There aren’t many rules to blackjack; the object of the game is to wager against the dealer and avoid scoring more than or less than 21. And that’s it. That is, until casinos made the decision to add side bets and a (unnecessary) puzzle to the Mksports. One such conundrum is blackjack insurance.
We’ve already given you a hint as to why this is a terrible play, but stick with us to find out more about blackjack insurance, why you should almost always avoid it, and what the odds are.
What Does Blackjack Insurance Mean?
To begin, let us address the most fundamental query: What does insurance mean in blackjack?
The most popular optional side bet in Betway is blackjack insurance, which allows you to protect yourself against the dealer’s blackjack when they hold an ace as the upcard.
In essence, you are wagering that the dealer will deal a ten or a picture card as their second card, resulting in a total of 21 when you place the insurance bet. If the dealer hits a blackjack and pays you at 2:1 odds, you win.
You forfeit your insurance bet if their card is not a ten-value card.
What Are the Odds and the Math Behind Rs7sports Insurance?
Let’s examine the mathematical basis of the insurance blackjack bet so you can make a more knowledgeable decision.
The ratio of ten-value cards to non-tens in an online blackjack game with a single deck and a $2 insurance bet is 16 (four tens, four jacks, four queens, and four kings) to 36.
Assume for the moment that the dealer asks if you would want to put the insurance bet while holding an ace as the upcard. If we ignore the makeup of your hand, the ratio of non-ten-value cards to ten-value cards is now 35 to 16. Stated differently:
You lose $70 (the total number of times the dealer doesn’t have a ten-value card) if you make the $2 insurance wager 35 times.
If you place the identical stake 16 times and the dealer has a ten in the hole, you will win $64 (assumed payout of 2:1).
You would have a $6 net loss if you always chose insurance (you would have lost $70 against $64 in wins). The house edge, or 5.9%, is what we obtain when we divide the $6 in profits by the $102 investment to determine the disadvantage.
The payback odds for blackjack insurance, as you can see, are not as high as the actual odds of getting a ten-value card; if they were, the house would win slightly more than $4 for each correct wager. However, it doesn’t, which indicates that the odds are stacked in favor of the casino.
Is Your Hand Covered by Insurance?
The insurance bet is not specifically discouraged by blackjack regulations. But if any of the following scenarios seem familiar to you, use basic algebra and common sense to figure out what to do next:
