Insurance in Blackjack

One of the bets you can make in blackjack is to take insurance when the dealer is showing an ace. Is taking insurance a good bet or should it be avoided in every situation?

Let’s start by looking at the numbers. If the dealer’s up-card is an Ace you will be offered the insurance option. If you take insurance then you are paid at odds of 2-1 if the dealer has blackjack. If the dealer doesn’t have blackjack then you lose that insurance bet. Most of the time, the dealer won’t have blackjack when he is showing an ace. You will lose that insurance bet on average, two out of every three times.

What about when you have blackjack? Should you take insurance then? Let’s say you made a $10 bet. You would win $15 for your blackjack but if the dealer also has blackjack then you tie. If you take insurance then you guarantee a profit but in the long run it is still a bad bet. If you both have blackjack and you take insurance then you win $10 because you took insurance. If he doesn’t have blackjack then you lose your $5 insurance bet but win for blackjack so you still make $10. As we noted earlier, most of the time the dealer won’t have blackjack and in the long run you lose money when you take insurance. You might want to lock in your guaranteed profit when you have blackjack but in the long run it is still not a good bet.

The bottom line on insurance in blackjack is to never take it.