The Perfect Pair is one of the lesser-known blackjack variations. This game offers very advantageous winning odds. There are three side bets in Perfect Blackjack, including the Perfect Pair Blackjack. This variation will pay out if either the player’s or the dealer’s initial cards are a pair of the same suit.
The second is the colored pair side bet, which pays out if the dealer’s initial cards form a pair of the same color but different suits. The last one is the red or black pair, which pays out if the player’s or the dealer’s first two cards form a pair of different colors and are also from other suits.
Getting into the Perfect Pair Blackjack Gameplay
In the Perfect Pair Blackjack, after placing a normal bet, you have the option to place a side bet. You can play it the same as blackjack, but the only difference is that you place a side bet during the game. If you get a pair delivered to you, you can win a side bet of anywhere from five to one to twenty-five to one payoff, depending on your card. The side bet could be placed either on your own hand of cards or the dealer’s cards.
According to the rules, a perfect pair means you have an absolute match in both denomination and number. This is because you are playing with a total of five decks. For example, if there are two sevens of diamonds and you get both, then it would pay off at twenty-five.
Mistakes to Avoid When Playing Perfect Pair Blackjack
There are numerous situations where many people get it wrong. Let us go into some mistakes that you have to avoid at a blackjack table. Even a small, bad decision can bring about significant changes in the game. In those cases, luck can either favor you or the dealer. The biggest mistake players will make is being too passive with their hands when holding 14s, 15s, and 16s. Consider a player with 15.
Even if it is the dealer, it doesn’t matter what the dealer is showing. They are afraid they are going to get busted. They are not even going to bother, and that’s not a great way to play the game. Generally, when the dealer shows a card, such as 9, he is likely to make a hand more often than not. So, when you decide not to hit your 15, in the long run, you will end up burning a hole in your pocket and losing a lot of money. In this case, if you hit and it ends up over 21, that is okay. At least you gave yourself a shot against the 9, as opposed to being a sitting duck with the 15.
Often, players tend to be a bit too aggressive with their hands. When a player has a soft 14 versus a 9, he will usually double down on it. He/she wants to get more money in their hand. But that never works out well. Any hand where you can’t make at least a 20 is generally not a hand you want to double down on.
It is still true that a player could make a 6 or a 7 with the 3. If he/she misses, which is most of the time, he will most likely receive a 12. He is stuck with a 12, there is nothing to do about it, and he/she has got 400 out, versus a 9. Another thing that people usually wish to do is to make moves like splitting up the 10s. This is a very common strategy where everyone at the table probably winces as you do it. You split these 10s, and then you are looking for two 10s or better.
Now you gave a 15 and decided to hit it up. Someone lucks out with the 20, but then, on the other hand, he has got an 18. So if the dealer finishes up making a hand, he will more than likely push. As opposed to if he had won straight out with a 20. Another thing that falls under the category of aggressive play is splitting too often. Moreover, people will often want to split a pair of 7s. That’s because they want to extract more money from those hands.
So now you’ve got one hand that was okay, the 14. However, now you have two hands that you are stuck with. So, if you decide to hit the 16, you can bust, because now you have a 17 that you are stuck with.
What is going to happen now is that the player would hope he had a 19. He could have had that, but instead, he got a 14, and the dealer drew to a 20. He lost two bets on that hand that he split. Compared to the guy who splits two tens and loses one of them, and wins with the other.
But he could have stayed, and whatever had to happen with the cards would have happened with the cards. However, instead, the player now loses the money. The guy who was aggressive with his soft 14 ended up with the hard 12, losing as well. There are many mistakes that players often make. So make sure to avoid them and have a good game.
When to split your pairs
Let us go over the ins and outs of splitting the pairs. There are five cases where you may or may not want to split your pairs. When you want to do a basic split up, you put the same amount of your bet next to your original bet. Then you make a signal for the dealer. Then the dealer will split your cards. Now, the idea is that you are actually trying to maximize the value of the individual cards as opposed to the pair.
Eights aren’t a spectacular hand, but you always split them, since otherwise, you will be dealing with 16, which isn’t good. In the case of eights, the player gets an 11, which the dealer can double down on their hand if they want to. Then, if they’re going to do that again with theirs, they hope for 21. This time, if the player gets an 18, that is something.
In the situation of aces, the player gets one card only, and it’s a house rule. For example, if you get a 17 and an 18. The dealer is showing a 7. This is not very strong, but it is better to play than a hand like this with an 8, as opposed to splitting a pair of fours. He is going to get hit, and he won’t want to split. About the 20s, never ever split them up. The reason is that to actually make money with your 10s, you would have to acquire another couple of 10s. The odds of the 10s coming up don’t justify making a bold play like that. So it is better to take up the 20.
Most of the time, you are going to win with it, so leave it alone. The house doesn’t have an option to split. They ought to play their hand as if the pair didn’t matter at all. So with pairs, aces, and eights, it is always advised to split, and with tens and fives, you should never split. When you have a pair of 2s, you are supposed to bet against the dealer’s two through seven.
The case is the same with a pair of three. Fourth, you should only split if the dealer has a five or a 6 since you are trying to maximize against his weakness. Fives you never split, and the 6s you split versus a 2 through 6. Sevens, you split with two through seven. Eighths you always split. Nines, you have to split those with a two, three, four, five, six, eight, or nine. So a ten, queen, king, ace, and a 7, you will leave alone. Tens—never split them under any circumstances since you got a 20. That’s the strategy of splitting pairs in blackjack card games. For more blackjack strategies, read our guide.
