Blackjack Insurance

In the game of Blackjack, where ever you may find yourself playing it, either online or in a live casino, you will most likely be offered the opportunity to take insurance on a hand of blackjack. A lot of people have opinions on if and when you should wager money on the chance that the dealer/house may have a “Blackjack” or “Natural 21”, when showing an “Ace” as an up card. By accepting to insure your hand, you are betting up to half of your original bet, that the dealer has a ten valued card underneath his or her “Ace” If you place this bet, and the dealer has anything other than a ten, jack, queen, king under the “Ace” that is shown, you lose that insurance bet.

Is Insurance a Good Bet in Blackjack?

Some people will always insure their twenty point hands, some will insure any hand, if they feel in their gut that the dealer may have the blackjack. Some people will base their decisions on whether or not they think the dealer is due for one, or if the dealer has been consistently hot or cold all day. Some will base it on what they think is a pattern of cards, that they have picked up on, by looking at the cards before the dealer's hole card, in relation to the cards that proceeded the dealer's hidden, down card.

Some players actually count cards, as a skill, which gives them the ability to know how many ten valued cards are remaining in the shoe in comparison to how many small cards are remaining in the shoe. Some players claim to always take insurance, some players claim to never take insurance, some players simply randomly chose when to take the bet.

Well, let's look at the math of the matter. Most basic strategies will tell you to never take insurance, and mathematically, the odds are against the dealer having a Blackjack, or Natural 21, which is a ten valued card and an “Ace” combined as the initial or original two cards dealt to the dealer.

Sometimes, when we have a bigger wager out there, and a really nice looking pair of face cards, that we would lose, if the dealer does have the Blackjack, some of us get caught up in to the fear and end up posting a second bet, half of the original amount bet, trying to “protect” the winning hand.

There are some undesirable outcomes that can arise from this way of thinking. First undesirable outcome is, what if your twenty is a winning hand, and the dealer has nineteen, you then only win half of your original bet, because you spent the other half, “Protecting” your winning hand. You could also look at that as you lost  half of your bet, on a winning hand. I mean, when you placed the original bet, you were betting that you were going to win that hand, once you place a wager on the insurance line, you are now betting that your hand will lose, and hoping you lose by the dealer getting a Blackjack.

The second undesirable outcome, or as I like to call it, the “Doh!” moment, you are dealt a twenty, dealer shows an “Ace”, you get scared, place an insurance bet, the dealer flips over a little card, you lose your insurance bet, the dealer hits his hand, and draws to twenty-one, you lose your original bet.

Moral of that lesson, of course, is that twenty is not a for sure winner, every time.  The only “winning hands” are the ones that get paid.

There are also times when the dealer, in a live game, could accidentally show his or her hole card, when dealing, exposing that he or she does have a Blackjack, the house, in the situation, will usually still allow you to insure your hand, it's important to remember, insurance is a great thing to have, when the dealer has blackjack. It prevents you from losing any money on the hand, so if you know the dealer has it, because you saw it ahead of time, and you are still offered the option of taking insurance, it is reasonable that you place the bet.

This, of course sounds like a no-brainer to a lot of people, but I only say this, because I have actually seen players refuse to take insurance, even though the dealer showed the player that the house had a blackjack, but claimed that they “never take insurance” and won't this time either. A portion of those players also claimed they felt it would be unfair for them to take the bet, when they were inadvertently informed that the bet would pay off.

Be Consistent On Blackjack Insurance

Insurance is an other one of those aspects of Blackjack, that I like to advise players to decide on whether to take the bet, the same way, every time. If you try to out-guess the cards, you will find yourself frustrated most likely. Playing consistently and not deviating from rules you have made for yourself, prevents a lot of times where you are going to want to kick yourself for doing what you always do.