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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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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.

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We have a team of editors and writers at Pinnacle, as well as a collection of external contributors, ranging from university lecturers and renowned authors, to ex-traders and esteemed sports experts. Collectively, the Pinnacle team and external contributors produce the educational content within Betting Resources.

Norwegian Carlsen is currently priced at 1.200* at Pinnacle – unrivalled for chess betting value - with Russian Karjakin the outsider at 4.880* to win the 12-game series taking place between 11-30th November. This means, after discounting Pinnacle’s minimal 3.86% margin, Carlsen has a 78.79% chance of winning, compared to Karjakin’s 21.21% chance in terms of fair probability.
 Rankings

As well as <a href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/betting-articles/soccer/applying-elo-ratings-to-premier-league-betting">using the Elo rating system to compare skill levels</a>, FIDE ratings (the official World Chess Federation rating system) also provide bettors with an insight into the ability of chess players and the potential outcome of a match. Carlsen is currently number one in the FIDE ratings on 2,857, with his challenger, Karjakin, number nine in the list on 2,769.
What’s even more interesting is that Carlsen can add substance to the claim that he is the greatest ever chess player after achieving a record high FIDE rating of 2,882 in May 2014, eclipsing the 2,851 achieved by Garry Kasparov in July 1999 - something that is reflected in the Carlsen vs. Karjakin odds.

Below is a table that tracks the movement of the Carlsen vs. Karjakin odds in Pinnacle’s chess betting: 
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<h2>Carlsen vs. Karjakin odds movement</h2>
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Player
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Opening odds
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Highest value
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Lowest value
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Current odds
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Carlsen
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1.31
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1.31
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1.20
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1.20*
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Karjakin
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3.65
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4.88
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3.65
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4.88*
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Form
The two have played each other a total of 47 times, 38 in the standard match format they will be playing at the World Chess Championship 2016 (this means blindfold and blitz games are excluded). Out of those 38 meetings, they are fairly evenly matched.
Magnus Carlsen has six victories compared to Sergey Karjakin on five, with 17 draws between them. The two players have met eight times in the last two years, with one win apiece and six draws.
Why Carlsen has the upper hand
In addition to the title of the world’s greatest ever chess player and a slight advantage in their head-to-head record, there are a few other factors in Carlsen’s favour ahead of the big matchup.&nbsp;
<blockquote>Carlsen can add substance to the claim that he is the greatest ever chess player after achieving a record high FIDE rating of 2,882 in May 2014.</blockquote>
The 25-year-old Norwegian may be a year younger than his 26-year-old Russian challenger, but he is certainly the more experienced of the two. A two-time World Chess champion, Carlsen will be familiar with the surroundings in New York and is unlikely to be phased by any kind of pressure.
Unlike other sports, such as soccer, chess betting isn’t altered by things like <a href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/betting-articles/soccer/premier-league-hfa-betting">the benefit of home-field advantage</a>. Although players will need to adjust to the surroundings, a neutral venue isn’t much different to playing in their home country, something made evident by Carlsen’s victory over Viswanathan Anand in 2013 when they played in Anand’s native India.
Instead, it is the preparation, concentration levels and tactics employed by each player that can become the deciding factor when they meet in an enclosed glass, <g class="gr_ gr_74 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="74" data-gr-id="74">sound-proof</g> area in Manhattan’s famous Fulton Market building.
After winning the Candidates Chess 2016 tournament, Karjakin has had seven months to prepare for the World Chess Championship and devise a plan to beat Carlsen. However, Carlsen is renowned for his unpredictability.&nbsp;Whilst Karjakin can mentally and physically prepare for what will be an exhausting encounter, what he can’t do is <g class="gr_ gr_78 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="78" data-gr-id="78">plan</g> for how his opponent is going to play, something that will undoubtedly benefit the Norwegian.
<img src="/sites/default/files/media-image/chess-carlse-v-karjakin-betshare.jpg" alt="chess-carlse-v-karjakin-betshare.jpg" width="700" height="350" loading="lazy">
This BetShare infographic gives a percentage representation of the share of the number of bets in Pinnacle’s Carlsen vs. Karjakin chess betting odds. <a href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/betting-articles/educational/betting-predictions-what-is-a-betshare">Find out more about our BetShare</a>.
Concentration is an integral attribute of a successful chess player. There is no debating Karjakin’s ability. The question is, can the youngest ever chess Grandmaster maintain focus and avoid any slip-ups against the practically faultless Carlsen? A challenge that becomes even more difficult with a $1 million prize fund on the line.
The World Chess Championship in 2014 between Carlsen and Anand is one example of how the slightest lapse in concentration can have a major impact on a match. In game 6, Anand was presented with an opportunity after Carlsen’s 26.Kd2. However, the vastly experienced former champion missed 26…Nex5! and instead, played 26…a4?. Missing the move that would have picked up two extra pawns and given him a great winning chance cost Anand the game and ultimately, the match.
Taking his FIDE rankings, experience and proven psychological attributes into consideration, it is no wonder that Magnus Carlsen is such a heavy favourite in Pinnacle’s chess betting odds. Sergey Karjakin may be able to spring a surprise in New York City and win the World Chess Championship, but he’ll have to play some of his best ever chess to do it.
Get the best <a href="https://www.pinnacle.com/en/odds-list/countries/chess">chess betting odds</a> on the series handicap, match by match betting and the first move in every game at <a href="https://www.pinnacle.com/">Pinnacle</a>.

The World Chess Championship 2016 gets underway in New York City on November 11th. In a matchup that is expected to attract a global online and TV audience of more than one billion fans, defending champion Magnus Carlsen is an overwhelming favourite in Pinnacle’s chess betting odds to beat Sergey Karjakin. Read more to find out why.