Nowadays, there are many different types of insurance one can buy – there is life insurance, car insurance, travel insurance, health insurance, property insurance, and liability insurance. You can even buy insurance in gambling establishments whenever you take a seat at one of their blackjack tables.
- Should You Use Insurance In Blackjack
- Should You Get Insurance In Blackjack Without
- Should You Get Insurance In Blackjack For Real
- Should You Get Insurance In Blackjack Card Game
- Should You Get Insurance In Blackjack Winnings
You also automatically get paid more on a blackjack (3 to 2 in most cases), whereas you don’t have to pay any extra if the dealer makes blackjack. Conversely, you can reduce your losses if strategically optimal by taking insurance when available or by surrendering a weak hand. The dealer also has no flexibility in his actions. Unless you're counting cards in a real-life casino, you should never wager money on insurance in blackjack. All it takes is a quick look at the math behind the bet to see that statistically it's going to lose you money in the long run. The odds against the dealing making a blackjack are roughly 9 to 4.
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The latter is a type of proposition bet in blackjack that has been the subject of hot debates for decades. Few are bold enough to argue in favor of taking insurance but the vast majority of blackjack experts recommend you to refrain from ever making this bet. Let’s take a closer look at what insurance in blackjack is, how is it identical to the blackjack even-money payout, and why you should avoid both of them if you are a basic strategy player.
How Blackjack Insurance Works
Blackjack players are offered insurance whenever the dealer’s exposed card is an Ace. This is an optional proposition wager which is treated separately from your original bet. When you buy insurance, you are practically betting your dealer has a ten-value card in the hole next to their Ace for a blackjack.
You can insure any two-card hand against a dealer blackjack by betting up to half of your original wager. The chips for the insured bets are placed within the semicircular stripe that runs across the table and reads “Insurance Pays 2 to 1”. There are two possible scenarios when you take insurance.
If the dealer indeed has a blackjack and you do not, you lose your original stake but win the insurance bet at casino odds of 2 to 1, i.e. you end up breaking even for this round. Provided that the dealer does not have a ten-value card in the hole, you lose the insurance bet and play on your hand continues as usual.
Blackjack Insurance Additional TipsLet’s see how buying insurance works with a concrete example. We assume you have wagered $20 on your original hand, which is not a natural, and the dealer exposes an Ace. You want to protect yourself against a potential dealer blackjack and decide to accept insurance so you post an additional $10 bet on top of your initial $20.
The dealer peeks under their hole card and it turns out it is indeed a ten-value card giving them a blackjack. You lose the initial $20 you have staked on your hand but win another $20 from your insurance bet. You break even, i.e. you neither win nor lose money on this round. Had you not insured your hand, you would have been $20 down.
Is Taking Insurance Worth It?
Some players argue in favor of insurance and the basic premise of their argument is that you lose your entire initial bet if you do not insure your hand as opposed to breaking even when you accept insurance.
This “rationalization” is a load of bosh. Casino operators themselves want you to believe they are doing you a favor by allowing you to insure yourself against a possible dealer blackjack. Some dealers are even instructed to advise players on accepting insurance.
Should You Use Insurance In Blackjack
The truth of the matter is you are insuring nothing. What you are doing with this side bet is wagering the dealer has a ten-value card in the hole. This has nothing to do with boosting the odds of your original bet but it has everything to do with decreasing your long-term expected value and here is why.
Should You Get Insurance In Blackjack Without
Suppose you are playing a six-deck game where the ratio of non-ten cards to ten-value cards is 216 to 96. The six decks have just been reshuffled, the dealer exposes an Ace at the start of the first round, and offers you to buy insurance. Provided that we do not take into consideration the composition of your starting two-card total, the ratio of non-ten-value cards to ten-value cards is now 215 to 96 because one of the Aces has already left the shoe.
Therefore, if you insure your hand for a dollar 311 times, you will incur losses of $215 because the dealer’s hole card will not be a ten-value one 215 times. The other 96 times the dealer will have a ten-value card in the hole so you will win 96 * $2 for a total of $192. It follows that $311 worth of insurance side bets is equal to net losses of $215 – $192 = $23.
Thus, insurance puts you at a massive disadvantage of (-$23 / $311) *100 = -7.39% which means the house holds an edge of nearly 7.40% with this side bet. No wonder dealers are recommending patrons to insure their hands!
Taking Insurance Additional TipsWhat if we introduce your starting two cards into the equation? Let’s imagine your hand consists of two non-ten-value cards like 6 and 2 for a total of 8 while the dealer’s upcard is an Ace at the start of the first round.
You are again playing at a six-deck blackjack table, which is to say the ratio of non-ten-value cards to ten-value cards in the shoe is 213 to 96 because three non-ten cards have already been removed (the dealer’s Ace, a 6, and a 2).
The shoe now contains only 309 cards so you will lose a dollar 213 out of 309 times and win $2 * 96 for a profit of $192. So $309 worth of $1 insurance bets results in net losses of $213 – $192 = $21. This puts you at a disadvantage of (-$21 / $309) * 100 = -6.80%. There is a slight improvement in the odds but you are still losing lots of money by buying insurance.
Some people argue you must insure only pat hands (like hard 20 and naturals) and decline insurance when you have bad hands like hard 12 or hard 13. Let’s put this argument to rest with our last example where some of the face cards are removed from the shoe at the first round of play. Your starting hand is a pair of Queens against the dealer’s Ace.
Out of 309 cards left, you have 94 ten-value cards and 215 non-ten-value cards because one of the Aces has been removed. If you take insurance for $1 309 times under these circumstances, you end up losing $215 and winning 94 * $2 = $188. The net loss you incur after placing $309 worth of $1-dollar insurance bets on a pat 20 stands at $27. This puts you at a disadvantage of (-$27 / $309) * 100 = -8.73%.
It turns out insuring “good” hands is costlier than insuring “bad” ones because some of the ten-value cards that can help the dealer make a blackjack are already out of play. No matter how we beat about the bush, insurance is a bad bet and as such, should be altogether avoided.
But There Are Exceptions to Any Rule
If you take the time to examine a basic strategy chart closely, you will surely notice one strange phenomenon. The correct plays for splitting, hitting, standing, doubling, and surrendering against all possible dealer cards are listed while insurance is strangely absent from the chart. Why is that?
The reason is simple – basic strategy players should never take insurance because it is a negative-expectation bet in the long term. The odds of winning with this wager are slimmer than the odds the casino pays you at. Of course, there are exceptions to all rules, including this one because the insurance bet is susceptible to advantage-play techniques such as card counting.
Card counters keep track of the ratio of ten-value to non-ten-value cards that remain in the shoe or deck. This gives them the opportunity to identify the situations in which insurance becomes a positive-expectation bet. When the remaining ten-value cards outnumber the non-ten-value cards, a card counter is more likely to insure their hands against a dealer blackjack.
Additional ExceptionsConsider the following situation where you are playing a pitch game which uses a single deck containing 52 cards in total. During the first round after the dealer reshuffles, you take a look at your starting hand and see it consists of two small cards, say 6-3. You also manage to catch a glimpse of the hand of the other player sitting at the table and see it also consists of two small cards, 4-5. Your dealer is showing an Ace.
This means 5 cards with a value other than ten are no longer in play and the deck is now left with 47 cards in total. The odds of the dealer having a blackjack are now 31 to 16 because we have 31 non-ten-value cards and 16 ten-value cards. Respectively, the implied probability of you winning your insurance bet is 1 in 47, which corresponds to a likelihood of 2.13%.
After making $47 bets (of $1 each) worth of insurance, you will lose $31 and win 16 * $2 = $32.You have a net profit of $1 obviously while the house is at a slight disadvantage in this case, which is equal to $1/$47 * 100 = 2.13%. Insurance becomes a positive-expectation bet under these circumstances.
The Blackjack Even-Money Payout
The even-money payout is offered when players obtain a blackjack and the dealer exposes an Ace. Most inexperienced gamblers get confused when this happens and often end up asking fellow patrons or the dealer for advice. Should they accept the even-money payout or should they decline? And of course, the dealer would always recommend them to accept even money because this way, they will not lose anything during this round.
This is a bad piece of advice which you should never take. Here is the thing – the even-money payout is basically the same thing as insurance with a few tiny differences. The first difference is that this is a possible option only when the player has a blackjack and the dealer shows an Ace. Also, if you accept even money, the dealer would pay you out before he or she peeks under their hole card for a blackjack, unlike winning insurance bets which are paid after the peek.
The Even-Money Payout is Insurance in Disguise
Insurance and even money are the two sides of one and the same coin. Let’s take a look at a few examples to see why. In the first scenario, you insure your blackjack for $10 but the dealer also has a natural. The two blackjacks push, so you end up winning $20 in net profits.
In the second scenario, you again decide to accept insurance but it turns out the dealer does not have a natural. You lose your $10 insurance bet but the blackjack earns you $30 (1.5 times your initial $20 bet) for a net profit of $20.
The third possible situation you can find yourself in is when you decline insurance but the dealer also ends up having a natural. The two blackjacks push again and you neither lose nor win anything.
And finally, we have the situation where you decline buying insurance and the dealer does not have a ten-value card in the hole. In this case, you earn $30 in net profits plus your initial $20 stake. It follows that if you always accept insurance on your blackjacks, you inevitably end up winning even money whether or not the dealer also has a natural.
By offering you even money before the dealer peeks for a blackjack, casinos simply spare you the hassles of insuring your hand. Inexperienced players reason accepting even money is a good alternative because if they decline and the dealer also ends up with a blackjack, the two naturals will push, i.e. they will not earn any payout.
They seem to believe a profit of one base-bet unit is better than no profit at all. What they fail to understand is that if they decline the even-money payout (or insurance for that matter) and the dealer does not have a ten-value card in the hole (which is more probable because some ten-value cards have already been removed from the shoe/deck), they miss out on the lucrative opportunity to earn 1.5 times their initial wager.
When you receive a natural in a six-deck game against a dealer’s Ace, the dealer’s hole card will be a ten-value one 95 out of 309 times, which corresponds to implied probability of 95 / 309 * 100 = 30.7%. It follows that when you insure your hand, you end up winning even money 30.7% of the time.
If you decline insurance, 30.7% of the time your blackjack will push with that of the dealer so you neither win nor lose anything. The remaining 69.3% of the time, you stand a better chance of winning 1.5 times your initial bet.
Therefore, the probability of you winning 1.5 times your bet when declining the even-money payout is higher than that of pushing with the dealer. You earn 1.5 * 69.3% = $1.03 per every dollar wagered on average each time you decline even money.
The bottom line is basic strategy players should never insure their hands or accept even-money payouts on their naturals. Blackjack is difficult enough to beat without players pouring some of their profits back into the casinos’ coffers.
Blackjack surrender and insurance rules can prove occasionally useful for online blackjack players. They are somewhat unique bets in that you’re making a concession with them that you’re not going to win the current hand. But you can use them to cut your losses and keep your bankroll strong.
When discussing online blackjack strategy, many players talk about the active moves they can use to win a hand. They ask questions like “Should I hit and to get closer to 21 or should I stand and hope the dealer busts?” Or “When should I double or split?”
While these are important parts of the online blackjack strategy equation, they aren’t quite all of it. There are also times when surrender and insurance can be useful to you. Even though they’re defensive bets in many ways, they can really help you come away as an online blackjack winner in the long run.
In the following article, we’ll explain all you need to know about online blackjack surrender and insurance rules. We’ll explain what they are, how they work, and what the different rules are surrounding them. In addition, we’ll talk about the best strategies to use for online blackjack surrender and insurance.
Basics of Online Blackjack Insurance
In terms of basic online blackjack with standard rules, insurance comes into play whenever the dealer is showing an ace and, as the player, your two cards don’t make 21. As one of your possibilities on the screen, you’ll see the icon for an insurance bet.
Insurance is essentially a side bet that the dealer has a value of 10 on his hidden card and, therefore, has blackjack. If you win, you get paid back odds of 2:1.
How Insurance Works
Normally, if the dealer has an ace showing, you don’t have blackjack, and you don’t make an insurance wager, the dealer will check what the hidden card might be. If it’s something with a value of 10, the dealer has blackjack and you lose your initial bet. And if not, the hand plays out as usual.
If you make an online blackjack insurance wager, you can bet up to half of your original bet. In other words, if you bet $50, your insurance bet can be up to $25.
There are two things can happen with this insurance bet.
- The online dealer, whether an automatic dealer or a live one, checks their hidden card and turns over a card with a value of 10, meaning blackjack. You lose your original $50 bet on the hand, but win the insurance bet, which returns 2:1, or $50 on your bet of $25, for a profit on that bet of $25. Your overall outcome on the hand is a loss of $25, which is less than the $50 you would have lost without the insurance.
- The dealer checks their hand and finds out that they don’t have blackjack, meaning you lose your $25 insurance wager. At that point, the hand proceeds. If you were to lose the hand, your overall loss goes up to $75, while a win would return a profit of $25 overall instead of the $50 you would have won without the insurance.
When Should You Use Online Blackjack Insurance?
Well, if you’re playing with correct basic online blackjack strategy, you should never use insurance. Think about the math.
- The dealer’s chances of turning over a card for blackjack are 9:4 against. There are nine cards with values that aren’t 10 in the decks (ace through nine) and four with a value of 10 (10s, jacks, queens, kings.)
- You are only getting paid 2:1 odds if you win the bet. To use the common denominator, you’re getting paid 8:4, despite the 9:4 odds of you losing the bet. Basically, you’re not getting paid enough to compensate for the odds of insurance.
The only time you should use insurance is if you’re card counting. And, as we’ll explore below, card counting is rarely effective in online blackjack.
Basics of Online Blackjack Surrender
When you make a blackjack surrender bet, you are essentially surrendering your hand before the hand is over. You would do this because you don’t think you have a good chance of winning based on what you have and what the dealer has. The incentive for this wager is that you only lose half of your original wager instead of all of it.
Some players might be wary of surrender because it seems like a losing play. In actuality, it can be an effective blackjack strategy to cut down on potential losses. It is actually a much better play than insurance.
How Blackjack Surrender Works
In most online blackjack variations, you can surrender any hand, regardless of what cards you and the dealer have. But, in actuality, there will only be certain situations that make sense.
If you know basic blackjack odds, you know that you’re in bad shape in this hand. If you so choose, you could surrender the hand. Instead of losing $20, you would lose just $10.
Should You Get Insurance In Blackjack For Real
After you surrender, your hand is over. The risk you run with surrender is that, if the cards turned your way, you might have won the hand.
When Is Surrender a Good Play in Online Blackjack?
Most basic online blackjack strategies suggest surrendering on hands like the ones above. When you have 16, your chances of hitting and staying under 21 are slim. Yet if you stand, the chances that the dealer somehow busts while sitting with 10 are pretty unlikely as well.
You’ll also find occasions when you’re advised to surrender at 15 as well. When you get to more advanced strategies, you might find it depends on which cards you have to make up the 15. For instance, whether you surrender might depend on whether you have a 10 and a five or an eight and a seven. But the bottom line is that it’s mathematically in your favor to surrender at times.
Different Rules for Online Blackjack Insurance And Surrender
We’ve told you about online blackjack insurance and surrender in terms of the standard formats most often used at top real money online casinos. But you have to keep in mind that there are occasionally different rules for these bets that can be found online. It’s important to know the rules in place for surrender and insurance so that you can choose the proper strategy.
Late Surrender Versus Early Surrender
Most online blackjack games (and casino versions as well) use the late surrender format. This means that the dealer will check to see if they have blackjack before the surrender is offered. Obviously, this comes into play only when the dealer is showing an ace or a 10.
Early surrender gives you the chance to surrender before the dealer checks for blackjack when they are showing ace or 10. When early surrender is an option, it is an advantage for the player. Having the chance to surrender before a blackjack check will bring several more hands into play where surrender is a good, money-saving strategy.
Should You Get Insurance In Blackjack Card Game
Online vs. Offline Play With Insurance and Surrender
The main difference when it comes to online and offline blackjack play is that, when you’re playing in a casino, you have the opportunity to count cards. Online play makes this next to impossible. But if you can count cards, you’ll find that surrender and especially insurance comes into play much more often.
By card counting, you can know which cards have already been played. That gives you a better idea of what cards are still in the deck. And this can come into play with insurance and surrender.
For example, there may be times when insurance is actually a good play if you can count cards. If there are enough cards with a value of 10 still in the deck, the odds of the dealer having blackjack with an ace showing might increase to the point where it makes sense to make the insurance bet.
By the same token, you might find that surrender strategies change depending on which cards are still remaining in the deck. Unfortunately, online blackjack makes card counting almost impossible. Shuffling is either constant or, in the case of live online dealers, much more frequent than in casinos.
FAQ on Blackjack Surrenders and Insurance
Should the Size of My Bankroll Affect Whether I Use Surrender or Insurance?
If a play is strategically correct, the size of your bankroll should not affect it. If you find yourself making any kind of blackjack decision based on whether or not you have enough of a bankroll, it could be a sign that you need to lower the size of your bet per hand. Don’t eliminate certain strategic plays just because you’re trying to stay afloat longer.
Should I Consider a Blackjack Variation That Doesn’t Allow Surrender?
Unlike insurance, surrender is a good strategic play at times when you’re up against standard blackjack odds. Therefore, any online game that denies it to you will be lessening your potential payback. Unless the game in question offers up some other rule that’s extremely advantageous to you, you should avoid it if surrender is not available to you.
Aren’t Surrender and Insurance Like Betting Against Yourself?
If you think about surrender and insurance in this manner, it could dissuade you from using them. That could be a mistake, especially in the case of surrender. Think of them in terms of boosting your overall payback, even if they might be a concession in the moment.
Should You Get Insurance In Blackjack Winnings
Conclusion on Surrender and Insurance Rules
We hope that you now understand online blackjack surrender and insurance rules clearly. More importantly, we hope that you know how and when to use these bets to increase your online blackjack winnings over the long haul.