Blackjack Insurance – Safe Strategy or Bad Gameplay?

We now take our 21 blackjack guide deep into the realms of gaming rule and ask questions of the blackjack insurance option. Is it a good gambling move? Is it a dealer’s trick? Is there any benefit to the player? And, what is the blackjack insurance move?

An introduction to insurance in Blackjack

Blackjack insurance is a move that could have an effect that reduces the house edge on the game as best as you can get with any move. This said this isn’t a move that should be considered as a last resort when playing the card game. It may sound and look tempting, but the reality is, that by using the move, you will lose money. This is not a strategy move for players to depend upon but here, in this article, we discuss how it can be used, when it should be used and we will inform you why it is overall a bad choice should it be used when gambling on blackjack.

What is the blackjack insurance?

The insurance move is essentially a side bet that can be placed whenever the dealer is holding an ace. This bet will secure your own hand in the likelihood that the dealer has dealt a blackjack for themselves. If this is the case, you will save some of your own money as the wager is halved from the original amount you intended to play with. Some variants of the game have an additional side bet that pays 2:1, so, if the cards do come to a total of 21 on the table, your side bet will break even, and you won’t lose anything.

In another scenario, should you place a bet of $4 and receive the cards 10 and 7, if the dealer happens to be an ace, you can insure yourself again with a $2 bet to break even if the dealer’s hand is a 21 blackjack, again, you do not lose because you win 3 times the wager placed down.

So, what happens if the dealt cards? Does it mean the dealer goes bust? With this you would still win, being covered by the insurance bet strategy.

Now, for a casino game to allow this bet seems pretty handy if the deck is against you. But is it a real advantage to have this inside online games? Would it be better to surrender? Or even play on using the original hand you have?

Is insurance good or bad?

Casinos don’t want you winning, it’s not their ideal stance in any situation. So, why give this single option that seems so basic and obvious to use? Well, it comes down to the odds. The insurance bets are possibly the worst thing you could do to your gameplay and it could put you in a hole that you will have to battle out of.

For a new player, it would seem the best option to take, turning a bad situation into a good outcome if your hands keep failing to go your way. But there are more options in the decks that can be a better move.

This said, remember that poker, roulette and any Vegas table game that is not blackjack carry higher odds, so this is still the more favorable card game to play.

If you step back and take the time to look at what the bet is, you are essentially giving the game away in hopes the dealer is dealt a ten valued card. Now, card counting will not help within online games, perhaps if your time is spent in land-based casinos playing this, then it may pay off.

It is a huge jeopardy on your own original hand that could still win the game and this is the little things as a player, you need to realize and see in order to understand how the casino can lure players into the wrong process of play because it lures you win with what appears to be a money win.

A perspective of things to consider in Blackjack

There are lots of things a player needs to take note of whilst playing blackjack online. Remember, there are many different variants of the game inside casinos. You can also play live blackjack tables as well as virtual card games against the house. You have the deck number to also consider and think about. Will the more decks be of advantage to you in the game thus limiting the need to even insure your cards at the table?

Advice for new casino players

When looking at the strategy alongside the edge of the house, advice from professional card counting experts claim that the decks within a game wouldn’t carry that many cards that would be of a ten value given the opposing cards available in the rest of the deck. This is why many professionals playing big games at the table wouldn’t think about a bets wager on insurance if it came to it. It makes sense given the odds, given that the original hands can still win by playing on.

In conclusion

The basic outcome is that using insurance will get you into a hole and there is no advantage to using it unless you’re counting cards in Vegas. The best approach when gambling and faced with the situation is to surrender or play on and see if you can land money from the dealer going bust.

Blackjack is a diverse game and it’s for that reason why the game is more popular than poker and roulette. There are going to be times that you lose purely because of the house advantage over the table. But there are so many ways of winning and it just takes a player to have some courage over their cards.