sa table ko?
Iba-iba ang pay table kada table. Buksan ang Bet Limits and Payouts window ng mismong table bago ka mag-stake.
If my three cards make two hands, which one is paid?
Only the higher payout. A straight flush that is also a flush pays as a straight flush.