Insurance

Whenever the dealer’s up-card is an ace he will ask each player whether they wish to buy “insurance”. In an online casino, if insurance is permitted at the table, there will be an insurance button that lights up whenever the dealer has an ace showing.

If a player takes this insurance he is betting that the dealer’s card has a 10-value i.e., the player is betting that the dealer has a Blackjack.

Taking out “insurance” could be classed as a separate game in itself as the outcome has nothing whatsoever to do with the hand the player may have. If a player chooses this option they must place an amount equal to exactly one-half of their original wager next to their original bet, in the area of the table which says “Insurance Pays 2 to 1” (or alternatively click the insurance button).

Some real-world casinos differ in that they may allow the player to place less than half their original bet, but none of them permit a player to exceed their original bet and almost without exception, online casinos require the wager to be exactly half the original bet.

Insurance must be taken at the start of a turn, before any other playing decision is made – once you have decided to stand, hit, split or double, insurance can no longer be taken.

Insurance bets are either settled immediately after they are wagered (in the case of hole games where peeking is permitted), or at the end of the hand in the case of all other games.

If the dealer’s other card is of a ten value, they have a Blackjack and the player (unless they too have a Blackjack) loses their original bet. However, they will win the insurance bet, which pays 2 to 1. Since the insurance bet was almost certainly half the value of the original wager, the result is that the losing original bet and the winning insurance bet at double odds cancel each other out.

If the player also has a Blackjack, the original bet will be a push, while the insurance bet will be paid out at 2 to 1.

If the dealer does not have a ten-value card, the insurance bet is lost and the dealer collects the insurance bet. The rest of the hand is then decided in the normal way.