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What Are Blackjack Side Bets?Side bets are bonus bets placed on a round of Blackjack on outcomes beyond whether the player or dealer will win. The majority are staked at the start of the round before the cards have been dealt alongside regular bets and many have fixed odds that usually offer greater payouts than the simple 2:1 rewarded for beating the dealer.Play Blackjack at Pinnacle Casino

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Side bets provide an exciting way to make Blackjack games more interesting whilst offering you a greater number of ways to win. So what are side bets, what side bets are available and are they worth it? Read on to find out.

Blackjack Side Bets Explained

Finding a niche market in betting can often lead to value. This can be anything from specialist knowledge of handball betting to extensive experience in betting on Japanese baseball. Providing you know more than the bookmaker, there is money to be made.  &lt;Bet on soccer at Pinnacle&gt; They also make for interesting and potentially profitable bets, as they can be a little more reliable

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A corner is one of the most inexplicably exciting events in soccer. Only around three per cent of them lead to a goal, but you can guarantee that the attacking team’s fans will roar their approval and encouragement if their team are awarded one. Read on to find out how you can benefit from betting on corners.

Corners betting in soccer: Value in a lesser-known market

Poisson Distribution is a mathematical concept for translating mean averages into a probability for variable outcomes across a distribution. For example, if we know Manchester City average 1.7 goals per game, so by putting the Poisson Distribution formula tells us that this average equates to Manchester City&nbsp;scoring 0 goals 18.3% of the time, 1 goal 31% of the time, 2 goals 26.4% of the time and 3 goals 15% of the time.

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Poisson Distribution: Predict the score in soccer betting

What is Expected Value?The amount a player can expect to win or lose if they were to place a bet on the same odds many times over, calculated through a simple equation multiplying your probability of winning with the amount you could win per bet, and subtracting the probability of losing multiplied by the amount lost per bet.A simple example of Expected Value (EV) put into practice -&nbsp;if you were

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The Expected Value of a bet shows us how much we can expect to win (on average) per bet, and as such is the most valuable calculation a bettor can make when comparing bookmakers' odds. How can you calculate Expected Value in sports betting in order to predict your winnings? Read on to find out.

How to Calculate Expected Value

<p>Luke studied Economics at The University of Exeter before embarking on a career that combines two of his greatest interests, writing and sports betting. Despite a keen interest in soccer, he is open to exploring any sport where value might be present. He particularly enjoys analysing markets from different perspectives to try and find a profitable edge.</p>

Luke Petty

<h3><strong>Why Parlays are generally considered to be poor bets</strong></h3>
<p>In general, betting on Parlays is considered to be a poor betting strategy. This is because for each event added to the bet the bookmaker’s margin is multiplied.</p>
<p>This can lead to bets that are hugely advantageous towards the bookmaker. Read <a href="/betting-resources/en/educational/multiples-betting-explained/mbp2jv88uxq3fkgf" target="_blank">how to bet on Multiples</a> for more detail on this.</p>
<h3><strong>Parlay betting strategy: Multiplying advantages</strong></h3>
<p>What is often missed when discussing the cons of Parlay bets is that, in the same way they boost the bookmaker’s margin, they can be used to multiply a bettor’s edge. If a bettor is confident they have an edge over the bookmaker, then they are powerful tools for increasing that advantage.</p>
<p>Here the bettor has calculated that three events offered by the bookmaker at decimal odds of 2.00 (50% implied probability) actually have a probability of 55.55% (implied odds of 1.8):</p>
<div class="table-holder-article-content"><span class="table-expand"></span><span class="table-expand-overlay"></span>
<div class="table-modal">
<div class="table-modal-head">
<div class="table-modal-head-inner">
<h2>Parlay betting strategy</h2>
<span class="table-modal-close"></span></div>
</div>
<div class="table-modal-content">
<div class="article-table-content">
<table class=" article-table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Event</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Bettor's odds</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Bookmaker's odds</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Bettor's implied probability (%)</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Bookmaker's implied probability (%)</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>% difference (edge)</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Event 1</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>1.8</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>2</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>55.55</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>11.11</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Event 2</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>1.8</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>2</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>55.55</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>11.11</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Event 3</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>1.8</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>2</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>55.55</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>11.11</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Parlay</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>5.832</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>8</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>17.15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>12.5</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>37.17</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
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</div>
<p>In this scenario, the bettor benefits from the Parlay in the same way the bookmaker usually does. His edge has increased.</p>
<h3><strong>Dependent events</strong></h3>
<p>If the bettor does not already have an edge then one other way a Parlay could be advantageous is if they can find a way to Parlay selections that appear to be independent bets but are actually in some way dependent.</p>
<p>An example of this could be combining a bet on a soccer player and a separate team the player does not play for to score over a certain amount of goals in a season. In this case, if the team scores a lot of goals it may be because the league in general has a high scoring season. <br><br>This could be caused by rule changes, a change in the style of soccer played in the league or a number of smaller factors combining together which have an advantageous impact on both outcomes.</p>
<p>These factors would also make the player more likely to score more goals even if he doesn’t play for that specific team. Therefore the bets are in some way dependent.</p>
<p>This is a fairly obvious example, and most bookmakers will be able to prevent these selections from being Parlayed. However, it is not impossible for a bettor on a rare occasion to find two seemingly independent bets that actually share a degree of dependency.</p>
<h3><strong>Parlays and volatility</strong></h3>
<p>One thing for Parlay bettors to be aware of is that in the short run, betting on Parlays will increase the volatility of returns.</p>
<p>In the example shared above, a bettor betting on an individual outcome will see a return more than 50% of the time if the bettor’s probability is correct. However, when the three outcomes are Parlayed, the bettor will see a return 17% of the time but the winnings will be four times greater.</p>
<p>This greatly increases the volatility of the return. It is not improbable that the events backed by the bettor in the example Parlay and similar Parlays could fail to occur simultaneously on many occasions. This volatility can be difficult for the bettor to factor in unless they can find enough Parlays in the long run to ensure regression to the mean.</p>
<h3><strong>The limitations of Parlays</strong></h3>
<p>In addition to the usual issues with profitable bettors being limited by bookmakers, Parlays can also be difficult to place at even the sharper books.</p>
<p>The scenario described in this article of a profitable bettor increasing their advantage over the bookmaker is one that they will seek to avoid. This means even the sharpest bookmakers may reduce the odds on offer when selections are added to a Parlay. On top of this, bookmakers will also be affected by the volatility on such selections since Parlays add an additional complexity to risk management.</p>
<p>Pinnacle’s own <a href="/author/marco-blume" target="_blank">Marco Blume</a> discusses such issues with Parlay bets from profitable bettors on the <a href="https://soundcloud.com/pinnacle-podcast/ep01-the-man-behind-the-odds" target="_blank">Pinnacle Podcast</a>.</p>
<p>In conclusion, as with most betting strategies the tool is only as good as the bettor himself. Parlays can be just as preferential to a skilled bettor as they are detrimental to a poor one.</p>
<p><strong>Read more <a href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/betting-resources" target="_blank">betting articles</a> to improve your betting knowledge.</strong></p>

Multiplying advantages: Can parlay strategy be a useful tool for bettors?

Parlays, Accumulators, Multiples. Whatever you prefer to call them they are generally seen as a disadvantageous option for serious bettors. But can bettors actually use parlays to their advantage? Read on to find out.

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Parlays, Accumulators, Multiples. Whatever you prefer to call them they are generally seen as a disadvantageous option for serious bettors. But can bettors actually use Parlays to their advantage? Read on to find out.