Should You Take Insurance In Blackjack

The next time you’re at the casino, make sure to pay close attention to what you hear at the blackjack table. Now, it’s well-known that gamblers can be superstitious. Additionally, it seems like most have their takes on one of the most popular casino games on the planet. Because of this, there are several different schools of thought when it comes to playing blackjack.

It’s worth noting that there’s only one way to play blackjack correctly. But that doesn’t stop players from experimenting and trying to implement their strategic moves. There’s no way of knowing how certain players came to break from the norm and gain a leg up on the competition.

Whatever the reason may be, you’ll most likely come across several players who are more than willing to share their knowledge with you. You might consider heeding their wisdom, but it should be avoided if you have any intention to win at the tables. Here are seven common pieces of advice you should ignore when playing blackjack for real money.

Michael Shackleford: Hi guys, this is Mike and the purpose of today's Wizard of Odds Academy lesson will be to explain why you should never take insurance in Blackjack. What insurance is, is a side bet that the dealer has a 10 point card in the hole.

Split 10s to Increase Chances of a Blackjack

  1. When you take insurance and the dealer has a blackjack you break even on the hand, so it appears at first like this is a good bet. But once you dig into the numbers deeper, you can see that it’s not really a good bet. Here are the numbers you need to know. The dealer provides the opportunity to take insurance when showing an ace.
  2. If you decide to 'take insurance' you are betting one half of your original bet that the dealer has an 10 in the hole. If he has this 10, he will have a blackjack and you will lose your original bet (unless you too have a blackjack) but you will win 2 times your insurance bet, so you will in effect break even for that hand.

The name of the game is blackjack, so you should always try to increase your odds of hitting 21, right? Wrong. The way you win at blackjack is by playing according to perfect strategy and grinding out wins. If you are lucky enough to be dealt a 20, there is absolutely no reason you should split up your 10s.

But that doesn’t stop some gamblers from trying to take advantage of their luck. The only hand that can beat a 20 is a 21, obviously. If you play blackjack long enough, that is going to happen to you at some point. Speaking from experience, it’s one of the worst breaks in blackjack, but you have to shake it off.

A common practice among bad blackjack players is to split face cards in hopes of hitting two 21s. By doing this, you’ll frustrate fellow players and decrease your chances of winning. If you are sitting next to someone who routinely splits 10s, find a different table. If you’re someone who commonly does this, you need to change your approach to the game.

Should You Use Insurance In Blackjack

Should You Take Insurance In Blackjack

Increase Your Bet After a Loss

This tactic is far too common in all varieties of casino games. It’s a natural tendency to want to win your money back after losses, but it’s something that should rarely be done. Experienced gamblers might be able to chase losses effectively. If you’re new to the game, you should ignore people who advise you to increase your bets after a tough loss.

When gamblers increase bets after a loss, they are usually doing it out of desperation. Betting out of desperation is any easy way to lose all of your money. You should only gamble when you’re unburdened by stress and emotional duress. If you’re unable to do so, you should avoid gambling altogether.

If you think about the logic behind increasing bets after a loss, it’s somewhat nonsensical. The outcome in blackjack is random; you have no way of knowing what you’ll be dealt. If you count cards, you might make an educated guess, but you can’t know for sure. Your odds of winning a hand simply aren’t any better than previous hands.

Only Split Eights and Aces

One of the first things you’ll learn about playing blackjack is always to split eights and aces. The logic in both cases is airtight. If you’re dealt two aces, you either have a two or a soft 12, which are both terrible. Not only do you have an excellent chance of improving your hand, but splitting aces gives you a chance of catching two 21s.

Splitting eights is a no-brainer because getting dealt a 16 puts you in no-man’s land. There’s a good chance that you will improve your hand by splitting eights. Some blackjack players are convinced that you should only split aces and eights, but that isn’t the case.
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There’s a multitude of possible card combinations in blackjack. Frequently blackjack players must make decisions based on the cards they are dealt, compared to the cards the dealer is dealt. In fact, that’s how you win the game in the first place. Because there’s a wide variety of combinations, occasionally, basic strategy calls for players to split cards based on what the dealer draws.

You Can Occasionally Deviate From Basic Strategy

If you want to minimize the house edge, you need to stick to basic blackjack strategy 100% of the time. You might have gotten lucky by breaking from the norm a few times, but an erratic play style rarely rewards the player. This strategy can be challenging to learn, but over time, it is possible to master. When you first start playing, I highly recommend studying basic strategy and cheat sheets.

Should You Take Insurance In Blackjack

While playing blackjack, I routinely see players purposefully play against the book. I usually give the benefit of the doubt the first time, as should you. However, you might find that certain players make a point of playing according to their own set of rules. They might think they are being innovative or outsmarting the game. It’s impossible to improve your chances, unless you learn to count cards.

Some players might convince you to try some piece of strategy that has led to wins in the past. Whether that is splitting face cards, doubling a hard 12, or any other variety of misplay, ignore these pieces of advice. It’s always preferable to defer to basic strategy if you have any interest in winning money.

You Should Always Take Insurance

Should

This rule will not apply to you if you’re able to count cards. For those who don’t know, you can take insurance anytime a dealer’s upcard is an ace. If you’re counting cards and are sure the dealer has a face card, insurance is a smart and profitable bet.

If you’re incapable of counting cards, insurance is a waste of money. You have virtually no way of knowing what the dealer has under the ace, and it’s better to ride with your hand.

It’s always unfortunate to see the dealer get dealt an ace and subsequently hit a blackjack. But the odds a dealer has a 10 under the ace aren’t high enough to take out insurance.

Learning to Count Cards at Casinos Isn’t Worth It

Learning how to count cards is not nearly as challenging as you would think. With a fair amount of diligent, repetitive practice, you can master the art of counting cards. The methods that go into counting cards are complex, admittedly, and should be saved for another post. For the sake of simplicity, card counters assign values to each type of card. They then take that information to understand what types of cards are left in the deck.

When Should You Take Insurance In Blackjack

When counting cards, it’s essential to understand how many decks the casino uses at blackjack tables. It’s always easiest to count cards when only one deck is in play. However, very few casinos use one deck. Before you learn to count cards, you should have a solid grasp of the basic strategy of blackjack.

As I said earlier, learning to count cards is the only way to swing the odds into your favor. If you play blackjack perfectly, you still only have around a 49% chance to win every hand. Those are still great odds compared to other table games. If you can count cards effectively, you can increase your odds by a few percentage points. So, next time someone tells you that counting cards is a waste of time, make sure to ignore them.

It’s Just Money, You Can’t Take It With You

Winning money at casinos is incredibly challenging. Walking away from the casino with a profit as someone who isn’t a professional gambler is nearly impossible. It’s essential to be aware of both of these facts before you start gamabling. Being conservative with your bankroll in order to extend your stay at the tables is crucial to successful gambling.

Adopting a mindset that leads you to throw caution to the wind can lead to disaster. If you ever feel like you just can’t catch a break and it’s not your night, don’t keep shelling out money. Sometimes, the cards aren’t in your favor. Instead of listening to bad influences and putting yourself in financial turmoil, live to gamble another day.

Conclusion

Blackjack tables can be home to some of the worst gambling advice in the casino. The game appeals to a variety of gamblers, all with different opinions about the popular card game. Regardless of what you hear at the tables, try your best to block out incorrect information.

Should You Take Insurance In Blackjack

Lousy blackjack players commonly commit similar mistakes and always seem to want to ruin other players’ chances. If you’re ever advised to split 10s or increase bets after a loss, stick to your game plan. Never go against the grain; instead, always play according to basic strategy. Finally, counting cards is definitely worth looking into and is the only way to gain a slight edge on the house.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do you take insurance in blackjack

When Should You Take Insurance In Blackjack

Never Take Insurance

Do You Take Insurance In Blackjack

One error I see made repeatedly is the taking of insurance. Let me see if I can't help to clear up why you should never take this.

The term 'insurance' is actual a misnomer... you are not actually 'insuring' anything. All insurance is, is a side bet, at 2 to 1 odds, on whether the dealer has a 10 in the hole or not. It is nothing more than that. Insurance is offered each time the dealer has an Ace as his upcard. If you decide to 'take insurance' you are betting one half of your original bet that the dealer has an 10 in the hole. If he has this 10, he will have a blackjack and you will lose your original bet (unless you too have a blackjack) but you will win 2 times your insurance bet, so you will in effect break even for that hand. If the dealer does not have a 10 in the hole, you simply lose your insurance side bet and play continues.

Mathematically, it is simply a bad bet both in single deck and multiple deck games. The chances the dealer has that 10 in the hole are almost always greater than 2 to 1. And because you are offered only 2 to 1, you're not getting the 'proper value.'

Note: If you are keeping track of the number of 10's that are left in the deck, as well as the total number of non-10's that remain in the deck, and if this ratio falls below 2 to 1, then taking insurance is indeed a good bet.

Consider a single deck game, on the very first hand. You're dealt a 10, 10 against an Ace. Insurance is offered. At this point there are 14 tens and 33 non-tens left in the deck. This ratio is greater (although close) than 2 to 1. Insurance should not be taken.

This may help clear it up. Suppose you are keeping track of the cards that remain in the deck. At some point insurance is offered and you realize no tens remain in the deck. You certainly wouldn't take insurance here, would you? Of course not. The dealer can't possibly have a 10 in the hole if there are none left. On the other hand, suppose the unlikely scenario occurred where there were nothing but 10's left in the deck. Here you have that rarity of all bets... a 100% cinch, since the dealer must have a blackjack.

Now how about a scenario like this: There are 20 cards left in the deck and only two of them are 10's. Even the people who are not mathematically inclined should be able to realize, without stopping to figure it out, this too would simply be a bad bet. The dealer probably does not have one of those two remaining 10's in the hole.

Once again, mathematically speaking, if the odds are going to be greater than 2 to 1 that the dealer has a 10 in the hole and if the insurance bet pays only 2 to 1, it is 'not fair.' You will lose money in the long run taking insurance.

One of the most common misconceptions in the game is you should always insure a blackjack. The argument goes, 'You will win money on the hand regardless of what the dealer has.' (And this is true. If the dealer has a blackjack you tie your regular bet and win money on your insurance bet. If the dealer does not have a blackjack you lose your insurance bet but win 1.5 times your regular bet. In either case you gain one unit.)

Yes, that is all true. However if you do not insure your blackjack, like you're supposed to, you will win more than one unit per hand in the long run!! If you can't understand and implement this simple concept, you will lose money playing blackjack and there is no point in you reading any further - it is simply not your game. Thanks for visiting my site.

If you don't believe me, maybe you'll believe one of the seventy different books I own on blackjack... they will all tell you the same thing.

Another misconception is you should 'insure' your good hands and not your bad ones. As I've already mentioned, insurance is a side bet... it doesn't have a darn thing to do with the cards you have.

Have I ever taken insurance? Of course I have, on several occasions! But then again, I keep track of the ratio of 10's to non 10's and therefore I know when it is correct to do so.

Should You Ever Take Insurance In Blackjack