Buster Blackjack
Posted By admin On 13/04/22- Appendices
- Miscellaneous
- External Links
That’s the idea behind Buster Blackjack, one of several similar games that are offered by NYX Gaming. NYX has created several versions of blackjack that use the same rules, but that have different side bets attached to them, giving each title its own unique flavor. Buster Blackjack is an RNG based game designed and run by Playtech, one of the industry’s most respected and prolific game developers. It is your standard game of blackjack with a side bet bolted on, which pays out different amounts when the dealer goes bust depending on how many cards it took to get them there. As blackjack strategies go, the no bust blackjack system is one of the strangest, but it is easy to understand. Anytime you risk going bust by taking another card, you stand in the hope that the dealer. Buster Blackjack side bet is on every table at every casino in Northern CA: Thunder Valley, Graton, Cache Creek, etc. When I said every table, I meant it's on single deck, double deck, shoe, BJ Switch, ZIP blackjack, etc. The participation is over 80%, regularly.
On This Page
Introduction
I saw Buster Blackjack in Lake Tahoe on July 9, 2016, but I think it has been around for years. The bet wins if the dealer busts. The more cards it takes, the more the player wins. The bet is marketed by AGS.
Rules
The rules to the side bet are quite simple. If the dealer busts, then the player wins according to how many cards were needed to bust. If the dealer does not bust, then the side bet loses. I know of two pay tables, which are shown below. All wins are on a 'to one' basis.
Version 1 Pay Table
Version 2 assumes that if the player gets a blackjack, then the dealer will still play out his hand.
Version 2 Pay Table
| Cards | Pays |
|---|---|
| 8+ cards & player BJ | 2000 |
| 7 cards & player BJ | 800 |
| 8+ cards & no player BJ | 250 |
| 7 cards & no player BJ | 50 |
| 6 cards | 18 |
| 5 cards | 4 |
| 3 or 4 cards | 2 |
Pay Table 1 Analysis
The following table shows the probability and return of all possible outcomes, assuming six decks and the dealer hits a soft 17. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 6.21%.
Pay Table 1 — Six Decks — Dealer Hits Soft 17
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bust with 8 cards | 250 | 0.000012 | 0.002986 |
| Bust with 7 cards | 50 | 0.000214 | 0.010722 |
| Bust with 6 cards | 12 | 0.002638 | 0.031651 |
| Bust with 5 cards | 4 | 0.020473 | 0.08189 |
| Bust with 4 cards | 2 | 0.089392 | 0.178784 |
| Bust with 3 cards | 2 | 0.173032 | 0.346064 |
| Dealer doesn't bust | -1 | 0.714241 | -0.714241 |
| Total | 1.000000 | -0.062143 |
The next table shows the house edge for other number of decks and whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17.
House Edge Summary
| Decks | Stand on Soft 17 | Hit on Soft 17 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8.77% | 6.89% |
| 2 | 8.48% | 6.51% |
| 4 | 8.31% | 6.29% |
| 5 | 8.27% | 6.25% |
| 6 | 8.25% | 6.21% |
| 8 | 8.22% | 6.17% |
Pay Table 2 Analysis
The following table shows the probability and return of all possible outcomes, assuming six decks and the dealer stands on a soft 17. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 6.20%.
Pay Table 2 — Six Decks — Dealer Stands on Soft 17
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8+ cards & player BJ | 2000 | 0.00000037 | 0.000746886 |
| 7 cards & player BJ | 800 | 0.00000786 | 0.006284453 |
| 8+ cards | 250 | 0.00000808 | 0.002020582 |
| 7 cards | 50 | 0.00016478 | 0.008239127 |
| 6 cards | 18 | 0.00231512 | 0.041672197 |
| 5 cards | 4 | 0.01911939 | 0.076477552 |
| 3 or 4 cards | 2 | 0.26030574 | 0.520611475 |
| No bust | -1 | 0.71807866 | -0.718078658 |
| Total | 1.00000000 | -0.062026386 |
Mega Blackjack
Mega Blackjack is a blackjack variant that has special pay tables for the Buster Blackjack bet, as shown below. Note that for pay table 3 the dealer must bust with four or more cards for the side bet to win.
Buster Blackjack Version 3
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bust with 8+ cards | 250 | 0.000012 | 0.002986 |
| Bust with 7 cards | 50 | 0.000214 | 0.010722 |
| Bust with 6 cards | 15 | 0.002638 | 0.039564 |
| Bust with 5 cards | 10 | 0.020473 | 0.204726 |
| Bust with 4 cards | 6 | 0.089392 | 0.536351 |
| All other | -1 | 0.887272 | -0.887272 |
| Total | 1.000000 | -0.092923 |
Version 2 of Buster Blackjack has a pay table that pays for any busted dealer hand of three or more cards. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 13.79%.
Buster Blackjack Version 4
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bust with 8+ cards | 250 | 0.000012 | 0.002986 |
| Bust with 7 cards | 50 | 0.000214 | 0.010722 |
| Bust with 6 cards | 15 | 0.002638 | 0.039564 |
| Bust with 5 cards | 4 | 0.020473 | 0.081890 |
| Bust with 4 cards | 3 | 0.089392 | 0.268175 |
| Bust with 3 cards | 1 | 0.173032 | 0.173032 |
| All other | -1 | 0.714240 | -0.714240 |
| Total | 1.000000 | -0.137870 |
Evolution Gaming
The live dealer studio by Evolution Gaming offers a game called Infinite Blackjack with the following pay table. The other rules are eight decks, dealer stands on soft 17, and the dealer always plays out his hand, even if the player gets blackjack. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 6.18%.
Evolution Gaming Pay Table and Rules
| Event | Pays | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bust with 8+ cards | 250 | 0.000009 | 0.002216 |
| Bust with 7 cards | 100 | 0.000177 | 0.017679 |
| Bust with 6 cards | 50 | 0.002337 | 0.116829 |
| Bust with 5 cards | 9 | 0.019139 | 0.172254 |
| Bust with 4 cards | 2 | 0.087163 | 0.174325 |
| Bust with 3 cards | 1 | 0.173015 | 0.173015 |
| Dealer doesn't bust | -1 | 0.718160 | -0.718160 |
| Total | 1.000000 | -0.061842 |
General Dealer Analysis
As long as I took the trouble to analyze this bet, I created a table showing the probability of various dealer events for a six-deck and eight-deck games and whether the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17.
Dealer Probabilities — Six Decks
| Event | Stand Soft 17 | Hit Soft 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Dealer blackjack | 0.0474894880039574 | 0.0474894880039574 |
| Total of 17 | 0.1452452688762730 | 0.1334589459656700 |
| Total of 18 | 0.1392577712671790 | 0.1412046774882130 |
| Total of 19 | 0.1336847392868550 | 0.1356816733415020 |
| Total of 20 | 0.1795273038236620 | 0.1815306022489940 |
| Total of 21 | 0.0728740870713831 | 0.0748744175668735 |
| Bust with 3 cards | 0.1730318431697950 | 0.1730318431697950 |
| Bust with 4 cards | 0.0872738945778543 | 0.0893918097334332 |
| Bust with 5 cards | 0.0191193879779139 | 0.0204725508735587 |
| Bust with 6 cards | 0.0023151220619265 | 0.0026376021859953 |
| Bust with 7 cards | 0.0001726381111420 | 0.0002144441681795 |
| Bust with 8 cards | 0.0000082097440626 | 0.0000115279883244 |
| Bust with 9 cards | 0.0000002420252193 | 0.0000004080497202 |
| Bust with 10 cards | 0.0000000039733294 | 0.0000000090950948 |
| Bust with 11 cards | 0.0000000000293970 | 0.0000000001198596 |
| Bust with 12 cards | 0.0000000000000475 | 0.0000000000008244 |
| Bust with 13 cards | 0.0000000000000000 | 0.0000000000000022 |
| Total | 1.0000000000000000 | 1.0000000000000000 |
Dealer Probabilities — Eight Decks
| Event | Stand Soft 17 | Hit Soft 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Total of 17 | 0.145215 | 0.133409 |
| Total of 18 | 0.139318 | 0.141280 |
| Total of 19 | 0.133629 | 0.135630 |
| Total of 20 | 0.179709 | 0.181714 |
| Total of 21 | 0.072838 | 0.074841 |
| Blackjack | 0.047451 | 0.047451 |
| Bust with 3 cards | 0.173015 | 0.173015 |
| Bust with 4 cards | 0.087163 | 0.089276 |
| Bust with 5 cards | 0.019139 | 0.020491 |
| Bust with 6 cards | 0.002337 | 0.002661 |
| Bust with 7 cards | 0.000177 | 0.000219 |
| Bust with 8 cards | 8.60E-06 | 1.21E-05 |
| Bust with 9 cards | 2.63E-07 | 4.44E-07 |
| Bust with 10 cards | 4.58E-09 | 1.06E-08 |
| Bust with 11 cards | 3.76E-11 | 1.55E-10 |
| Bust with 12 cards | 8.35E-14 | 1.29E-12 |
| Bust with 13 cards | 0.00E+00 | 4.56E-15 |
External Links
- Discussion of Buster Blackjack in my forum at Wizard of Vegas.
- Discussion of Buster Blackjack in my forum at Card Counting the Buster Blackjack Side Bet at A.P. Heat.
Written by:Michael Shackleford
Buster Blackjack is an exciting Blackjack side bet that allows players to win based on the number of cards in a dealer’s hand.
HOW TO PLAY
Wizard Of Odds Buster Blackjack
- Play regular Blackjack
- Make the optional Buster Blackjack side bet
- Players may win both the Blackjack bet and the Buster bet if the dealer Busts.
- Players may lose their Blackjack bet by busting their hand, and still win their Buster bet if the dealer busts.
- The odds payout is based on the number of cards in the dealer’s busted hand. If the dealer busts with eight (8) cards, players wins the highest odds.
- Iff all players’ hands bust, the dealer must still play out his hand according to the house rules if any Buster bets have been made.
- If the dealer does not bust all Buster bets lose.
Buster Blackjack Side Bet
Please see the Pit for more information and complete rules.