If you are dreaming of mastering your skills at 21, one of the best casino games, you must wonder what insurance is in Blackjack. An insurance is a side bet that can be made when the dealer has a face-up card of an Ace. It gives players the opportunity to protect themselves against the possibility that the dealer is holding a blackjack.
So, in simple terms, it is similar to a safety net, but insurance has been very misunderstood in the game of blackjack. In fact, many players consider it a bad decision for long-term success.
In this article, we will take a look at how insurance works when it is offered and whether you should do it.
The opportunity to take insurance comes about when the dealer has an up card of an Ace. Before the dealer checks their hole card, the dealer will ask players if they would like insurance. This is a separate bet from the original blackjack wager and can be up to half the size of a player’s initial bet. An example would be:
If the dealer has a blackjack, the insurance bet pays 2:1
Please check the practical example of how you can use an insurance bet.
| Original Bet | Insurance Bet | Dealer Blackjack | Insurance Result |
| $20 | $10 | Yes | Win $20 |
| $20 | $10 | No | Lose $10 |
| $50 | $25 | Yes | Win $50 |
| $50 | $25 | No | Lose $25 |
As you can see from the first example, if the dealer has blackjack, the insurance bet wins $20. As the original blackjack bet was $20, it leaves everything even.
The bet is known as insurance as it is a protection against the dealer holding a blackjack. It is like an insurance policy: you pay some upfront, if an unwanted event happens (dealer holding blackjack), you get compensation. If the event does not happen, you lose the insurance premium. While the concept makes sense, the mathematics behind the bet tells another story.
In the majority of situations, taking insurance is not the best option. The dealer will not have blackjack every time they hold an Ace. To make insurance a profitable bet, the probability of the dealer holding a 10-value card underneath the Ace must justify the 2:1 payout.
In a standard blackjack game, there are fewer 10-value cards remaining than players assume. This is the built-in advantage the blackjack casinos have on insurance bets. The majority of blackjack strategy experts suggest refusing the insurance bet unless you are an expert card counter.
It is easy for players to confuse insurance for even money. Even money is offered when:
Rather than wait to see if the dealer holds a blackjack, players can accept an instant 1:1 payout on their hand.
Here is how it works:
Normally, blackjack pays 3:2, which means you win $150 if the dealer does not hold blackjack.
If you choose even money, you instantly get $100 profit, regardless of the dealer’s hole card.
Even money is insurance added to a player’s blackjack hand.
Understanding how the cards are scored will give you a better understanding of the insurance bet. The chances of the dealer making a blackjack depend greatly on the value of their hidden card.
New players to blackjack must learn blackjack card values to improve all decisions made throughout the game:
As there are lots of cards with the value of 10 in the deck, gamblers always seem to overestimate how often the dealer will get a blackjack hand with an Ace showing.
There are several situations when taking insurance is the right call, but there are a few. Professional card counters have the ability to track which cards remain in the deck. If a high number of cards valued at 10 are left in the deck, the insurance bet may be favorable. But this requires:
This would not be appropriate for casual blackjack players.
Blackjack beginners tend to make the same mistakes when they are offered insurance.
Insurance can be taken at most online casinos as well as land-based casinos, but the rules can differ between operators. When looking for the best online casinos to enjoy blackjack, remember:
Before you start, we advise choosing a trusted operator with a solid reputation. Reading reviews and taking into account players’ reviews certainly helps in selecting an operator with fair games, player protection, and speedy withdrawals.
It may seem an attractive proposition to take insurance and protect yourself against a dealer’s blackjack, but the truth is, it is not worth it. This side bet will always favor the casino unless you are an expert card counter. When a dealer shows an Ace, and you get the option of taking insurance, the safer bet is to simply say no.
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