Casino & Table Games
Insurance blackjack
A side bet in blackjack that players can place when the dealer's face-up card is an ace, betting that the dealer's hidden card is worth ten points and the dealer therefore has blackjack.
Key points
- Insurance is a side bet, not part of the main hand; it wins only if the dealer has a ten-value hole card and blackjack.
- The bet pays 2 to 1, but the odds of the dealer having a ten underneath are less than 1 in 3 in a full deck, giving the house an edge of roughly 8%.2
- Basic strategy recommends always declining insurance, regardless of the player's own hand, because the expected value is negative.1
- When a player has blackjack and the dealer shows an ace, 'even money' is offered — effectively insurance that locks in a 1:1 payout instead of the usual 3:2.4
- Card counters may take insurance when the remaining deck is rich in ten-value cards, as the bet can then have a positive expectation.5
Example of insurance in blackjack
You bet £10 and are dealt 8 and 5. The dealer shows an ace. You may place an insurance side bet of up to £5. You bet £5. The dealer peeks and turns over a king — blackjack. Your insurance bet wins at 2 to 1, paying £10. Your main £10 bet loses, so you break even on the round. If the dealer had not had blackjack, you would have lost the £5 insurance and played the hand as usual.
When to buy insurance in blackjack
For a player following basic strategy, the answer is never. The house edge on insurance is about 8% in a typical six-deck game, making it a poor bet in the long run.2 The only exception is for card counters who track the ratio of ten-value cards to others; when the deck is ten-rich, insurance can become a profitable wager.15
Common questions
Where this term is used
Not the same as
- Blackjack insurance payout — the payout rule for the bet, not the bet itself
- Blackjack insurance odds — the probability and expectation figures, not the wager
Related terms
Sources
- Insurance in Blackjack - Just Say No! wizardofodds.com Defines insurance and explains why basic strategy says to decline it.
- Blackjack rules, part 2 - Wizard of Odds wizardofodds.com Gives the house edge figures for insurance in typical blackjack games.
- Single-Deck Blackjack Strategy wizardofodds.com Provides the single-deck house edge for insurance.
- Even money en.wikipedia.org Explains the even-money option as a variant of insurance.
- Card counting en.wikipedia.org Describes how card counters use insurance as a profitable play.
Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.