What you should know about insurance in any game of chance, the house has an enormous advantage over the player. In blackjack, the house edge is a slim 2.6%. However, the dealer must make an additional calculation when he hits or stands on an ace which gives the player a slight advantage.
The dealer must decide whether to hit an ace that has been dealt to him (it is equivalent to having a 10 showing up in your hand) or to stand on an ace that has been dealt to him (it is equivalent to having a 10 not showing up in your hand). The other important point is to understand everything there is about Blackjack insurance, and this elaborate piece will cover part of that information. Areas of focus such as what does insurance mean in blackjack and more will be highlighted.
Positively, when the dealer takes insurance on an ace that has been dealt to him. it is equivalent to betting that the next card dealt to him will not be an ace. Negatively, when the dealer does NOT take insurance on an ace that has been dealt to him, it is equivalent to betting that the next card dealt to him will be an ace. Let’s examine this situation from the dealer’s point of view. Let’s say that he has received three cards and they are all different kinds of non-aces.
One of these cards is a 2. The other two are either 9s or 8s. Now, let’s say the third card dealt to him is another 3. Therefore, by taking insurance on the first 10, he has a mathematical expectation of receiving another 4. By NOT taking insurance on the first 10, he has a mathematical expectation of receiving another non-1.ace. That means, by betting on each individual hand, the house advantage is cut in half. Therefore, if the dealer took insurance on every ace that was dealt to him, the house edge would be reduced to 3.7% which is equivalent to a net profit of 112% for the casino.
A close focus
However, since this is not practical (it would slow down the game too much), casinos only insure against a specific percentage of their aces. Let’s say they only insure against 80% of their aces. Therefore, when an ace is dealt to the dealer, he must decide whether or not to take insurance on that hand.
If he does take insurance, it is as if he has bet $1 on each of the next three cards (there are four cards total) not being an ace. In other words, if the dealer takes insurance on an ace, it is equivalent to betting $1 on each of the next three cards not being an ace.
Therefore, by taking insurance on 20% of his aces, the dealer is actually betting $2 on each of the next three cards not being an ace. You may be wondering- what does insurance mean in blackjack? You aren’t alone, and a quick search could help you get the right answer.
By taking insurance on a percentage of his aces, the dealer is actually making a “bet” on all of the remaining non-aces which have been dealt to him. This is the essence of insurance in blackjack and it gives the player a very slight edge over the house. It is important to remember that the insurance made by the dealer has no effect on the player’s hand whatsoever. The insurance only affects what happens to the dealer’s hand. But, the dealer is allowed to make only one “insurance bet” per round of play. After that, he must stand on all 10s or he must withdraw from the game. There are several ways for players to take advantage of this situation:
One way is for the player to repeatedly ask the dealer to change a card that has been dealt to him into an ace. This will force the dealer to make an “insurance bet” on that particular hand every time an ace is dealt to him.
Another way to take advantage of this situation is for the player to ask the dealer to hit a card that has been dealt to him when he has a 10 showing up in his hand. The dealer must always hit a 10 (it is equivalent to having an ace showing up in your hand). Later, if the dealer gets another 10 in his hand, he will have to make an “insurance bet” on that hand also.
A third way to take advantage of this situation is for the player to ask the dealer to hit a card that has been dealt to him when he has a 9 showing up in his hand. The dealer must always hit a 9 (it is equivalent to having a 10 showing up in your hand). Later, if the dealer gets another 9 in his hand, he will have to make an “insurance bet” on that hand also.
It should be apparent that all three of these techniques are really just different ways of forcing the dealer to make an “insurance bet”.
Now, let’s examine what happens when the dealer decides NOT to take insurance on a particular hand.
Obviously, this reduces the house edge to 2.4% which is still very high and, in fact, it is much higher than the house edge for a game without insurance.
This is so because when there is no insurance, the dealer must always stand on any 10 showing up in his hand. In other words, if there are no aces dealt out to him, he must always stand on 10s. Therefore, by betting $1 on each of the next three cards not being an ace, the player is actually betting $3 on each of those three cards being a
This means that by NOT taking insurance on a particular hand, the house has increased the player’s edge from 5.4% to 1.9% which is a very substantial increase. Remember, this increase is only for the house and NEVER affects the player’s edge.
Now, here is an important observation: If the dealer was dealt an 8 or an 8 showing up as an ace, he would always take insurance on that hand.
However, if the dealer was dealt a 7 or a 7 showing up as an ace, he would NOT always take insurance on that hand.
Why not? The answer is easy: If the dealer had been dealt an 8 or an 8 showing up as an ace, it would have been a “sure thing” that the next three cards would not be an ace. As I have said many times before, in blackjack, certainty is one of the major elements of success.
On the other hand, if the dealer was dealt a 7 or a 7 showing up as an ace, it would have been a “question of whether” the next three cards would be an ace. Therefore, the decision whether or not to take insurance on a particular hand is based on certainty or uncertainty.
Understand that Certainty as to what will happen with the next three cards and Uncertainty as to what will happen with the next three cards.
Now, let’s examine another situation and see how this affects the house edge:
The dealer received two 8s and a 7 showing up as an ace. He hit the 7 and received a 6 and an 8 showing up as two face-up cards.
Summing up the three cards, the dealer has 11 showing up in his hand. He decides NOT to take insurance on that hand. What happens? Here is the answer: The player wins the hand and therefore collects $2 from the dealer for every $1 wagered by the player. However, since the dealer took NO insurance, he must stand on the 7 and the 8 showing up as an ace.
Therefore, by betting $1 on each of the next three cards not being an ace, the player is actually betting $3 on those three cards being a 7 and an 8 showing up as two face-up cards. This means that by NOT taking insurance on a particular hand, the house has increased the player’s edge from 3.7% to 4.5% which is a very substantial increase. Remember, this increase is only for the house and NEVER affects the player’s edge. I know that Blackjack insurance involves quite a lot, but taking the time to question “what does insurance mean in blackjack?” is an important thing to do among others things. Learn the important points simplifies matters a great deal.Let’s do one more situation: The dealer received two 8s and two 7s showing up as an ace.
Positively, he hit on the hand and therefore collected three 6s and three 7s showing up as three face-up cards. He decided NOT to take insurance on that hand. What happens? The player wins the hand and therefore collects $2 from the dealer for every $1 wagered by the player. However, since the dealer took NO insurance, he must stand on the 6s and 7s showing up as three face-up cards. Therefore, by betting $1 on each of the next three cards not being an ace, the player is actually betting $3 on those three cards being a 6 and a 7 showing up as two face-up cards.
This means that by NOT taking insurance on a particular hand, the house has increased the player’s edge from 3.7% to 4.1% which is a very substantial increase. Remember, this increase is only for the house and NEVER affects the player’s edge. Now, let’s examine another situation: The dealer received a 10 showing up as an ace and two 6s showing up as two face-up cards.
As an illustration, I am going to pretend like the dealer hit on the hand. What happens? The player wins the hand and therefore collects $2 from the dealer for every $1 wagered by the player. However, since the dealer took NO insurance, he must stand on the 6s showing up as three face-up cards. Therefore, by betting $1 on each of the next three cards not being an ace, the player is actually betting $3 on those three cards being a 6 and a 7 showing up as two face-up cards.
This means that by NOT taking insurance on a particular hand, the house has increased the player’s edge from 3.7% to 4.8% which is a very marginal increase. Remember, this increase is only for the house and NEVER affects the player’s edge. Now, let’s examine another situation: The dealer received two 6s and a 5 showing up as an ace.
Then he hit the 5 and received a 4 and a 6 showing up as two face-up cards. What happens? The player wins the hand and therefore collects $2 from the dealer for every $1 wagered by the player. However, since the dealer took NO insurance, he must stand on the 4 and 6 show up as two face-up cards. Therefore, by betting $1 on each of the next three cards not being an ace, the player is actually betting $3 on those three cards being a 6 and a 5 showing up as two face-up cards.
This means that by NOT taking insurance on a particular hand, the house has increased the player’s edge from 3.7% to 4.3% which is a very marginal increase. Remember, this increase is only for the house and NEVER affects the player’s edge. Let’s do one more situation: The dealer received three 6s and a 5 showing up as an ace. Then he hit the 5 and received a 4 and a 6 showing up as two face-up cards. What happens? The player wins the hand and therefore collects $2 from the dealer for every $1 wagered by the player.
Difference between health insurance, property insurance, and black jack insurance
As mentioned earlier, Blackjack insurance is quite diverse. However, I would like us to strike a few comparisons. Let’s start with how to calculate the advantage of blackjack insurance Does insurance work in blackjack What is the purpose of blackjack insurance And many more… OK, now we have reviewed all aspects of blackjack strategy and have found a way to beat the game with just an even pair of 2s. Now let’s discuss when to take insurance. There are three situations where you should definitely take insurance:
- When the dealer shows an 8 or when the dealer shows a 10.
- Let’s discuss each of these situations in detail.
Where the dealer shows an 8 or a 9 this situation occurs about 1 out of every 20 times the dealer deals out a hand of 2. In this case, the dealer is “showing an 8 or a 9” to signify that he has a good hand and is “hoping” you will not draw to blackjack and thus end up losing your bet. The dealer wants to give you enough time to see if your final two cards will total 17 or more without you having to draw another card. Therefore, in this case, you should definitely take insurance because… The Dealer is trying to Give You a Chance to Lose without Going to another Card!
What is the purpose of insurance in blackjack and many more…? OK, now we have reviewed all aspects of blackjack strategy and have found a way to beat the game with just an even pair of 2s. Now let’s discuss when to take insurance. There are situations where you should definitely take insurance:
1. When the dealer shows an 8
2. When the dealer shows a 10