Side bets looks fun, But what do they really cost?

[Swordsoffreedom]

You know, biggest red flag for side bet is combination of casinos high payout, low probability and high house edge. Just look at Baccarat Tie and you'll see that even with 8:1 payout, house edge is still 14.36%.

But there are exception too. For serious advantage player and card counters, side bet often differ greatly depending on specific count and composition.

So not all side bet are mathematically bad in all situation. But if you say they are usually too expensive for average recreational player then that would be more accurate.

Personally, I look at paytable and house edge before looking at payout. If any casino shows me 50:1, my first question is why are they giving me 50:1?

[Betwrong]

~ Curious what everyone else does with side bets. Do you usually ignore them, throw a little on occasionally, or actually check the house edge first?

I don't check no house edge first. I make sided bets when I feel like it, but mostly I just ignore them. Why I don't check the house edge and calculate which option is better is because I'm confident that in purely luck-based games all options are equal. If there were an advantageous option, casino would go bankrupt pretty soon. If you are just having fun with your calculations, keep doing it, but know that it will not increase your chances of wining.

[purple_sparkles]

I don’t really expect big rewards, and I use things like side bets when I’m simply in the mood to play. However, this is not connected to any particular strategy, so I can’t say that it gives me better chances of winning. It simply adds more variety to the game, which is appealing, because similar processes can often become repetitive, while this adds something new.

[Alvin_talk]

Sometimes this outcome are usually generated by me when playing the side bets with a friend and one thing about most of this side bet is that even before the game ends or before full time one has already won or lost as the case may be. But the danger in this side bet is that it involves taking an additional risk that can lead to higher losses and most times it usually ends in a caos with friends who refuse to accept the outcome of the bet.

I think you are missing the point here. OP is referring to side bets involving online casinos such as Perfect Pairs, Lucky Ladies, not the one we play with family and friends.  The one you are talking about are informal warger where you and your friends set the conditions, whereas in casino side bets you follow fixed conditions and rules set by the casino.

The main difference between the two is where the risk originates from.  In casino side bets the risk is centrally tied to high house edge, while in  side bets with friends, house edge does not exist, rather, the risk comes from trust and enforcement. That is, the person who lost may refuse to pay the agreed amount which normally results to the chaos you mentioned. So for sanity sake, I usually avoid playing side bets with families and friends.

[Makus]

It can be very surprising when side bets can actually end up becoming more profitable than main bets but to be on the safe side I always keep my expectations low and mostly stake small amounts of money that I can afford to lose. Since side bets are mostly casual I don't check the house edge, odd or anything, I just play the game and hope to get lucky, I take a lot of risks because I know I'm not risking anything that affects me. This can only become a losing game when you side bets is higher than your main or actual bets, this takes away the balance.

[free-bit.co.in]

Who is sane when they see 25:1 or 50:1 payout? Greed is hard to control!

But three questions you raised, how much is payout, how many times does it hit, and what is the house edge?
Most player get stuck on first question & forgetting last two

What's the payout?

The payout may look huge, but it is an illusion.

How often does it actually hit?

Very small. For example, tie bet in Baccarat is so small that the 14% house edge is drain on players pocket.

What's the house edge?

In main game where house edge can be kept to 0.5% with basic strategy in Blackjack but casino has an edge of 10% to 25% in Lucky Ladies & Perfect Pairs. That means they get $10 to $25 for every $100 bet.

[Emitdama]

I think this is probably the most sensible approach to side bets - see them as something you do for fun, not as a way to increase your profits.
And I’d even say that the size of the bet matters more here than how often you win. If you have a good gambling session and put a small part of your profit on a side bet just for fun, losing it probably won’t have much impact on your overall result. But if you regularly put a significant part of every main bet on side bets, they can quietly eat up a pretty large part of your bankroll.
So I don’t see much of a problem with trying them from time to time just for fun either.

In early part of gambling life, I has never been in favour of having enough checking in many things but in few bets while I have good profit I started good interest and this give me good return because side bets always works good instead of having main bet even its enough risky still I love to do this for fun.

Putting small amount with good odds make good change even it's never been easy still it gives good return and also have fun to stay in touch but here sticking with good strategy is also important because as mentioned if someone taking this serious it could be ending up with big loss and it's never been good deal for any gambler, losing bankroll even trying for fun always increase stress hence having things under control and manageable always works better.

[Smack That Ace]

The big payout isn't necessarily the problem. It's the **probability behind that payout**.

Speaking of me, I personally try to ignore side bet completely.
To me, placing any side bet is like giving the casino free tax.
But yes, sometime when I sit down for casual table session with friends, I throw in couple of small chips just for fun. But I know that money is just a waste!

Nowadays, there are many new side bets and progressive jackpot option coming online, which are even more aggressive.
That last point you made is the real essence.
Problem is not large size of payout, but the probability behind it.