Blackjack Super Sevens
This side bet was invented by the same man who invented the over/ under bet; essentially, you place a one-dollar side-bet that you will be dealt one, two, or three sevens, with various payouts depending on whether the sevens are suited or unsuited. Technically, card counters can beat this option if they learn to keep a count of the sevens, and the perfect counting system for this option is to count all sevens as -12, and everything else as +1.
The house edge on the Super Sevens option is about 10.8%. This qualifies it as a true sucker bet, one of the worst bets available on a table game, similar to the house edge on the hardways bets at craps, or the tie bet at baccarat.
I no longer remember the true count at which it makes sense to place a Super Sevens bet, but it does occur occasionally. Even so, I wouldn't waste my time trying to figure it out. The problem is that the option is not worth more than a few cents per hour to a seven-counter, due to that $1 maximum bet restriction. And since the counting system has virtually no value whatsoever to your regular blackjack hand, why spend even a moment learning it? Without the seven-count, the house has about an 11 % advantage over you on this bet, so it's yet another side-bet with no value to anyone. (Well, actually, it has some value to the casinos that offer it, since they keep eleven cents for every buck wagered!)
NOTE:
Some casinos offer special bonus payouts for player hands that contain three 7s, most commonly a 3 to 2 payout if the hand wins. This is not the same thing as the Super Sevens option, which requires the player to make a separate side-bet. The values of bonus hands, such as 777 pays 3 to 2, or 678 suited pays 2 to 1, are listed in the chart of rule effects in Chapter Eleven.
Tags: blackjack, card counters, online casino
