• When To Take Insurance Blackjack
• Blackjack Insurance Odds

In blackjack, insurance is a special bet that the dealer offers to the player when a particular situation arises. When a blackjack dealer turns up an Ace, he offers insurance. The player accepts the insurance bet by betting up to half the original bet for that hand. If the dealer has a natural 21, then the player wins the side bet at 2:1 odds. Speaking generally about the blackjack insurance rules, taking insurance implies making a bet that the dealer will have blackjack. In fact, the insurance wager is one of the types of additional bets that are offered to gamblers when the dealer’s upcard is an ace. After that, the dealer usually announces the option to gamblers at the table to take insurance on blackjack. This wager is played out without regard to the main bet and is paid out 2:1.

In blackjack, insurance is a side bet which is separate to your original stake. Offered only when the dealer's upcard is an ace, it acts as a safety net against an opposing blackjack. An insurance bet is usually half your original wager and pays 2 to 1. The side bet is completed when the dealer's second card is revealed. Betting insurance is a side bet. This is you, betting that the dealer has blackjack and is treated independently of the main wager. It pays 2:1 (meaning that for every one pound bet, the player will receive two pounds in return) and is available when the dealer’s exposed card is an ace. Insurance is a side-bet that dealers offer to players whenever they have an ace showing. The idea behind insurance is to protect your bet just in case the dealer has a blackjack. How Does Insurance in Blackjack Work? When a dealer has an ace showing they’ll ask you if you want insurance.

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

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.

When To Take Insurance Blackjack

Blackjack Insurance Odds

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.