One of the most common misconceptions in the game is you should always insure a blackjack. The argument goes, 'You will win money on the hand regardless of what the dealer has.' (And this is true. If the dealer has a blackjack you tie your regular bet and win money on your insurance bet. If the dealer does not have a blackjack you lose your. There are six varieties of outcomes if you place an insurance bet. The dealer has blackjack, and you do too. In this scenario, the hand is a push, also known as a tie, since you both have blackjack. You will receive your stake back, but you will also win the insurance bet, meaning you receive the insurance stake at 2-1 odds.

1. Should You Get Insurance In Blackjack Card Game

If you hold a blackjack while the dealer has an ace showing, you will be offered “even money.” Don’t be fooled! This is just another name for what is mathematically the same as insurance. If you take even money, your blackjack will not get paid 3 to 2 like it normally would. If the dealer does not have a Blackjack, you will not get paid on your Insurance, but you will accumulate winnings for your Blackjack. Let's presume you place a bet of $20, you get Blackjack and you take Insurance. In this case, there are two possible outcomes. If the dealer has a Blackjack, you get paid $20 for your Insurance bet. You also automatically get paid more on a blackjack (3 to 2 in most cases), whereas you don’t have to pay any extra if the dealer makes blackjack. Conversely, you can reduce your losses if strategically optimal by taking insurance when available or by surrendering a weak hand. The dealer also has no flexibility in his actions.

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Blackjack online can be a lot of fun, and it can provide you with hours of entertainment. Especially considering that there are so many variations of it available, too. From live Blackjack to mobile Blackjack, there’s something for everyone these days.

Yet, there are also some inclusions in the games that you may not be as familiar with and/or know how to use effectively.

One of those options is the Insurance addition. This won’t be found in all blackjack games, but it’s functional in quite a few, and it’s relative for you to know what it’s all about and how to go about using it.

So, that’s why we’ve brought together this Blackjack Insurance explanation. This way, you’ll be able to know what it does and when you can utilise it to the best of your advantages.

What Exactly is Insurance in Blackjack?

If you think of insurance as a word in general, it relates to something that covers you for a particular outcome. So, if you think about your car, you get this insured so that if you are involved in an accident of some kind, you have a way to get it repaired without having to fork out hundreds or thousands to get this done. Well, in blackjack, you’re insured against a certain outcome taking place in the game.

Essentially, insurance is a side bet that is offered to you when the dealer’s face-up card is displayed as an Ace. So, you have the chance to place an additional bet which is equal to half of the original wager that you placed. You’re basically betting on the dealer having a blackjack hand. So, if you’ve made an insurance bet and the dealer turns over their second card to reveal a 10, Jack, Queen or Kind card, then you receive a pay-out from the insurance bet of 2 to 1.

The idea of this side bet is that you have the opportunity to win back some of your initial bet should the dealer have been dealt a blackjack. So, let’s say that you place a wager of €30 and you receive a hand of 19 from your first two cards. You see that the dealer’s face-up card is an Ace, so you decide to place an insurance bet, equating to €15. The dealer then urns their downcard over and it’s a 10, making it a natural blackjack. While your original be will lose, your €15 insurance bet pays out 2 to 1 – so €30.

It’s always the case that an insurance bet will pay out 2 to 1, and its commonplace for you to not be able to bet more than half of your original bet on this side wager.

So, When Should You Opt for Insurance?

Unless you’re able to count cards at a land-based casino, then you should never proceed with an insurance bet when playing blackjack. You don’t need to look too hard to discover that in the long run, it’s going to be something that loses you money.

Odds against the dealer having a blackjack hand are roughly 9 to 4, meaning that on average, you are likely to lose more than half of the insurance bets that you make in this situation. That’s because the side bet only pays out 2 to 1, so it’s quite a losing proposition to take.

There is an exception to this rule though, and that applies specifically to advanced card counters. Such players are able to keep track of how many 10-point cards have already been dealt out and how many remain in the deck. The higher proportion of 10-value cards in the shoe, the more likely it is that the dealer will make a natural blackjack. So, if the count isn’t good enough, then taking an insurance bet could be a great way of saving some money. Of course, it’s something that comes with experience more so and applies much more to live casino blackjack gameplay, rather than online. That being said, because you can see which cards the dealer has had online too, it may be able to be implemented this way by advanced gamers.

What Are the Insurance Bet Odds?

There aren’t set odds for insurance bets because it depends upon the number of decks being used in the version of blackjack you’re playing as well as the number of 10s and face cards that have already been dealt out.

Because someone who is good at card counting can easily keep track of this, they can identify when the most beneficial moments are to utilise the insurance bet. For a general blackjack player, the odds are generally always against you, and it’s especially true for many online versions of the game, because in a lot of them, the decks are often shuffled before each hand.

Something else to keep note of is that the more decks in use in a game, the worse the odds get for the player. If you’re accessing a one-deck game, then the house edge for insurance bets can be about 5.8%. That leaps up to around 7.5% if you’re playing an 8-deck blackjack game as an alternative.

Therefore, a good rule of thumb is that if you definitely have to take an insurance bet, then you should only do it with a one-deck game and with a full table when a small number of 10-point playing cards have been dealt out.

Should You Get Insurance In Blackjack Card Game

Using a Blackjack strategy can be very useful to increase your chances of winnen. For those who are interested, check our definitive Blackjack Basic Strategy Guide 2020!