Blackjack Insurance Bet – Is It A Good Bet?

Why Do Casinos Offer The Insurance Bet?

The word Insurance means an arrangement or deal of sorts that you accept from an institution that provides a guarantee or compensation for a determined damage or loss. Looking at this meaning, players understand that the Blackjack Insurance Bet will compensate or protect them for a loss. This is why casinos offer the Insurance Bet, as a means of protecting you. While this is true, many critics claim that this is a perceived protection and the details of the Insurance Bet confirm this. The most important details of the Blackjack Insurance bet are:

1. It is a side bet and does not increase your chances of winning.
2. You’re not insuring anything, you are betting on the dealer getting a blackjack.

Simple Math of The Insurance Wager

Earlier, we discussed a $10 original wager and a $5 insurance wager. In this example, when the dealer had a blackjack you won $10 but lost your original $10 bet. The $10 in your original bet is the same amount you won in the Blackjack Insurance bet – this is called even money. In even money the odds are 50/50 – pretty easy right? However when the payoff odds are less than the real odds of winning you are at a loss. 

The odds of a dealer having a 10 value card in the hole and the ratio of non 10 value cards to 10 value cards is important. In a single deck this ratio is 36 to 16. Let’s assume a perfect opportunity to use the Blackjack Insurance bet – the dealer’s up card is an Ace and proceeds to ask you if you want to take insurance. In this example you bet $1 on insurance. We are going to ignore the two cards dealt to you for now. Looking at the ratio of non 10 value cards to 10 value cards means that:

• If you made a $1 insurance bet and the dealer didn’t get blackjack 35 times you would lose a total of $35
• If the dealer did get blackjack, you would win 16 times, winning a total of $32
• After playing through the deck, you would lose $35 and win $32, making the net loss $3

Examples to Better Illustrate the Concept of Insurance in Blackjack

Example 1: The player is dealt a hand valued at 12, and the dealer is showing an Ace. In this scenario, it would be a good strategy for the player to make an insurance bet, as the odds of the dealer having a blackjack are higher. If the dealer does have a blackjack, the player will win the insurance bet and recoup some of their losses.

Example 2: The player is dealt a hand valued at 20, and the dealer is showing an Ace. In this scenario, it would not be recommended for the player to make an insurance bet, as the odds of the dealer having a blackjack are lower. The player would be better off focusing on their hand and trying to win the game without making an insurance bet.

In Conclusion

We think that you should try all possible bets at least once. The Blackjack Insurance bet isn’t a long term strategy but it can be used in favorable circumstances.  We recommend reading through our online blackjack strategy guides, master that then move onto opportunities where blackjack insurance is the best bet. On a positive note, when you notice that you’re looking for opportunities to use the insurance bet this means you are enroute to card counting! Lucky Creek has a formidable live dealer Blackjack game selection available for every one of our customers!

See our other blog articles filled with online Blackjack tips and tricks to spruce up your hand when facing the dealer

• Live Dealer Blackjack Guide
• Biggest Blackjack Wins in History
• Hit and Stand Blackjack
• The Future Of Live Casino
• Where To Play Blackjack in California
• Blackjack Side Bets