Blackjack Insurance

It works just like any other type of insurance, but at the casino, you’re not insuring your house or your car, you’re insuring your blackjack hand.

Players are offered insurance each time the dealer´s up-card is an ace. It’s actually a bet that gives the player a chance to protect his hand in case the dealer has blackjack, which is an ace with a ten or face card.

How Does Insurance in Blackjack Work?

It´s rather simple.

In the US, each round of blackjack begins with the dealer dealing two cards to all the players and two cards to himself.

In Europe, the dealer does not take his second card until the players have played out their hands.

In all games using a card shoe, both players’ cards are dealt face-up. In handheld games, both players’ cards are dealt face-down.

But in either version of blackjack, the dealer’s first card is dealt face-up. Seeing the dealer’s face-up card is what generates the player’s strategy whether to hit, stand, double-down or split.

When that up-card is an ace, the dealer automatically announces that insurance is for sale. The terms of that sale are that the player bets one-half of his original bet.

An example: The player bets $100 on his hand. He is dealt a pair of tens, a very strong hand of twenty that can only be beaten by twenty-one. When the dealer has an ace showing, he already has half the blackjack. He would need only a ten or face-card “in the hole” to have that twenty-one to beat the player’s very strong hand. So, the player buys $50 of insurance to insure his hand of twenty.

When to Buy Insurance

Players who do buy insurance usually do so because they have a strong hand, and they fear losing their bets when the dealer has blackjack.

So, in fact, when buying insurance, you’re betting that the dealer does have blackjack. Yes, you read that right. You’re actually hoping the dealer beats your hand with blackjack before there’s a chance to hit or stand.

But does it pay for the players to buy insurance when their hand is weak? Usually not.

With most table rules, Insurance pays 2:1 (2 to 1 is the proper way to write it.)

So, if the dealer indeed has the 10-value card in the hole, the player wins his $50 insurance bet for which he’s paid 2 to 1, $100. And the hand is over. The player wins $100 on his insurance bet and loses his original $100 bet on his hand.

Thus, he effectively breaks even and successfully maintains his hand of twenty. Had he not bought insurance, he would have simply lost his original $100 bet.

What happens when that same player buys insurance on the same hand and the dealer does not have blackjack?

Well, that is the worst-case scenario for the player. He would lose his $100 insurance bet, then his original bet would be at risk as well. If he loses that, by way of the dealer not having blackjack but drawing out to twenty-one, his total loss for the hand is $200.

Should You Insure Your Hand When You Have Blackjack?

Most players do. By doing so, you’re ensuring that if you and the dealer both have blackjack, you will be paid even money.

Players who choose this option generally call out to the dealer “Even Money,” which signals the dealer to do just that.

If you don’t insure your blackjack and the dealer doesn’t have blackjack, you’re simply paid 3:2 or 6:5, depending on the payout rule of the particular casino.