How does insurance work?
When it comes to playing blackjack, there are a whole set of terms to get used to. It could be that you’re completely new to the game and so, when you take a seat at a table, seeing that insurance pays 2:1 probably means very little to you. For most people, any reference to insurance is likely to conjure up thoughts of life insurance, car insurance and home insurance. Quite how it applies to blackjack may be a mystery. Let´s take a closer look at insurance in Blackjack.
In reality, the insurance that you can take out in blackjack is actually fairly similar to the other types of insurance that you may have come across in other walks of life. In simple terms, insurance in blackjack is a payment that you’re able to make that helps to mitigate your losses. Those potential losses aren’t to do with a car or your home: instead, they’re all linked to the two cards that you have in your hand. Want to know more about how this works? Then read on.
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So, what is insurance in blackjack?
Insurance is a form of bet that you can make in blackjack. Though many blackjack strategies advise against it, it definitely is worth reading about. It’s a bet that you might want to make if you think that the dealer is likely to have a stronger hand than you do, It comes into play when considering natural blackjacks. That means that when the dealer’s upward is an ace, you’ll be offered the chance to take out insurance. That’s because if the dealer’s other card is worth 10, they will have a blackjack.
You may be wondering if it’s worth taking out an insurance bet. The way that players approach this is to look at the probabilities that are involved. Let’s say that you’re playing a six-deck game, there are then 96 cards out of the remaining 311 that could lead to the dealer achieving a blackjack. What does this really mean? Well, it means that in around one-third of cases the dealer will win and the insurance bet is there to mitigate this risk.
How does insurance in Blackjack actually work?
The cards have been dealt so you have yours and you can see that the dealer’s up card is an ace. It’s at this point that you’ll be faced with deciding whether your not you want to take out an insurance bet. If you do take insurance, you’ll find that it’s worth half the amount of your main bet and that it pays 2:1.
Let’s take a look at an example of how it could work:
- Your initial bet is $20
- You’re dealt a 6 and a 9
- You can see that the dealer has an ace
- You place an insurance bet that’s worth $10. This is alongside your original $20 bet
With the example above, let’s assume that the dealer does have a blackjack. That would mean that your initial $20 has been lost. However, you’ll now get a 2:1 payout on your insurance bet meaning that you break even. It could be the case that the dealer doesn’t have blackjack. In this instance, you lose your $10 insurance bet but you get to keep playing your hand with the $20 main bet.
Insurance in Blackjack and the math
We said a little earlier that by the time the cards have been dealt and you’ve seen that the dealer has an ace, there will then be 96 cards that are capable of giving the dealer a blackjack. That’s 96 out of the remaining 311. That means that there is a 61.47% (96/311) chance that your insurance bet will win and that you’ll break even.
While that may sound great, it’s worth considering that there are then 215 cards that could lead to the dealer not having blackjack. That means that you would lose the insurance bet 69.13% (215/311) of the time. That means that the house edge for the insurance bet is less than player-friendly! It leads to you losing 74 cents for every $10 that you wager.
Is the insurance bet a good option?
We’ve been quite vocal when it comes to any form of side bet in that all they do is increase the odds that the house will win. The insurance bet is no different. The math behind it means that taking it is unlikely to be the best option. However, there may be times when it’s worth considering.
It could be that you’re using card counting. You know that there are plenty of 10 and face cards left in the deck. In this instance, it may make sense to take the insurance bet. That being said, it’s not something that we’d generally recommend.
Insurance vs. even money
When your cards have been dealt, and when you can see that the dealer has an ace, the insurance side bet is offered. We’ve looked at what happens when the dealer has a blackjack and when he doesn’t but what if you end up holding 21? If the dealer also has a blackjack it becomes a draw. Insurance goes out of the window and even money comes in.
At the best blackjack tables, a natural blackjack will pay 3:2. However, if you take the even money offer you’ll get 1:1 for your blackjack no matter what hand the dealer has. This means that you’re unable to break even.
Other side bet options
As well as the insurance side bet, there are plenty of others that appear when playing blackjack. Some of the most common include:
- Lucky Ladies blackjack side bet
- Super Sevens blackjack side bet
- 21+3 blackjack side bet
Final thoughts
The insurance blackjack side bet is well worth knowing about. While the instances may be rare, there are odd occasions where this may well be worth taking. However, as you’ll find with all blackjack side bets, the issue with insurance is the house edge. Before you’re tempted to place that additional bet, just remember that by doing so you’re tipping things even further in the favor of the online casino.
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