Whether you’re playing in online casinos, or in land based casinos in Las Vegas, Macau, the Genting Highlands, Australia or elsewhere, you can find the “Insurance” side bet offered in nearly all blackjack games. To take insurance, you put your money down (generally half your box bet) when the dealer has an Ace showing as their first card. The insurance bet on blackjack pays 2:1 if the dealer does get a blackjack, and it loses if no blackjack is achieved (which is most of the time).

How often will a dealer get blackjack? This depends on the number of card decks being played, what the current “count” is on the blackjack shoe, and how deeply the dealer card penetration goes. Statistically a dealer needs an Ace (1 chance in 13 = 7.7%) and a picture / ten card (4 chances in 13, but only makes a blackjack when an Ace is present already = 30%) to make a blackjack hand. This means that the dealer (or a player) will get a blackjack approximately once in every 23 hands.

Blackjack INSURANCE bets should be AVOIDED unless you’re a very experienced card counter. It’s a bad bet for any blackjack player, and in the long run, not taking the blackjack insurance bet will save you money. The house edge on the insurance bet averages about 7% (on 4 decks and above) which is a large premium to pay on a game that typically has a house edge of 0.5% – 1.5% depending on play conditions.

Blackjack insurance is like any other kind of insurance. You’re paying a premium to protect against an event that might or might not happen. In the case of blackjack insurance, the premium is simply too high to pay when compared to the relative risk. Save your money for better gambling opportunities!