On this page we’ll try to debunk the myths surrounding Blackjack Insurance and Even Money bets and explain why they are considered a sucker bet. These two bets are practically the same, their purpose is to insure yourself against dealer having a blackjack. The only difference is your hand value in each particular situation: if you have a natural (meaning blackjack) then you are offered even money, in all other cases – insurance.

1. What Does Insure The Bet Mean In Blackjack
2. What Does It Mean To Insure Bet In Blackjack
3. What Does Insure Bet Mean In Blackjack Terms

Blackjack Insurance

The insurance bet pays off at 2-to-1 odds, which means that you break even on the hand. If the dealer checks and there is not a card underneath that completes a two-card 21, you will LOSE the insurance bet and both sides will play out the rest of the hand as normal. Blackjack Insurance If the dealer’s face up card is an Ace, and you don’t hold a blackjack, then you will be offered to place insurance bet, which can be worth up to half of your original bet. Then, if the dealer reveals a blackjack, you lose your original bet, but paid 2 to 1 on the side bet. Insurance is a side bet, and has nothing to do with the results of your blackjack hand.You are simply betting that the dealer has a ten in the hole. If he does, you win 2-to-1. It is not a “push” for your hand. For example, you have a $100 bet on the table. 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.

If the dealer’s face up card is an Ace, and you don’t hold a blackjack, then you will be offered to place insurance bet, which can be worth up to half of your original bet. Then, if the dealer reveals a blackjack, you lose your original bet, but paid 2 to 1 on the side bet. That’s the reason why this is called insurance, because it protects you from dealer’s blackjack. If on the other hand, the dealer doesn’t pull a 10-value card, you lose the insurance bet, while your original wager is settled in a usual way.

Insurance Rules and Odds

1. First, it’s important to understand that insurance is a side bet, meaning it has no influence on your original wager, which in either case will be completed as usual. Similar to all side bets, it carries higher house edge than the basic game.

2. Second, whether insurance is a good or a bad has nothing to do with the value of your hand. Insurance gives you a chance to protect yourself against a dealer’s blackjack and it makes just as much sense to insure on 17 as it does when you have a hand totaling 20. Whether you win or lose the side bet depends solely on the dealer’s hole card, while your hand wins or loses regardless of whether or not you take the insurance bet.

3. Furthermore, you know the dealer will get blackjack around 4 out of 13 times, which is 31%. Since you’re getting 2-1 odds on insurance, you need to be right 1 out of 3 times. In other words, you need to be right 33% of the time just to break-even and that’s not going to happen.

Example

Let’s say that you place a $5 insurance bet 13 times. You will win 4 times earning $40 ($10×4). You will lose 9 times – $45. Final result: minus $5, which means that in the long run, you will lose 7.7% on all your insurance bets. Doesn’t really sound like a smart move.

Are there any exceptions: if you are counting cards then yes. See the last chapter.

Even Money

If the player has blackjack and the dealer is showing an ace, then the player will be offered even money, which means getting paid 1 to 1 on blackjack rather than the usual 3 to 2. If the player doesn’t take even money and the dealer gets blackjack, then we get a tie which results in push. Even money is basically insurance against a push when you have blackjack. Taking this bet guarantees that you will get a payout, but after a quick check, you will find that even money is a horrible bet.

Even Money Odds

Let’s analyse both scenarios: First, the dealer is going to push on your blackjack around 31% of the time. The probability of the dealer getting a Ten, Jack, Queen, or King can be counted by seeing how many of these cards are in the shoe. There’s four of each card, meaning there are 16 cards out of the 52 in the deck to give dealer a blackjack. Even with more decks in the shoe, the probability remains pretty much the same, which is a bit less than 31%. (We will ignore those minor differences in order not to complicate things). Thus, your chances of winning and getting a payout of 3 to 2 are 69% of the time (actually a bit more than that).

Let’s take a closer look at the difference in payouts when you take and don’t take even money. If your original bet is $100, then the expected value of taking even money is $100. That’s simple to understand.

If you don’t take the even money bet, then as we’ve already established, you have a 69.24% chance of getting a 3 to 2 payout. So the expected value of your hand is 69.24% x $150 = $104 (actually a bit less but you get the point).

So for a $100 bet, you’re better off by around $4 if you refuse the even money. It’s that simple. Of course, the casino is happy to offer this option and increase the house edge, and you will kick the table every now and then for not getting paid 3/2, but once the dust settles, you will end up with more chips in front of you and that’s all that counts.

When it’s Worth Taking Insurance or Even Money?

There is one exception to this rule and that’s when the odds of the dealer to get a 10 value card are higher than 33%. The only way you can spot this opportunity is by counting cards. For example, in a single deck game, if you know that one 10 value-card is out, vs. 7 non-10 value cards, dealer’s odds of getting a natural are 15/44, or 34%. In that case insurance and even money are beneficial.

We state that just to complete the picture, but unless you are a card counter, never take insurance in Blackjack.

Related Posts

Although blackjack is one of the simpler card games to learn as a gambler, there are some high-level techniques that can make you money. One of the not-so-high-level techniques is one that we can all easily apply to our game: just stop taking insurance bets.

Insurance is a sucker’s side bet that is offered when the dealer upcards an ace. You can only take this bet up until the dealer checks the hole card. If insurance is taken and the player is not holding blackjack, they must wager half of their original wager. If blackjack is then drawn by the dealer, with a card valued at 10, insurance is paid out as double (2:1) the insurance wager.

Insurance bets go even deeper, though, extending to players who hold a natural blackjack in hand. These players can take what is called “maximum insurance” to forfeit the winning 3:2 payout for an even-money (1:1) payout.

To understand why the insurance bet is an attractive option for some gamblers, you need some basic card knowledge. When a dealer upcards an ace, the chance for them to draw a card valued at 10 is less than one in three. Placing an insurance bet is protection against this common outcome.

Side bets and bet hedging are tactics that make inexperienced gamblers feel safer, but biting on an insurance bet is almost always going to cost you. Let’s talk about why.

What Does Insure The Bet Mean In Blackjack

The Math Behind Insurance Bets

The “insurance” side bet in blackjack is given this name so that players feel like their hand is being protected. We often attribute insurance to being a positive and reassuring thing. However, that’s not the case in blackjack. Rather than a true form of insurance, you’re just committing to an additional bet that the dealer holds a natural blackjack.

The odds against the dealer having a natural blackjack when their upcard is an ace is 9:4. This alone should be enough to tell any savvy player that the bet simply isn’t worth it. Theoretically, the 2:1 payout odds on an insurance bet puts this at 8:9—still disadvantageous for the player. So, if you were to make 100 insurance bets of $10, you’d win around 31 of them for $620. This means you would lose 69 of those bets for $690.

This same logic applies when you’re holding blackjack. If you take the insurance bet, you’re either going to win the $10 on your bet and push or lose the $5 insurance bet while winning your $15 blackjack hand. What’s the point? You’re winning $10 one way or another. However, without taking the insurance bet, you’re going to average roughly $10.38 per blackjack.

Insurance bets are a ruse that sounds great until you break it down into numbers. This holds true with betting systems like Martingale, too. These are parts of blackjack that prey on the uninformed.

Should You Ever Take Insurance in Blackjack?

Yes and no. There are rare instances where the odds are so in favor of the dealer drawing a card valued at 10 after upcarding an ace that you technically should take the insurance bet. However, it requires an expert grasp of card counting. Some gamblers even form a card-counting team to do this.

Amateur and hobby gamblers aren’t going to be well-versed in card counting until they get down the basics, but after you have learned this valuable skill, finding opportunities to take insurance could be the last squeeze of optimization you can get out of your blackjack game.

Because of this, it’s not fair to say that you should absolutely never place a bet on insurance—though it’s a safe rule to play by. For those of you who are skilled in card counting, let’s talk more about this option.

The Exception: When to Bet on Insurance

Like most rules of gambling, there is an exception. If you are a high-level player that is talented at card counting, you can place an insurance bet where the odds favor you—when the deck is over one in three cards valued at 10.

Card counting to make an inference on if the remainder of the deck is heavy on 10s requires intense concentration and sharp thinking. Many of the experts who practice this specific blackjack skill have the percentages memorized and mapped out in their heads.

Card counting is a completely separate animal from insurance, though, so I suggest you only take up this option when you find time to master that skill. Also worth considering is that many casinos will flat-out give you the boot if you’re caught counting cards. Surprising that they aren’t interested in playing with educated gamblers who take their money, right? Luckily, that’s not an issue you have to worry about at the best online blackjack sites.

That being said, a strict diet of insurance avoidance is a healthy way to play. If you follow this rule and manage your bankroll properly, you’re already doing better than many blackjack players out there. Learning to count cards and play into side bets is just the cherry on top.

Closing Remarks

What Does It Mean To Insure Bet In Blackjack

Insurance is a trap that many blackjack players who think they’re being smart and savvy fall into. You have to think, “Why would the house even give me this option if it didn’t favor them?” Casinos are set up to beat you through schemes like this, and the only way you make it out on top it to fully understand and develop strategies to beat them.

Learn to discipline yourself against placing bets on insurance. The next step is to eventually learn card counting. After, you can optionally adjust your insurance strategy to take this bet whenever the remaining 10-value cards are in your favor.

What Does Insure Bet Mean In Blackjack Terms

As an amateur player, it’s important not to overcomplicate the game when you’re at the blackjack table. Luckily, eliminating the thought of ever taking insurance is a completely viable strategy that everyone can adopt today. It’s not hard to learn blackjack, and insurance just overcomplicates it.