Blackjack Insurance – Everything You Need To Know

These days almost everything is insured! We have health insurance, auto insurance, and home insurance, but did you know there’s also a thing such as Blackjack insurance? Learning how to hit, stand, and split may be relatively simple in Blackjack, but insurance bets can get a little tricky. 

Like all insurances, Blackjack insurance offers a safety net against the casino dealer’s potential Blackjack. However, is this type of insurance worth getting? Is it simple enough to learn? Find out more in this detailed article on Blackjack insurance!

What is Insurance in Blackjack? 

Blackjack insurance doesn’t work like most other insurances. Insurance in Blackjack is a side bet you are offered if the dealer has an up-card that’s an Ace. This insurance is insurance against the dealer potentially getting the all-famous ‘Blackjack’ or 21.

Blackjack insurance is offered to the player before the dealer checks their hole card (this is the card that is face-down and not visible to you). If the dealer’s hole card has a value of 10, you will win your Blackjack insurance bet. You will lose your insurance bet if the dealer doesn’t have a Blackjack (21). The insurance bet in Blackjack typically pays out 2:1 and is usually half the value of your main bet.

If you are curious about some of the other terms you may encounter in Blackjack, then check out our article on Blackjack slang and terminology.  

How Does Blackjack Insurance Work? 

So, how does Blackjack insurance work? The first thing to know is that there’s only one time Blackjack insurance comes into play – when the live dealer’s up-card is an Ace. This insurance bet consists of you placing a side bet that the dealer will get a Blackjack and beat you. 

In Blackjack insurance, you can wager half of your original bet. If the dealer’s face-down card has a value of 10, you will win your live Blackjack insurance but lose the original bet you placed. This ensures you keep half the amount of your original bet as insurance. But, if you lose, you will lose both your initial bet and your Blackjack insurance bet. 

Blackjack Insurance Examples 

We are going to provide you with two Blackjack insurance examples below. The first example is winning the Blackjack insurance, whereas the second one is an example of losing it:

• When you win insurance in Blackjack

1. You place a bet for £20 on Blackjack.
2. The cards you get dealt are a J and a 9 (total of 19).
3. The dealer’s up-card (first card) is an A, activating the possibility of Blackjack insurance.
4. You take insurance for an additional £10 (half the value of your initial bet).
5. The dealer’s second card is a 10-point card, making them get a Blackjack.
6. You win the insurance but lose your initial bet. The final result is that you break-even. 

• When you lose insurance in Blackjack

1. You start by placing a bet of £20 on Blackjack.
2. The 2 cards you are dealt are a J and a 9 (total of 19).
3. The dealer’s up card is an A, which activates the possibility of Blackjack insurance. 
4. Now, you take the Blackjack insurance for an additional £10.
5. However, the dealer’s second card is a 9, so they don’t get a Blackjack (20).
6. In this example, you lose both your initial and insurance bet. In total, you lose £30. 

When Should You Take Insurance in Blackjack? 

So, when should you take insurance in Blackjack? More experienced players may tell you that the best time to do so is when the dealer’s first card is an A, and your hand has a decent total of 15 or higher. This means that even if you lose the insurance bet, your chance of winning the round with your initial bet may be relatively high. Hence, it could be a good time to take the Blackjack insurance on such a hand. 

Statistically, the dealer’s odds of potentially hitting a Blackjack are 9:4. For the insurance bet to work, the dealer has to hit another 10-point card as their hole card, and theoretically, the odds of that happening are around 30.8%.

Is Blackjack Insurance Worth It? 

As with most real money casino games, not every hand in Blackjack is the same, so it may be difficult to decide if Blackjack insurance is worth it or not based on a few hands. However, if you utilise it in a calmly thought-out strategy, it could potentially be of benefit to new and experienced players. 

The probability suggests that once the dealer has an A, there’s only around a 30.8% chance of them getting a second number with a 10-point value. Whereas that’s not more than 50%, it’s still a one-third chance; hence Blackjack insurance could come in handy from time to time. 

However, using Blackjack insurance repeatedly in the long term could cost you, as many experienced players have pointed out. That’s because even the 30.8% chance of the dealer hitting a 10-point card the second time varies! You see, this 30.8% assumes that there are still 16 remaining 10-point cards for the dealer to turn over. If the game has been going on, the number of 10-point cards may have decreased already, so it’s important to keep in mind that this is not always the case as games can vary.

If you wish to put this new knowledge to the test, you can play Blackjack at King Casino. We have a wide variety of top blackjack games, such as the following titles: 

• Blackjack Single Hand
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• Power Blackjack
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Join King Casino to access these exciting casino games and more, and if you are eager to learn more about Blackjack, check out our article on Blackjack card shuffling.