What Is Insurance in Blackjack and How Does It Really Work?
This is a side bet you can make when the dealer shows an Ace. You're betting that they have 21. Even new players should understand "What is insurance in Blackjack?" because while it appears helpful, it actually reduces your chances of winning money. Read below to get a clear understanding of why that is.
How Does Insurance Work in Blackjack?
To get a clearer picture, let's go over the basic rules with an example to help explain things. By the end, you'll be able to answer "How does insurance work in Blackjack?" with confidence.
Blackjack Insurance Rules
Insurance appears when the dealer's face-up card is an Ace. At this moment, you're asked if you want this protection before the dealer's hole card is revealed. You must decide immediately whether to take it or not.
According to Blackjack insurance rules, you can bet up to half your original wager. It pays 2:1 when you win. It happens only if the dealer has 21, which means their hidden card is worth 10 points - a 10, Jack, Queen, or King.
If there is no 21, you lose your money immediately. Your original hand then continues playing normally.
Blackjack Insurance Example
Let's say the dealer shows an Ace. That means they may get natural Blackjack if the second card is going to be worth 10 points. The game offers insurance to you. You can wager up to half your original bet. So if you place £20, you can insure for up to £10.
The dealer's hidden card is then revealed. It's a Jack, and they have 21. Your side bet wins and pays 2:1, £20 in your case. You don’t lose or win any money overall in this Blackjack insurance example.
If the dealer didn't have 21, you would lose your insurance money immediately. The game would then continue normally with your original hand.
Why Insurance Is a Trap for Beginners
When you see the dealer’s Ace, insurance feels like a safety net. You think you're protecting your bet from the dealer's blackjack. The name itself sounds protective.
But the math tells a different story. After the dealer’s Ace is out, 51 cards remain. Sixteen of them are tens, so the chance of a dealer's Blackjack is about 31%, or odds of 1 to 3.13. That’s worse than the 2:1 payout that insurance in Blackjack offers.
Over time, this gap adds up to a steady profit for the house. You might win some bets, but you'll lose much more than you win.
Common Mistakes Players Make
Let's imagine you don't refuse to place this kind of bet completely for some reason. Then, consider common further mistakes that players make after making the first one - taking insurance:
- Insuring good hands. Players often take insurance when they have 20 or blackjack themselves. They think, "I have a great hand, let me protect it." But this side bet has nothing to do with your cards. It's only about the dealer's hidden card.
- Believing in "due" results. After seeing several hands without dealer blackjack, players think one is "due" and start taking insurance. Cards pretty much have no memory — with 4–8 decks and constant reshuffling, what’s already been dealt doesn’t really matter.
- Taking "partial insurance." Some players bet less than the maximum, thinking they're being conservative. But any amount is still a bad bet.
When Is Blackjack Insurance Actually Worth It?
An insurance bet in Blackjack becomes profitable when you're counting cards, and lots of 10-value cards are left in the deck. This can make this side bet mathematically favourable.
But card counting has serious limitations today. At real dealer tables, they use multiple decks and shuffle frequently. The RNG games use random number generators that shuffle after every hand. There's no way to track which cards have been played because each hand starts fresh.