Blackjack by DC

When the dealer turns an Ace as their upcard your heat will sink, especially if you have a terrible hand. They seemingly offer a beacon of hope by offering insurance against the dealer having Blackjack. Phew! Well that’s all right then.

Well actually it is not. Do not take them up on this kind offer. Like your mother told you; never take sweets from strangers. Casinos only offer things that will in the long run make them money. They are not a charity. The house edge on insurance in single deck blackjack is more than 5% and only rises with multiple decks.

Insurance can be extremely hard to pass up when you have a blackjack. There are two scenarios, if the dealer has a blackjack, you will only win 2:1 on the insurance bet. However, if the dealer doesn’t get a blackjack you will win the main bet, but lose the insurance bet. Since the odds of the dealer getting blackjack are fairly low, over the long term you’re better off not taking the insurance. Once in a while the dealer may get a blackjack and you’ll push, but more often you’ll win and get a 3:2 payout.

The only player who would gain by placing a blackjack insurance bet is someone that is using a card counting strategy in a casino where the cards are not replaced and reshuffled. So for you online players: stay away.