How to Play 21 to the River

21 to the River is a variant of blackjack side bet, the rules of this game are as follows.

• The player wagers on blackjack and poker.
• The blackjack bet will be decided following standard blackjack regulations. Six decks, soft 17 dealers, double after split allowed, no surrender, and no re-splitting aces were the regulations at the Hard Rock.
• A five-card poker hand will be generated using the busted player's card plus the following four cards in the shoe if a blackjack hand busts.
• The poker hand will be paid out according to the table below.
• The poker bet will start if the player does not bust.
• If the player splits, the poker hand will begin with the first hand that busts, if any. The poker bet will push if none of the players bust.

Hand will Bust
EVENT	PROBABILITY
Player busts with 6	0.32%
Player busts with 7	0.70%
Player busts with 8	1.21%
Player busts with 9	1.72%
Player busts with 10	2.33%
Player busts with J	2.33%
Player busts with Q	2.33%
Player busts with K	2.33%
No bust	86.71%
Total	100.00%

The total likelihood of busting is 13.29%. This is more than the 13.00% shown elsewhere on my site. Because of the splitting rule, this is the case.

21 to the River — Return Table
EVENT	PAYS	PROBABILITY	RETURN
Royal flush	500	0.00%	0.02%
Straight flush	250	0.00%	0.04%
Five of a kind	100	0.00%	0.03%
Four of a kind	50	0.02%	1.11%
Full house	25	0.05%	1.21%
Flush	15	0.05%	0.70%
Straight	10	0.05%	0.45%
Three of a kind	5	0.56%	2.78%
Two pair	2	0.87%	1.74%
Jacks or better	0	2.33%	0.00%
No bust	0	86.71%	0.00%
All other	-1	9.37%	-9.37%
Total		100.00%	-1.29%