Blackjack Insurance: What’s and How It Works

Blackjack Insurance When to Take It?

Insurance is among the most popular side bets in blackjack, which seems like a good deal at first glance. After all, insurance is a bet that pays off 2-1 if the dealer has a blackjack. But is insurance a good bet?

This article will look if it’s a good bet. We’ll also discuss how insurance works and how you can use it to your advantage.

What to know about Blackjack Insurance

BI is a type of bet available to players when the dealer shows an Ace as their upcard. It is offered at a price of half the player’s original bet and pays off at 2 to 1 odds if the dealer has a Blackjack. The insurance bet is a side bet taken from the player’s main bet, thus a separate entity.

How Blackjack Insurance Works

The insurance bet is essentially a bet that the dealer has a Blackjack. It pays off at 2 to 1 odds, which means that for every dollar bet, the player will win two dollars back if the dealer does have a Blackjack. 

The blackjack bet is provided when the dealer shows an Ace as their upcard and is only offered on the player’s first hand of the game.

The insurance bet is offered at half of the player’s original bet. So, if the player bets $10 on their hand, the insurance bet would cost $5. The $5 insurance bet pays off at 2 to 1 odds, so if the dealer does have a Blackjack, the player will win their $5 bet back, plus an additional $10. 

In total, the player will receive $15 back from their $10 bet for a profit of $5.

If the player does not want to take out insurance in an online casino, they decline the offer and play their hand as usual. Players should note that the insurance bet pays off even if the player has a Blackjack, as this is a separate bet.

While the insurance bet may seem like a good idea initially, it is a terrible bet for the player. The dealer’s odds of having a Blackjack when they show an Ace as their upcard is only 3 in 4 or 25%. 

This means that for every four times the insurance bet is offered, the dealer will only have a Blackjack one of those times.

In the long run, the player will lose money on the insurance bet. For every $4 bet on insurance, the player will only win back $5, resulting in a net loss of $1. In the short term, the player can come out ahead on the insurance bet, but it is a losing proposition in the long run.

Some players think insurance is a good bet because they are protecting their blackjack against a dealer’s blackjack. But the odds are against you, and the house edge is high. Unless you are counting cards, you should never take insurance.

Strategies to Mitigate Losses Associated

Some strategies can be used to mitigate the losses associated with the Insurance Bet, including:

The most common of these is only to take out when the player has a Blackjack themselves. This way, if the dealer does have a Blackjack, the player will only lose their original bet and not their insurance bet as well.

Another strategy is to take out insurance when the player has a strong hand, such as a 20 or 21. This way, even if the dealer has a Blackjack, the player has a good chance of winning their hand, thus offsetting the insurance bet’s loss. Remember, if you want to know more about Vegas Aces, check our social media and be aware of every news.

FAQs Blackjack Insurance