Blackjack Insurance is a simple and yet often misunderstood bet. In today’s article, we will look at when (or if) you should take Insurance in blackjack.
Generally, it is never a good bet, although there are times when you may want to take it even though you know it’s not the best bet to make.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Let’s dive right in!
Blackjack Insurance is a side bet where you bet that the dealer has blackjack. It can only be made if the dealer has an Ace as their up card and after all the players have received their first two cards.
A little history on why we have the Insurance Bet
The Insurance bet in Blackjack was dreamed up by casino executives who wanted to make more money on their blackjack games.
They decided to call it ‘Insurance’ because they thought if they tied it to the player’s hand, it might convince some players to bet it more often.
And they were right because it did.
But Insurance has nothing to do with the player’s hand.You can only bet when the dealer has an Ace as their up card.
The bet you’re making is that the dealer has a blackjack.
This means you’re betting that the dealer’s hole card is a 10 or a face card.The easiest way to explain how the numbers work is to use a single deck.
(The numbers can be scaled for a double deck or a 6-deck shoe, and I’ll do that later in the article.)
There are 13 cards in a suit. There is one 10, Jack, Queen, and King.
So four cards in the suit are 10-value cards, and 9 cards are not.
Consequently, the odds of the dealer having a blackjack are 4/13, or 30.77%. (This assumes that you are not counting cards, but more on that later).
The dealer has blackjack 30.77% of the time, but that means that 61.33% of the time, he does not!
After all the players and dealer have received their first two cards, if the dealer’s up card is an Ace, the dealer will offer ‘Insurance’ to the players.
The player(s) may place up to half their initial bet in the area marked as ‘Insurance’ on the layout.
This is an additional bet that the dealer has a blackjack.
Note that the player’s hand has nothing to do with it.
If the dealer does have a blackjack, the Insurance bet wins and is paid 2 to 1. So for every $10 bet, the player is paid $20.
If the player has a blackjack, the player’s hand is a push. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, the Insurance bet loses, and the dealer takes it.
As we’ve noted, you should never take Insurance.
However, there may be a time when it makes sense for you to do it – and here’s a perfect example:
Let’s say you’re playing a Paroli system, and your philosophy is to play for five winners in a row.
This is a fairly aggressive way to play – and won’t be successful most of the time, but when it is, the payoff is significant.
And let’s say your initial bet is $25.
If you’ve decided to play for five winners in a row and used the Paroli system, you will have a $400 bet on the fifth hand.
Here’s what it looks like:
- Win the first hand. Now you have $50.
- Win the second hand. Now you have $100.
- Win the third hand. Now you have $200.
- Win the fourth hand. Now you have $400 and bet it.
This is a considerable amount if your initial bet is $25.
And what if you now get a blackjack, and the dealer has an Ace as their up card?
Of course, for the hardcore ‘I never take Insurance’ player, there is no decision to be made. You never take Insurance because it is never a good bet for the player.
You let the hand play out, and if the dealer has a blackjack, it’s a push, and the game goes on.
If the dealer does not have a blackjack, your blackjack wins, and you get paid $600 for your $400 bet. (Because you’re playing on a 3 – 2 table, not the 6 – 5 table, right?).
And you take your $1,000 down and return to your initial bet of $25.
However, taking Insurance might be a good bet for you.
Here’s why:
If the dealer has a blackjack and you don’t take Insurance, your hand is a push.
And that means that your $400 bet stays in place and becomes your bet for the next hand. That puts your $400 bet back in action, and it is the last bet in your ‘I need to win five in a row’ sequence.
And you may not be happy with it going back into the fray. But if you take Insurance, one way or another, your $400 bet will get paid a total of $400.
How does that work?
Your Insurance bet is a bet that the dealer has a blackjack.
You can bet up to half of your initial bet as Insurance, so with a $400 initial bet. You can make a $200 bet on Insurance.
If the dealer has a blackjack, your initial bet is a push, but your Insurance pays 2 to 1.
And you get paid 2 x $200, which is $400.
If the dealer doesn’t have blackjack, your initial bet wins with your blackjack, and the Insurance loses.
So at 3 – 2, your $400 gets paid $600, but you lose the $200 Insurance bet you made, so you end up with $600 - $200, which is $400.
As you can see, either way, you get paid $400.
This is why it’s often referred to as taking ‘Even Money,’ because if you have a blackjack and take full Insurance, the net result, whether the dealer has a blackjack or not, is that you get paid the amount of your initial bet.
Of course, if you’re playing a blackjack game that only pays 6 – 5 on blackjack, it’s not ‘Even Money,’ and the hand will play out.
It’s worth noting that the House Advantage against you is increased by 1.39% if the casino pays 6 to 5 on blackjack versus the 3 to 2 that is the usual payout.
For a game that typically holds 1% or so, a House Advantage change of 1.39% against you is huge.
And that’s why you should never consider playing blackjack on a 6 to 5 game.
Yes, Insurance is the same thing as ‘Even Money.’
Dealers frequently offer ‘Even Money’ because their supervisors instruct them to present it that way. The win for the dealers is that it’s easier for them to deal with than going through the ‘put up the Insurance bet, possibly making a change to get it done, then paying and taking the bets, etc.
Often the dealers don’t know that they are asked to offer ‘Even Money’ to the players because Even Money is better for the casino’s bottom line.
A typical 6-deck shoe has 96 possible winning cards out of 311 unseen in the shoe. (There are 312 cards in 6 decks, but you already know the dealer’s up card is an Ace, and I will ignore the cards in your hand because they’re irrelevant to the Insurance bet).
There are 96 cards that will cause the Insurance bet to win.
There are 215 cards that will cause the Insurance bet to lose.
Insurance pays 2 to 1, so 96 x 2 = 192. 192/311 = 61.74%
So the player will win 61.74% of the Insurance bets they make.311 – 96 = 215. 215/311 = 69.13%
So the player will lose 69.13% of the Insurance bets they make.
This means that the House Advantage is the difference between what the player will win and what the player will lose.
So 69.13% – 61.74% = 7.39% House Edge
And 7.39% on a game that typically has a House Advantage of approximately 1% is a massive House Advantage to give up.
This is why Insurance is just a side bet; like every side bet, you should never bet on it.
So overall, there is never a good reason to take Insurance.
And my recommendation is that you never do.
There is only one change to Basic Strategy if you’re counting cards and considering taking Insurance.
If the true count is +3 or more, take Insurance.
It means that the shoe is rich in 10-value cards, and the likelihood of the dealer having a blackjack is correspondingly increased.
That’s the only change.
Final Thoughts
There you have my thoughts on this often-misunderstood topic.
Insurance is merely a side bet that offers no value to a blackjack player and should be ignored whenever offered.
I hope this article has given you some insight into taking Insurance in blackjack. Of course, make sure to check out my other Academy guides to become a master at the game.
And, as always, good luck.
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