Stanford Wong writes about a "bustout bet" in Pro BJ. If the TC is .33 or better, it's a good bet. I came across a "Bust Bet" recently, which is different. You have to bet before the dealer shows his hole card. The bet pays even money, not 2-1. However, as long as you have a live hand, you can place the bet up to the point at which the dealer does show his HC. Also, you can bet as much as you want to with the minimum equalling the table min (or maybe your initial bet if it's higher). Another difference to Bustout I read about is that your initial cards or eventual hand total and the dealer up card don't matter - you can make the side bet no matter what these are. It seems that high true counts would make this worthwhile. I don't know the math, but my logic tells me that if it's profitable to take late surrender with 16 versus dealer 9-10-A, and if insurance is profitable prior to seeing the HC, then why not bet that the dealer will bust when he shows a 5 or 6 in high true counts? I'm sure a side count of 10s would be a plus, but would it be necessary?
