Blackjack is a simple game with few rules: you bet against the dealer and try not to score over or under 21. That's it. That is until casinos decided to spice the game up with side bets and introduced an (unnecessary) conundrum into the gameplay. Blackjack insurance is one such puzzle.
We've already hinted that this is a bad bet, but if you want to learn more about insurance in blackjack, why you should avoid it in most situations, and what the blackjack insurance odds are, stay with us.
What Is Insurance in Blackjack?
Let's start with the most basic question: What is insurance in blackjack?
Blackjack insurance is the most common optional side bet in blackjack, letting you cover yourself against the dealer's blackjack in situations when they have an ace as the upcard.
When placing the insurance bet, you are basically betting that the dealer's second card will be a ten or a picture card, resulting in 21. You win if the dealer gets a blackjack and get paid at 2:1 odds.
If their card is not a ten-value card, you lose your insurance bet.
The Math Behind Blackjack Insurance - What Are the Odds?
Let's break down the math behind the insurance blackjack wager so you can make a more informed choice.
Let's assume you are playing blackjack online with a single deck and a $2 insurance bet; in this scenario, the ratio of ten-value cards to non-tens is 16 (four tens, four jacks, four queens, and four kings) to 36.
Now, let's assume the dealer is holding an ace as the upcard and asks if you want to place the insurance bet. The ratio of non-ten-value cards to ten-value cards is now 35 to 16 (if we disregard the composition of your hand). In other words:
- 35 times you make the $2 insurance wager, you lose $70 (the total of times the dealer doesn't have a ten-value card)
- 16 times you make the same wager, and the dealer has a ten in the hole, you win $64 (knowing that the bet pays to 2:1).
If you'd go for insurance every single time, you'd be looking at a net loss of $6 (you lost $70 against $64 in winnings). If we calculate the disadvantage by dividing $6 (winnings) by $102 (investment), we get roughly 5.9%, which is the house edge.
As you can see, the payoff odds for blackjack insurance are lower than the true odds of landing a ten-value card; if they were even, the casino would pay slightly over $4 for every time you get the bet right. But it doesn't, meaning that the math is tilted in the casino's favour.
Should You Insure Your Hand?
Blackjack rules don't explicitly advise against the insurance bet. However, if you find yourself in any of the following situations, apply common sense and simple math to determine your next move:
If You Have a Low Hand
You should consider going for insurance if you have a low hand, say 16 or below. If you draw another card, you will likely bust, so the insurance wager can counter some of your losses.
If You Have a Good Hand
Let's say you have a 20, and the dealer has an ace. Some players would advise to insure the bet because even if the dealer doesn't pull a ten in the hole, they will have a hard time beating your 20. Also, you will avoid losing a bet on a good hand.
However, if we look at the composition of cards, if you have a 20, two of the eight ten-value cards are already in the game, reducing the odds for the dealer to get a ten in the hole. In such a situation, the house edge increases to a whopping 14.5%, making a good hand the worst moment to consider insuring your hand.
If You Have a Blackjack Hand - Even Money
If you have a blackjack and the dealer lands an ace, you are in the "even money" situation, which is basically the same as an insurance bet.
Let's assume you put up a $10 bet on a $5 insurance wager, and the dealer gets a blackjack; you will win $10 on the 2-1 payoff. Should the dealer fail, you win $15 on the 3-2 payoff, but you lose your insurance wager of $5, amounting to a net gain of $10.
To get this right, the dealer must fail to pull out a 10-value card—and the dealer will get the right card less than 31 percent of the time. If they don't tie your blackjack, you're in for a $15 win on the original $10 wager. The odds in this situation, as you can see, are not in your favour, so it makes little sense to gamble away those $5.
It takes more than a basic strategy to pull this off; you must be really good at counting cards in blackjack to do it right, so we'd advise you to refrain from it.
Other Types of Blackjack Side Bets
Apart from the main wager - whether your hand will beat the dealer's - there are additional bets in blackjack. These other kinds of side bets typically offer higher payouts than the standard blackjack wager, but they come with higher house edges, meaning they are riskier.
Apart from insurance, here are some of the most popular side bets in blackjack:
- Perfect pairs are when you wager on whether the player's first two cards will form a pair, and if so, what type of pair it will be (perfect pair, coloured pair, or mixed pair). For a perfect pair, the initial two cards must be identical in rank and suit; coloured pair means they're identical in rank and colour but different suits; and mixed pair is when the cards are of the same rank but different suits. Typically, payouts for this side bet range from 6:1 to 30:1.
- 21+3 is when you combine your first two cards with the dealer's upcard to form a three-card poker hand, with payouts based on the strength of the poker hand formed (e.g., flush, straight, three of a kind). Payouts on 21+3 vary from one casino to another.
- Bust It means betting on whether the dealer will bust and, if so, how many cards it will take for the dealer to bust, with varying payouts.
- Lucky Ladies side bet involves betting on the total of the player's first two cards being 20. The higher the total, the higher the payout, with the highest payout typically awarded for two Queen of Hearts totalling 20.
- In Over/Under 13, you try to predict if the sum of your first two cards will be over or under 13; payouts are usually even money.
