1. Insurance Blackjack Rules For Real
2. Insurance Blackjack Rules Card Game

In other words, blackjack dealer rules state that only one of the dealer’s cards is visible after the initial deal. Depending on the variant you play, the status of the hidden card will change. For example, blackjack rules in the UK state that the hidden card must be on the table in a face-down position.

One seemingly good bet to beginning blackjack players is taking insurance. And a major reason why beginning players are fooled into thinking insurance is a good idea is because dealers ask players beforehand if they want insurance when the opportunity arises. However, this is a very poor wager, and we’ll get into the specifics of why after explaining more about this bet.

If the player has blackjack he wins unless the dealer has blackjack as well, in this case the hand is a “push” or a tie. If the dealer’s face-up card is an ace, the player can make “insurance” to guard against the risk that the dealer holds a blackjack. The insurance pays 2:1 if the dealer’s hand is a blackjack. Online blackjack players use partial insurance when they want to decrease the variance they face and boost the advantage they get from free bonus play. Such bonuses normally have terms attached to them that require the player to wager a specific amount of their own funds before withdrawing their bonus-associated winnings.

How Insurance Bets Work

The opportunity for insurance wagers arise when the dealer draws a face-up ace; at this point, the dealer will go around the table and ask everybody if they want to take insurance. The insurance is in case the dealer receives a blackjack, and you put out half of your original bet as the insurance. Assuming the dealer does have a blackjack, you win 2-1 on your insurance wager.

To illustrate how this works, let’s say that you make a $10 bet, and the dealer shows an ace. You then take the offered insurance bet by laying another $5 out on the table. The dealer turns over his second card, which is a king, thus giving him a blackjack. In this event, you receive win $5 on your insurance bet ($10 total), but lose $10 since the dealer had a blackjack. So basically, your overall bet was a push, and this doesn’t seem like such a bad deal so far.

Now, let us assume that the dealer didn’t have a natural blackjack; in this instance, you automatically lose the $5 insurance wager; however, you still have a chance to win the original $10 wager if your hand beats the dealer’s.

Why the Insurance Bet is Bad

Consult any source of blackjack strategy and they’ll tell you that insurance is bad. And the first thing you have to understand with this concept is exactly what insurance entails. Most players mistakenly assume that insurance is meant to protect their hand in the event that the dealer has a blackjack. But the reality is that insurance is merely a wager on the dealer having a natural blackjack.

The main number you want to concentrate on here is 9:4 odds – or rather, the odds against the dealer having a blackjack when they’re showing an ace is 9:4. To break this down further, let’s say you make $5 insurance bets 130 times; based on the 9:4 odds, you’d win your bet 40 times for $400 in total winnings ($10 total earnings X 40 bets). On the other hand, you’d lose 90 of these bets for $450 in total losses ($5 total losses X 90 bets). As you can see, this leaves you $50 in the hole, thus making it a bad bet overall.

Rules

The player's goal is to assemble a hand worth a number of points that exceeds the value of the dealer's hand. You need to collect no more than maximum of 21 points, or you lose (bust).

Six standard 52-card decks are used in the game. In order to participate in a round the player must place a bet. Once all bets have been placed, the dealer deals two face-up cards to each player and one face-up card and one face-down card to him- or herself.

Once the player and the dealer have finished taking their cards, the values of their final hands are compared. If the player's score is higher than the dealer's, the player gets a 1:1 payout on their bet. If a player and the dealer have the same score (other than blackjack), this is considered a draw and the player gets their bet back. If the dealer's score is higher than the player's, the player loses.

Blackjack

If the first two cards in a hand are worth a total of 21 points, this hand is called 'blackjack.' If the dealer gets blackjack, all players lose other than those with blackjack. If both the dealer and a player have blackjack, this is considered a draw, and the player gets their bet back.

If a player has blackjack and the dealer does not, the player wins and gets a 3:2 payout on their bet.

If the dealer's face-up card is worth 10 points, they look at their face-down card. If the dealer has blackjack, they turn their cards over, and the round ends.

Player Actions

If neither the player nor the dealer have blackjack, the player can choose one of several actions once the cards have been dealt.

'Split' – this action is only available if the player's hand contains two cards of the same value. The player doubles their bet, splits their hand in two, and takes two additional cards. The two hands are then played independently.

Insurance Blackjack Rules For Real

'Hit' – the player takes another card. This action can be repeated until the value of the hand exceeds 21 points.

'Double' – the player doubles their bet, takes another card, and stands.

'Stand' – the player takes no more cards and keeps their current hand.

If the value of the player's hand exceeds 21 points, they lose the round.

Dealer

Once all players have stood, the dealer turns their face-down card over.

If necessary, the dealer can take additional cards until they have 17 or more points. If the dealer's score exceeds 21, all players who have not gone bust automatically win regardless of their score.

Insurance

Special case: if the dealer has a face-up ace, the players have the option to place an additional 'insurance' bet equal to half of their original bet. Once all players have made a decision, the dealer looks at their face-down card. If the dealer has blackjack, a payout of 2:1 is paid on all 'insurance' bets. If the dealer does not have blackjack, all insurance bets go to the pot and the game continues as usual.

Insurance Blackjack Rules Card Game

Payouts

Counting Points

The following card values are used when counting points: the cards from 2 to 10 are worth a number of points equal to the card's face value. The cards J, Q, and K are worth 10 points. Ace is worth 1 or 11 points depending on which point value prevents the hand from exceeding 21.