One of the classic casino games is blackjack! It is a widely played banking game in which a player competes with the dealer rather than with other players. This game descended from the popular game Twenty-One, which uses a deck of 52 cards.
In this game, the dealer faces five to nine cards behind the semicircular table. These cards will be shuffled together and kept between one and eight. To start each round, players place their bets in the ‘betting box’ at each position. Usually, the player on the left of the dealer starts betting when there are more than two players. The next players bet clockwise.
The goal is to get the sum of twenty-one and the first person to get that sum wins.
What Is Insurance In Blackjack?
Table Of Contents
- 1 What Is Insurance In Blackjack?
- 2 How Does Insurance Work In Blackjack?
- 3 Does Insurance Matter If I Hit Blackjack As Well?
- 4 When Should You Consider Taking Insurance?
- 5 What Happens To Your Main Bet If You Take Insurance?
- 6 Even Money vs. Insurance: What’s The Difference?
- 7 Why Most Players Should Avoid Taking Insurance?
- 8 Analyzing The House Edge On Insurance Bets
- 9 The Math Behind Insurance: Is It Worth It?
- 10 FAQs
Insurance in blackjack is a side bet in blackjack where the player wagers half of their original bet on whether the dealer has a natural blackjack.
If the dealer does not have blackjack, the player loses their insurance bet and the game continues as usual. Insurance is generally considered a bad bet since the odds of the dealer with the insurance bet are high.
How Does Insurance Work In Blackjack?
The purpose of this insurance is to protect the player in case the dealer has a blackjack.
When the dealer’s face-up card is an ace, the dealer mostly offers the player insurance before continuing to play.
To buy insurance, the player must place a bet on the insurance line on the blackjack table. This bet could be up to half the player’s actual bet. If the dealer has blackjack, the player who placed an insurance bet will win a 2:1 payout, which means the player will receive twice the amount of the original insurance. If the dealer does not have a blackjack, the player loses the bet but the game will continue. The player’s original bet can still result in a win or loss depending on the game’s outcome.
Does Insurance Matter If I Hit Blackjack As Well?
No, once you hit blackjack, insurance does not matter as the hand is over and you won the game. Insurance is generally seen as a precaution for the player’s failure which in return gives you a percentage of the money you bet on, back.
When Should You Consider Taking Insurance?
The best time to take an insurance bet is when the dealer’s upcard is an Ace and you have a decent hand of 15 or higher so that even if you lose the insurance bet, you might still be able to win the round. If you’re skilled at counting cards and have a high count, you may improve your chances of predicting whether the dealer has a blackjack.
If you think the odds are in your favor, insurance might be a good scheme. Also, when you are playing in blackjack tournaments, you may have to increase your chip stack and advance to the next round.
But in most cases, insurance bets can lose you money if you do not know the basic strategy or card counting.
Besides, there are some rules for taking insurance:
- The dealer must have an Ace
- The insurance has to cost over 50% of the original bet.
- The insurance has to pay 2:1 if the dealer makes the blackjack.
What Happens To Your Main Bet If You Take Insurance?
The main bet is the pay from which the insurance is taken. The main bet although technically intact, if you lose the game, the casino only offers 30% of the returns even though they claim 50%. This ratio could change depending on each variant of the game and even the casino.
Even Money vs. Insurance: What’s The Difference?
Even money is a side bet offered to a player that has an ace and a ten-values card, a blackjack. This bet costs half the size of the original bet. So requesting even money besides the bet that pays 3:2 is the same as an insurance bet as 50% of the money you put in is used to buy insurance.
Why Most Players Should Avoid Taking Insurance?
The goal of a blackjack strategy is not to win every hand but to reduce the House edge over a long period of time. This will result in better results at the tables. Taking insurance does not help the player in this case.
The insurance scheme can also distract the player from applying a different strategy and even counting cards. At online casinos, the blackjack insurance option will appear as an extra button depending on the version of the game, and in land-based casinos, the dealer will ask you after each round towards the end. Having the right decision in mind will help you focus on gameplay and not worry about side bets that don’t usually provide good value.
Analyzing The House Edge On Insurance Bets
The house edge for the insurance bet in blackjack is usually around 8.5%. This is because the insurance bet only pays around 30% even though the casino offers it at 50%.
The Math Behind Insurance: Is It Worth It?
It sure takes time to figure out the math behind the insurance scheme for beginners so I’d suggest not trying it. This is also used as a marketing strategy as it is not protecting the player anyway. As long as you know how to count cards or any other basic strategy to guess what the dealer might have, you are good to go without insurance.
FAQs
Blackjack gambling was added to rust-rigged in November 2022 expanding their options beyond poker.
All types of blackjack are functional and almost the same but they provide different combat bonuses in each. Blackjack variants featuring higher-tier blackjacks can stun enemies for extended periods when utilized in melee combat. So, although it technically does not matter, OSRs still prefer higher-tier blackjack versions.
Some blackjack hands are very difficult to win. For example, if a player has a total of 16 or 17 against the dealer who has an ace or such a strong hand, the likelihood of winning is much less. While players can win in many scenarios, certain hands inherently carry a higher risk of loss due to the game’s structure and dealer advantages.
No, blackjack dealers would not be able to hear you in an online casino.
Blackjack unlimited bet behind is a feature that some live dealer online casinos offer to players. It enables individuals who are not seated at the blackjack table to place bets on the hands of players who are actively participating at that table.
Monkey in blackjack refers to the 10, Jack, Queen, and King together.
DAS in blackjack is the short form for Double After Split. It is a strategy where a player can double their bet on their first two cards, and then draw one more card.
When the dealer and the player tie, and nobody wins, it is called a push or standoff.
In Blackjack, “RP” means to surrender if allowed and if not, to split.
A burn card is a card dealt from the top of a deck and discarded without being used by the players in blackjack.
You could win and lose money in blackjack and it does not always have to depend on a specific variant of the game. Many hands making a million could also depend on the amount of money you bet, initially.
Losing money to the dealer should not be associated with casino cheating. Even though the casinos have the upper hand, with proper strategies there are a lot of players that win.
In certain casinos, blackjack games allow players to double down and split for free. Although this could be a good chance to increase your odds, it has to be used carefully.
Surrender allows the players to give up their hand and receive half of the bet back before any cards are dealt.
A queen is worth ten points as it is a face card.
