Blackjack Counting Ensures Better Insurance Bet Odds

admin · Site Admin Joined: 15 May 2007 Posts: 860

Insurance bets are one of the trickiest aspects of playing Blackjack. These bets are only offered when the dealer's face up card is an Ace. The player bets that the dealer is holding a natural 21, which means that the dealer's face down card must have a value of 10 (10, Jack, Queen or King).

Since the insurance bet offers a 2-to-1 payout, players can do well to take the bet. If they bet half of their original bet on the insurance side bet, players can protect their original bets. If the player wins the insurance bet (meaning the dealer has a 21), but the player loses the hand (does not have a 21), the player gains back through insurance what they lost in their original bet.

Unfortunately, the odds that the dealer has a 10-value card are really 2.25-fo1, giving the house an advantage. That makes knowing when to take the insurance bet is difficult. Only players who have been Blackjack counting can make the best of insurance bets. By Blackjack counting, players can figure out exactly how many 10-value cards are left in the pile. Using Blackjack counting information, players can know the exact odds that the dealer indeed has a 10-value card. If, through Blackjack counting, players see that many 10-value cards are still hidden, they know that the dealer's odds of holding a 10-value card are better than the 2.25-to-1 average and can thus take the bet with confidence.