A gaming system (1) comprises a primary wagering facility (6) which is us able by a player to place an initial wager on a turn of a game of blackjack, and a secondary wagering facility (7) which automatically places a side wager on the same turn of the game of blackjack. the system provides for two blackjack hands, a first one for the player and a second one for a dealer. The system includes an accumulation facility (10) which accumulates a fixed portion of the wager in a pooled jackpot. The side wager relates to an outcome of a first three cards dealt in the player's hand. In particular, the side wager is deemed to be successful if one or more of the first three cards dealt in the player's hand is of a predetermined rank, or is of a particular suite, or both. In order to increase the appeal of the gaming system, the predetermined rank is selected to be a seven, and the particular suite is selected to be diamonds. The successful wager pays an amount of at least 2 times the side wager if the first card dealt is a seven, 10 times the wager if the two cards dealt are sevens but of different suites, 20 times the side wager if the first 2 cards dealt are sevens and of the same suite, 100 times the side wager if the first three cards dealt are sevens and not all of the same suite, and 250 times the side wager if the first three cards dealt are all sevens and of the same suite. The successful wager pays the amount of the pooled jackpot if the first three cards dealt are all seven of diamonds.