What is Blackjack Insurance?
When we hear the term insurance, what comes to mind most of the time is health insurance or auto insurance. But do you know you can also get insurance while playing blackjack? Yes, that’s right. Now, the question is, how does it work? Is it mandatory for all players to take the bet? Keep reading to find out all you need to know about blackjack insurance.
Blackjack Insurance Explained
After the house has dealt the cards to everyone on the blackjack table, players get the chance to take the insurance bet once they notice the dealer has an ace. Every player is dealt two cards to start the game. One card is dealt face-up, while the other is unexposed. A player can take insurance the moment they discover the dealer’s hand to be an ace.
The reason for taking blackjack insurance is simple. It prevents you from losing your total bet when the dealer reveals his other hand to be a ten and ends up having blackjack. Again, blackjack insurance is a bet you make when the odds are in favor of the dealer having blackjack. Without this, your money goes down the drain.
Should You Take Blackjack Insurance?
If you are a pro at counting cards, then taking the insurance wouldn’t be an issue. However, the tricky part of the bet is that you can only place half your original wager as insurance. So, if you are placing a bet of $20 as your initial bet, you can only take insurance for $10. You cannot always be sure that the dealer will have a hand of 10 once they reveal their second card. Hence, the chances of you losing the bet are high if you are not good at card counting.
The pros in the game have their way of knowing when the odds will be in their favor. They also know when to make the insurance call. Therefore, if you want to take insurance in blackjack, be sure to hone your card-counting skills. This way, you can figure out the number of 10-point cards left on the table and the odds that the next card the dealer picks will yield blackjack.
Is Blackjack Insurance Profitable?
If you are playing the game for a night, it might be a clever way to make a little profit on the side, but in the long run, taking blackjack insurance might not be worth it. This is because your winning depends on the dealer having a ten as his second hand, and for each insurance bet you take, your probability of winning is only 30%.
A payout of 2:1 does not diminish the fact that the casino gets 3% of your earnings even if you win the insurance bet. Summing all these together with your losses when the dealer does not make blackjack is not in your favor if you are in the game for the long run.
