Blog Posted on 22/11/2022 | Author: Karen Macarthur

Blackjack Insurance Bet: What is it and How it’s played?

The game of Blackjack comes with a variety of standard and side betting options. One such Blackjack side bet type that’s quite popular in the casino gambling world is the Insurance wager. Continue reading as we explore the basics of the Insurance side bet and explain how it works in the game of Blackjack.

What is Insurance in Blackjack?

Insurance is a side betting option that can be found in almost all Poker variations. As a player, you can benefit from this Blackjack side wager only if the dealer’s up card turns out to be an Ace. In other words, you’re wagering that the dealer will have a total score of 21 (a Blackjack).

Unlike double down and other standard bet types in Blackjack, placing the Insurance side wager isn’t mandatory. When playing at a land-based gambling venue, the dealer will ask players whether they wish to go with this betting option by saying “Insurance Open”. To use this side betting option, you’ll need to place a wager that’s half the size of your initial bet. Upon winning, the Insurance side wager pays 2:1.

How does the Blackjack insurance wager work?

As with the side betting options in many other online casino games, understanding the working of the Blackjack insurance bet is easy. As mentioned earlier, you need to place an additional wager that’s half your initial stake if you want to go with the Insurance side bet. So, if the size of the main wager is £6, you’ll have to place a bet worth £3 to use the Insurance betting option.

Then after dealing the cards, the dealer will take a look at the hole card. This is done to check whether the value of their card is 10 or not. There are several different outcomes that are possible at this point in the game. First, the player would lose his insurance wager if the dealer doesn’t have a Blackjack. If in case both the player and the dealer have a Blackjack, the result will be a push. Here, the player will receive an amount equal to what they’d initially wagered.

At some Blackjack tables, you may be able to place an Insurance bet for less than half of your initial stake size. But that’s somewhat less common. It’s worth noting that some experienced Blackjack players use partial to decrease the variance in Multihand Blackjack and other Blackjack titles. For players who don’t know, variance is a measure of the difference between the anticipated advantage and the actual outcomes.

When should I go with the Insurance bet?

According to Blackjack experts, you must try to use the Insurance betting option only when the dealer’s face-up card is an Ace and the value of your hand is 15 or higher. So, even if you happen to lose the Insurance bet, you’ll still have the chance to win the gameplay round by having a Blackjack.

Statistically speaking, more than half of the insurance wagers made are lost on average. And considering the payout that Insurance bets have, they may not always be the best side betting option to go with.

The case of even-money payout

At some casinos, you will find that the insurance wager is excluded from the Blackjack table. This is done to increase the overall speed of the gameplay. Also, it increases the hourly profits that casinos get from the Blackjack tables. Now you might be thinking how is that achieved? Well, casinos do that by returning even money to players who have a Blackjack. This is in contrast to the Blackjack Switch and other standard Blackjack games where a 3:2 payout is offered for having Blackjacks.

 As a novice player, you might be enticed to accept the even-payout offer, thinking you’ll get a guaranteed payout no matter what cards the dealer receives. But let us tell you that this is not really the case. If you carefully analyze, you’ll notice that the working of the even-money payout and the Insurance side bet are essentially the same.

Conclusion

Insurance is an interesting side wager to place in the game of Blackjack. But there’s also a lot of hype and Blackjack myths surrounding it. Of course, Insurance adds that extra bit of thrill to your Blackjack gameplay, but it’s also important to remember that it may not always be the best betting option – for both “good” hands and Blackjacks. If you want to go with this Blackjack side bet, make sure to consider the odds and other things that we’ve mentioned in this article.