What is Insurance?
Insurance is a blackjack side bet offered when the dealer shows an ace, paying 2 to 1 if the dealer's hidden card completes a blackjack.
The insurance bet is typically up to half the original stake. If the dealer has blackjack, the insurance pays 2 to 1 and usually offsets the main bet's loss. If not, the insurance is lost and the hand continues.
For a player not counting cards, insurance is a poor bet. The dealer needs a ten-value card, and in a multi-deck game fewer than one in three of the remaining cards are tens, while the payout assumes one in three. The resulting house edge is around 7% or more, much higher than on the main game.
Being offered 'even money' when holding a blackjack against a dealer ace is the same bet presented differently. Card counters may take insurance when the count shows an unusually high share of tens remain.
