Insurance In Blackjack
Whether you’re playing live online blackjack or going down to your local casino, you’ll need to know the basics first. Get used to using every tool at your disposal if you truly want to win in blackjack. Today, we’ll be taking a look at one such tool – the bet insurance. This is a rather controversial topic for most blackjack fans – a lot of veterans consider it a trap for beginners. However, used wisely, it’s not without its advantages.
The Insurance Rule in Blackjack. You probably know this already, but when you have a two-card 21 in blackjack, it is the best hand you can have. That is, in fact, referred to as a “blackjack” and you are an automatic winner, except in those cases when the dealer has the exact same thing. In cases like that, it is a tie. Simply, taking insurance means betting that the dealer will have blackjack. In blackjack, when the dealer is showing an Ace and before they show their hole card, a side-bet called insurance becomes.
Here's a puzzle that's perplexed blackjack players since time immemorial, maybe longer. You get an ace-queen - a fat and sassy blackjack. The dealer gets an ominous ace-up and says, 'insurance is open.' Do you take insurance. Or your chances? The insurance is in case the dealer receives a blackjack, and you put out half of your original bet as the insurance. Assuming the dealer does have a blackjack, you win 2-1 on your insurance wager. To illustrate how this works, let’s say that you make a $10 bet, and the dealer shows an ace.
Still, let’s start at the very beginning by going through the rudiments.
What Is Bet Insurance in Blackjack?
Bet insurance in blackjack is a kind of side bet you make on the dealer getting a Blackjack. The only time you can make such a bet is if the dealer gets an Ace as their upcard. The idea is to prevent yourself from losing to a Blackjack, or at least to make the money back. That’s why it’s called insurance – you’re making a safety net against a sudden loss. However, if the dealer does not end up drawing Blackjack, you’ll lose the bet insurance. Generally, bet insurance costs half your original wager and pays out 2 to 1.
If it’s still not clear, we’ll use an example. Imagine that your initial draw adds up to 19 – a 9 and a Jack, for instance. That’s a pretty strong hand, but the dealer’s first card is an Ace. This gives them a solid chance of beating you with the coveted 21.
With most blackjack live tables, the dealer stands on a soft 17. As such, the biggest danger to your strong hand is a dealer Blackjack. You can put down insurance with a stake that’s half your initial wager. If you do and the dealer does get Blackjack, you lose the hand but win the insurance bet. Because of the standard 2:1 payout, you would break even instead of losing money.
Of course, if the dealer does not get Blackjack, you lose the insurance bet. However, you could still go on to win the hand. That’s why bet insurance is only really worth it if you get a hand that amounts to more than 17. Your profits would be smaller if you win, but at least you had the safety net.
When to Use Insurance Bets in Blackjack?
The first question most beginners ask is – is the insurance bet good? The short answer is no – in most cases, the insurance bet is not a good option to take. That is because the average odds on the dealer getting blackjack after an initial ace are 9/4, or around 30%. That means that the insurance bet odds would have to be closer to 3:1 to be worth it. The discrepancy is quite large, which makes insurance bets fairly low value.
When To Buy Insurance In Blackjack
That’s why we recommend most beginners stay away from insurance bets. Of course, advanced players may find some exceptions to the rule. You may find yourself in a game where the shoe has considerably more high-value cards than is usual. The more such cards there are left, the bigger the dealer’s chances of getting Blackjack are.
Experienced card counters may find themselves in such a situation and be aware of it. In such specific cases, bet insurance can become a useful part of your blackjack strategy. However, most live online blackjack tables play with shoes of 6 or 8 decks. The number of high-value versus low-value cards would have to be seriously skewed to make bet insurance worth the wager. You can find more information in our basic guide to blackjack card counting.
We hope this blackjack insurance bet strategy guide was useful. Good luck!
One seemingly good bet to beginning blackjack players is taking insurance. And a major reason why beginning players are fooled into thinking insurance is a good idea is because dealers ask players beforehand if they want insurance when the opportunity arises. However, this is a very poor wager, and we’ll get into the specifics of why after explaining more about this bet.
How Insurance Bets Work
The opportunity for insurance wagers arise when the dealer draws a face-up ace; at this point, the dealer will go around the table and ask everybody if they want to take insurance. The insurance is in case the dealer receives a blackjack, and you put out half of your original bet as the insurance. Assuming the dealer does have a blackjack, you win 2-1 on your insurance wager.
To illustrate how this works, let’s say that you make a $10 bet, and the dealer shows an ace. You then take the offered insurance bet by laying another $5 out on the table. The dealer turns over his second card, which is a king, thus giving him a blackjack. In this event, you receive win $5 on your insurance bet ($10 total), but lose $10 since the dealer had a blackjack. So basically, your overall bet was a push, and this doesn’t seem like such a bad deal so far.
Now, let us assume that the dealer didn’t have a natural blackjack; in this instance, you automatically lose the $5 insurance wager; however, you still have a chance to win the original $10 wager if your hand beats the dealer’s.
Why the Insurance Bet is Bad
Insurance In Blackjack
Consult any source of blackjack strategy and they’ll tell you that insurance is bad. And the first thing you have to understand with this concept is exactly what insurance entails. Most players mistakenly assume that insurance is meant to protect their hand in the event that the dealer has a blackjack. But the reality is that insurance is merely a wager on the dealer having a natural blackjack.
Explain Insurance In Blackjack
The main number you want to concentrate on here is 9:4 odds – or rather, the odds against the dealer having a blackjack when they’re showing an ace is 9:4. To break this down further, let’s say you make $5 insurance bets 130 times; based on the 9:4 odds, you’d win your bet 40 times for $400 in total winnings ($10 total earnings X 40 bets). On the other hand, you’d lose 90 of these bets for $450 in total losses ($5 total losses X 90 bets). As you can see, this leaves you $50 in the hole, thus making it a bad bet overall.