Lucky Ladies Blackjack Side Bet: Pay Tables, Odds and House Edge

The wager goes in its own spot before the deal. It looks only at your first two cards and asks for a total of 20. Two ten-valued cards make 20, and those are the ten, jack, queen and king. An ace counted as 11 with a nine also makes 20. So a queen and a king make 20, a ten and a jack make 20, and an ace and a nine make 20 as well.

The awards climb with how alike the two cards are. Any 20 is the base award. A suited 20 has both cards in one suit. A matched 20 is two identical cards, the same rank and the same suit, which needs at least two decks. The top awards are for the queen of hearts pair, two queens of hearts, and for that same pair when the dealer has blackjack. Only the highest award pays.

Because the top award depends on the dealer holding blackjack, it can be settled only once the dealer has checked the hole card. The other awards are known at the deal.

Some Washington tables replace or extend this list. One adds awards for a single queen. Another rewards two queens of one suit, two identical kings, jacks or tens, and any pair of queens. The house edges on this page do not model progressive awards or an aggregate payout cap where a table allows them.

Five pay tables are documented, and each has a published figure.

• Table A, New Jersey 2.24 A, Massachusetts section 24 table A and Washington LL-03, pays 1000 to 1 for the queen of hearts pair with a dealer blackjack, 125 to 1 for the pair alone, 19 to 1 for a matched 20, 9 to 1 for a suited 20 and 4 to 1 for any 20. It is documented at six and eight decks.
• Table B, New Jersey 2.24 B, Massachusetts section 24 table B, Pennsylvania 58 Pa. Code 633a.13(c) and Washington LL-01, pays 1000 to 1, 200 to 1, 25 to 1, 10 to 1 and 4 to 1 on the same five hands. It is documented from two to eight decks.
• Table C, Washington LL-02, pays 150 to 1 for the queen of hearts pair, 20 to 1 for a matched 20 and 9 to 1 for a suited 20, with the same top award and the same 4 to 1 for any 20.
• Table D, Washington LL-04, lowers the top awards to 100 to 1 and 100 to 1, pays 3 to 1 for any 20, and adds 2 to 1 for a single queen of hearts and 1 to 1 for any single queen.
• Table E, Washington LL-05, pays 30 to 1 for two queens of one suit, 20 to 1 for two identical kings, jacks or tens, and 6 to 1 for a pair of queens.

Open any table in the explorer to see every award laid out as it is printed.

The house edge of a side bet is the average loss as a share of the side bet itself. It is one minus the average return, where each paying hand returns the stake plus its pay. Most Lucky Ladies tables sit at the top of the side-bet range, with one exception.

At six decks table A costs 24.71% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 125 / 19 / 9 / 4, 6 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.), table B 17.64% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 6 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.), table C 23.51% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 150 / 20 / 9 / 4, 6 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) and table E 23.16% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 100 / 30 / 20 / 9 / 6 / 4, 6 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.). Table D costs 5.87% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 100 / 100 / 25 / 10 / 3 / 2 / 1, 6 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.). It is the table that pays on single queens, with 1 to 1 for any single queen, so it pays on about twice as many rounds as the others, 21.27% (Chance of a win, Lucky Ladies, pay table 100 / 100 / 25 / 10 / 3 / 2 / 1, 6 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) against 10.59% (Chance of a win, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 6 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) for table B. Giving back small awards often is what cuts its edge.

The comparison with the main game is stark. Under the comparison rules used on this site the main game costs 0.62% (Comparison rules: 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, blackjack pays 3:2. House edge per starting bet: the average loss per round as a share of the bet placed before the cards are dealt, doubles and splits included in the result. Rules: 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, dealer checks for blackjack with a hole card, blackjack pays 3:2, double on any first two cards, double after split, split up to 4 hands, aces are not resplit, one card to each split ace, no surrender. The player follows the printed strategy chart for these rules from a full shoe, and never takes insurance or even money.). Even the cheapest Lucky Ladies figure, 5.19% (House edge, lowest of the published versions of Lucky Ladies, every documented pay table: 100 / 100 / 25 / 10 / 3 / 2 / 1, 8 decks. Exact count over a fresh shoe.), is many times that, and the dearest is 28.75% (House edge, highest of the published versions of Lucky Ladies, every documented pay table: 1000 / 100 / 30 / 20 / 9 / 6 / 4, 2 decks. Exact count over a fresh shoe.).

Two tables differ only in a few multiples and still sit far apart. Table B raises the queen of hearts pair from table A's 125 to 1 to 200 to 1 and lifts the matched and suited pays as well, which is why table B costs 16.73% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 8 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) at eight decks against 24.05% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 125 / 19 / 9 / 4, 8 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) for table A.

Every figure is an exact count. All the two-card combinations of a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe are counted without replacement, and for the dealer-blackjack award the dealer's two cards are counted from the remaining shoe. On table A at six decks:

• Any 20: 8.01% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 125 / 19 / 9 / 4, 6 decks: Any 20. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.), or 1 in 12.
• Suited 20: 2.08% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 125 / 19 / 9 / 4, 6 decks: Suited 20. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.), or 1 in 48.
• Matched 20: 0.46% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 125 / 19 / 9 / 4, 6 decks: Matched 20. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.), or 1 in 216.
• Queen of hearts pair: 0.029% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 125 / 19 / 9 / 4, 6 decks: Queen of hearts pair. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.), or 1 in 3,394.
• Queen of hearts pair with a dealer blackjack: 0.0015% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 125 / 19 / 9 / 4, 6 decks: Queen of hearts pair and dealer blackjack. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.), or 1 in 68,666.

Together the bet pays on 10.59% (Chance of a win, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 125 / 19 / 9 / 4, 6 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) of rounds. The bulk of the paying rounds are plain twenties at the smallest multiple. The top award is a 1 in 68,666 event, and its pay of 1000 to 1 is what gives the bet its look. The exact count of that hand at six decks is 135,360 of 9,294,695,280.

Table D shows how a different pay list changes what the bet does. It adds single-queen awards, and a single queen of hearts alone comes up in 2.67% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 100 / 100 / 25 / 10 / 3 / 2 / 1, 6 decks: Queen of hearts, single. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) of rounds at six decks. Table E pays for several other hands instead of the matched 20, and its pair of queens comes up in 0.45% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 100 / 30 / 20 / 9 / 6 / 4, 6 decks: Pair of queens. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.).

The house edge falls as decks are added, and the fall is steepest between two and four decks. Table B costs 24.94% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 2 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) at two decks, 19.46% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 4 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) at four, 17.64% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 6 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) at six and 16.73% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 8 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) at eight. Table D falls from 11.37% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 100 / 100 / 25 / 10 / 3 / 2 / 1, 2 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) to 5.19% (House edge, Lucky Ladies, pay table 100 / 100 / 25 / 10 / 3 / 2 / 1, 8 decks. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) over the same range.

The rare awards explain the fall. A queen of hearts pair needs two of the queens of hearts that the shoe holds, and a matched 20 needs two identical cards. Each such pair is likelier when the shoe has more copies of the card. The matched 20 is 0.28% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 2 decks: Matched 20. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) at two decks and 0.49% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 8 decks: Matched 20. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) at eight, and the queen of hearts pair rises from 0.018% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 2 decks: Queen of hearts pair. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) to 0.031% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 8 decks: Queen of hearts pair. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.). Both pay a large multiple, so the return climbs. The plain any 20 barely moves, from 8.07% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 2 decks: Any 20. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.) to 8.01% (Chance of Lucky Ladies, pay table 1000 / 200 / 25 / 10 / 4, 8 decks: Any 20. Exact count over a fresh, randomly shuffled shoe.).

Tables A and C are documented at only some deck counts, so the deck-by-deck matrix above shows a dash where a table has no version. Every figure is for a fresh shoe. This page has nothing to say about a shoe that has been partly dealt.

No. The bet is decided by your first two cards, and by the dealer blackjack for the top award, all of which are known before you make a decision. Hitting, standing, doubling, splitting or surrendering cannot change the result. The strategy that fits the rules of the game is the same whether or not you staked on the side.

The two wagers do share the same cards. A two-card 20 is a strong starting hand in the main game as well, and the side bet pays or loses on that event alone. Winning the side bet does not change the main hand's value, and a losing main hand does not change what the side bet returns.

The top award is the one place where the dealer matters. It depends on the dealer holding blackjack, which is known only once the dealer has checked the hole card. It does not depend on anything you do. The side bet is a separate wager with its own stake and its own house edge, a cost on that stake, and not a change to the main game's edge of 0.62% (Comparison rules: 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double after split, blackjack pays 3:2. House edge per starting bet: the average loss per round as a share of the bet placed before the cards are dealt, doubles and splits included in the result. Rules: 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, dealer checks for blackjack with a hole card, blackjack pays 3:2, double on any first two cards, double after split, split up to 4 hands, aces are not resplit, one card to each split ace, no surrender. The player follows the printed strategy chart for these rules from a full shoe, and never takes insurance or even money.).

None of this is advice to place the bet. Every table costs many times the main game. Everything on the site is for information and play money only.