21 + 3 Blackjack is a new variant of a combination of two popular casino games, blackjack and three card poker, to make a single exciting online gaming experience. 21 + 3 Blackjack features a European style Blackjack game with an exhilarating side bet that pays up to one hundred times your bet. The three Card Poker side bet payouts are based on your first two cards and the dealer’s face up card combined to make the three card hand. The game is considered to be a further development of the game Perfect Pairs.
Classic Blackjack Rules Still Apply
The classic form Blackjack is a fairly simple game to understand and play. The aim of the game is to beat the dealer by accumulating a hand with a card value as close to 21 as you can get, but without going over that score.
To start playing 21 + 3 Blackjack you have to place a bet to be eligible for a win based on your first two cards combined with the Dealer’s card. The Blackjack 21 bet is required, but the three Card bet is optional. You will be dealt two cards, both face up cards, and the Dealer receives one face up card. If you made a three Card bet, and these first three cards happen to form a winning outcome, you are paid relative to the pay table.
Values of Different Poker Hands
Any of the usual combinations of winning poker hands, will give you a payout. For instance, a Suited Three of a Kind, three cards of the same rank, like three Queens or three fours, all of the same suit, is one of the highest paying combinations. A Straight Flush is another high paying hand, which is three cards of consecutive numbers, but all of them of the same suit. Then comes Three of a Kind, which is three cards of the same rank, but not of the same suit. A Straight also gives a good payout, which is three cards of consecutive numbers, but made up of mixed suits. Last comes a Flush, three cards of the same suit. These winnings are not affected by any of your subsequent Blackjack play.
Blackjack Bets can be Made
An insurance bet is offered in classic blackjack, and can also be made in 21 + 3 Blackjack. These are allowed when the Dealer’s face up card is an Ace. Insurance bets have a payout of 2 to 1. A Dealer blackjack hand beats all hands the player may get, and this will cause a loss of all bets the player has made. The exception to this rule is when the player and the dealer have both acquired a blackjack hand, and in this case the main bet is returned to the player.
It is possible for players to obtain a blackjack on the first two cards dealt in each hand, but not on split or re-split cards. Players are allowed to draw up to eight cards for any hand. A player with an eight card hand, if the value of the cards does not exceed 21, will beat all dealer outcomes except for a blackjack hand.
21 + 3 Blackjack is a very new game and was developed and patented as recently as 2000. Because it is so new it is not offered by all blackjack online sites, but the game is becoming so popular that this will soon be corrected.