 When you play Blackjack there are going to be some terms that you understand immediately such as hitting and standing and other terms such as splitting pairs that you have heard but need to learn a little more about before you put them into play. Then there are those terms that everyone has heard but a lot of people don’t really understand, such as insurance and even money. Insurance is one of the least understood aspects of the game, even by those that have been playing for a long time.
 |
Understanding Insurance and Even Money |
Insurance is something that many people simply don’t understand and because they don’t understand it they never learn how to put it into play. Many experts will tell you that if you don’t know what insurance and even money is you shouldn’t worry about it. Why? Because it is usually a poor bet for any player. While it usually is a bad move, there are some instances when you can make this available decision work for you.
Ok, so the way that this works is that the dealer turns an up card of an Ace and he will then offer insurance to all of the players at the table.
Dealer |
Player #1 |
|
|
|
Dealers first card is an Ace so insurance is offered. Insurance costs 50% of the original bet. |
An insurance bet is made by betting as much as half of your original bet amount in the insurance betting stripe located in front of your bet. Once insurance bets have been made the dealer will check to see if he has a 10 value card under the ace and if he does he obviously has Blackjack and your insurance bet will be paid 2:1.
Dealer |
Player #1 |
|
|
|
Insurance was bought, and the dealers second card has a value of "10". Payout is 2:1 |
At this point you lose your original bet unless you also have a Blackjack, so in essence you have broken even in the process of placing the insurance bet and losing your bet. The whole breaking even thing is why the bet is usually called an insurance bet, because it works to protect the original bet against the dealer willing Blackjack. The risk here is that if the dealer does not win Blackjack you lose the insurance bet and the original bet.
If you have a Blackjack the dealer may offer you even money instead of insurance, but it’s basically the same as the insurance with another name given to it. The way that it works is simple, you bet $10 and you have a Blackjack, in normal instances you would collect $15 for the win or if the dealer tied it would be a push. If the dealer has an ace up and you take the insurance of the full amount and the dealer has Blackjack you win $10 but the dealer does not have a Blackjack you still win $10, so either way you will receive $10 for taking the even money bet. Many people think this sounds like a good idea, but the fact is that the people who do better are those that avoid taking insurance or even money bets and just wait to collect the full $15 for their Blackjack.
Dealer |
Player #1 |
|
|
|
If you have blackjack the dealer will offer even money. |
Click Here to Sign up and Play BlackJack
|
Dedicated to live dealer games.