Insurance meaning: in blackjack, insurance is a side bet offered when the dealer’s upcard is an ace. You stake up to half your original bet that the dealer has blackjack, and it pays 2:1 if they do. Despite the name, it doesn’t protect your hand; it is a separate wager that loses money on average.
Insurance is a side bet of up to half your stake that the dealer’s hole card is worth 10.
It pays 2:1, but with roughly 4 in 13 cards worth 10, the bet loses about 7.7% on average.
“Even money” on your own blackjack is the same insurance bet in a different form.
Basic strategy says decline insurance every time; only card counters in shoe games had a case.
Term
Insurance (blackjack side bet)
When offered
Dealer’s upcard is an ace
Maximum stake
Usually half the original bet
Payout
2:1 if the dealer has blackjack
Basic strategy
Decline
Insurance meaning: a side bet on the dealer’s hole card
Part of our casino glossary, this entry covers a decision that every blackjack player meets sooner or later. When the dealer shows an ace, the game pauses and asks whether you want insurance. If you accept, you place an extra bet, normally capped at half your main stake.
The dealer then checks the face-down card. If it is worth 10 (a 10, jack, queen or king), the dealer has blackjack, your insurance wins at 2:1 and your main bet usually loses. If it isn’t, the insurance bet is lost and the round carries on as normal.
How insurance works in a round, step by step
You bet, say $10, and receive two cards; the dealer’s upcard is an ace.
The game offers insurance; you can take it for up to $5 or decline.
The dealer peeks at the hole card.
Dealer blackjack: the $5 insurance pays $10, your $10 main bet loses (unless you also hold blackjack), and you finish level.
No dealer blackjack: the $5 is lost and you play your $10 hand as usual.
That “finish level” result is why the bet feels like protection. It isn’t: you broke even only in the rounds where the dealer had blackjack, and you paid $5 in every other round. Our how to play blackjack guide walks through the rest of the round.
Is insurance worth it? The math in dollars
A standard deck has 16 ten-value cards out of 52, or 4 in 13. Ignoring the few cards already on the table, the dealer’s hidden card completes a blackjack about 4 times in 13 and misses about 9 times in 13.
A $5 insurance bet over 13 average rounds
Outcome
How often
Result per round
Total
Dealer has blackjack
4 in 13
+$10 (2:1)
+$40
Dealer doesn’t
9 in 13
−$5
−$45
Net over 13 rounds
−$5
Losing $5 for every $65 bet on insurance ($5 × 13) is a house edge of about 7.7% (5 ÷ 65). Compare that with the main game: GamesHub lists RTG’s Suit ’Em Up Blackjack at up to 99.51% RTP and PokerListings lists Super 21 at 99.6%, both well under 1% edge. Insurance is one of the costliest bets at the table.
Even money vs insurance when you hold blackjack
If you have blackjack and the dealer shows an ace, many games offer “even money”: take a 1:1 payout now instead of risking a push. On a $10 hand that means a $10 profit in every case. It is exactly the same as buying $5 of insurance on a blackjack.
Holding blackjack against a dealer ace, $10 bet
Choice
Dealer has blackjack (4 in 13)
Dealer doesn’t (9 in 13)
Average per round
Take even money
+$10
+$10
+$10.00
Decline
$0 (push)
+$15 (3:2)
about +$10.38
Declining averages about $10.38 per round (9 × $15 ÷ 13), so even money gives up roughly 38 cents a time. The difference is small, but the direction is the same as ordinary insurance: the average favors saying no.
Insurance myths and the card counting exception
“Insure a good hand.” Your own cards don’t change the dealer’s odds of a 10 in the hole much; the bet is the same poor wager on a 20 as on a 12.
“It saves money over time.” It only pays when the dealer has blackjack, and that happens less often than the 2:1 price assumes.
“Pros take it.” In land-based shoe games, card counting can show when the remaining cards are rich in 10s. Online RNG blackjack reshuffles every hand, so that idea doesn’t carry over; see can you count cards online.
Insurance isn’t the only add-on. RTG’s Blackjack + Perfect Pairs adds a pair side bet paying up to 25:1, and GamesHub’s RTG list (opens in a new tab) gives the game an RTP range of 95.9% to 99.59%, which shows how much the side bets can drag the return down. Suit ’Em Up adds a suited side bet, with a 60:1 top payout reported for suited aces.
All side bets follow the same rule: the bigger the headline payout, the more often you lose the stake. They suit a small, fixed entertainment budget; set one with our bankroll management guide. If betting stops feeling like entertainment, call or text 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738).
Online blackjack with insurance at casinos with an offer via our links
These three RTG casinos have blackjack in their published or reported terms and game lists; open the variant’s rules to see how it handles insurance and even money. All three are offshore casinos that no US state licenses or regulates, so you’d have no state regulator to turn to and the casino writes the terms. Check what your state’s law says before signing up. The offers below are slot-focused, and table games are often excluded or weighted far lower. We earn commission and rank partners commercially.
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Who runs it: Primrose Media Limited, licensed in Anjouan (its terms). Regulator notes: Named in a Michigan Gaming Control Board cease-and-desist release, April 9, 2025.
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Who runs it: License not shown; third parties report Costa Rica or none. Regulator notes: Third parties report it does not accept Ohio players.
21+ (18+ where allowed). New players. Min deposit $30 (reported). Wagering 30x deposit + bonus on slots (reported). Max cashout: 10x deposit (reported). Withdrawal cap $2,500 / week (reported). Terms source: reported. Terms apply. Offer checked October 28, 2026.
These casinos are offshore operators. They are not licensed or regulated by any US state, and state consumer protections do not apply. Check the law in your state before you play. Terms marked “reported” come from third-party reviews; the terms shown at sign-up apply.
21+ (18+ where allowed). Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: responsible gambling tools and free help. Gambling problem? Call or text 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738).
Frequently asked questions
What does insurance mean in blackjack?
Insurance is a side bet you can make when the dealer shows an ace, betting that the dealer’s hidden card is worth 10. It usually costs up to half your original bet and pays 2:1 if the dealer has blackjack. It is separate from your hand and has a much higher house edge than the main game. See blackjack for the basics.
Should you ever take insurance in blackjack?
No, basic strategy says to decline insurance every time. With about 4 cards in 13 worth 10, a 2:1 payout falls short, and the bet loses about 7.7% of what you stake on average. The only historical exception was a card counter in a shoe game tracking a deck rich in 10s. Our basic strategy guide lists it as a decline.
What is the difference between insurance and even money?
There is no real difference: even money is insurance on a blackjack. When you hold blackjack against a dealer ace, taking even money pays 1:1 at once, which works out the same as staking half your bet on insurance. Declining averages slightly more, about $10.38 against $10 on a $10 hand. See our push entry for what happens on a tie.
How much does insurance pay?
Insurance pays 2:1. A $5 insurance bet returns $10 profit plus the $5 stake if the dealer has blackjack, which usually cancels out the loss of a $10 main bet. If the dealer doesn’t have blackjack, the $5 is lost. Payouts are set in the game’s rules, which you can check in the online blackjack help screen.
Why do casinos offer insurance?
Casinos offer insurance because it carries a far higher house edge than basic blackjack. The name suggests protection, which makes the bet sound sensible, but it is a separate wager priced in the house’s favor. Online games prompt it automatically when the dealer shows an ace, so be ready to decline. Our house edge entry explains how that cost adds up.
Does insurance work with card counting online?
No, because online RNG blackjack reshuffles the deck every hand, so the count never builds up. Counters in land-based shoe games could take insurance when many 10s remained, but that relied on tracking cards over several rounds. Online, each hand starts from a full deck. Our blackjack card counting online guide explains this in more detail.
What are the odds the dealer has blackjack when showing an ace?
With an ace showing, the dealer completes blackjack about 4 times in 13, or roughly 30.8%, because 16 of the 52 cards in a deck are worth 10. That means the dealer misses about 69% of the time. Insurance pays 2:1, which would only break even if the dealer hit blackjack one time in three, about 33.3%. The gap between 30.8% and 33.3% is the source of insurance’s roughly 7.7% house edge. Our blackjack game page and what is the house edge on blackjack answer cover the main game.
How much does always taking insurance cost?
Always taking insurance costs about 7.7% of every dollar you put on it, on top of the main game’s edge. A dealer ace appears on roughly 1 hand in 13, so over 130 hands at $10 you’d face about 10 insurance offers. Taking $5 each time means $50 on insurance, with an average cost of about $3.85. For comparison, $1,300 of main-game bets on Super 21, listed at a 0.4% edge, costs about $5.20, so insurance adds roughly 75% to the session’s cost. Declining is the cheapest habit you can build. See our casino math basics and bankroll entry.
Is insurance the same as surrender in blackjack?
No, insurance and surrender are different options. Insurance is an extra side bet, up to half your stake, that pays 2:1 if the dealer has blackjack; your hand still plays on. Surrender ends your hand: you give up half your bet and get the other half back, which basic strategy uses in a few spots, such as hard 16 against a 10 where the game allows it. Surrender can save money on very weak hands, while insurance costs money on average. Our surrender entry and hard hand entry explain when surrender applies.
Is insurance a better bet in single-deck blackjack?
Insurance is still a losing bet in single-deck blackjack, though the arithmetic shifts slightly with the cards you can see. Holding two cards that aren’t 10s, 16 of the remaining 49 cards are 10-value, so the dealer has blackjack about 32.7% of the time, still short of the 33.3% needed to break even at 2:1. On a $5 insurance bet that’s an average loss of about 10 cents. Online RNG games reshuffle every hand, so there’s no count to exploit. Our shoe entry and card counting entry explain why decks matter on land.
Does blackjack insurance count toward bonus wagering?
Bonus terms rarely mention insurance on its own, but blackjack itself counts weakly or not at all toward wagering at most offshore casinos. Silver Oak’s offer page sets 60x playthrough on blackjack against 30x on slots, Miami Club’s bonus terms weight blackjack at just 5%, and SlotoCash excludes table games by default. Adding insurance means more money staked at a worse edge, while doing little for your requirement. Ask support how side bets are treated before using bonus funds. See our table games bonus page and game weighting entry.
Can I play blackjack with insurance online legally in New York?
No, New York doesn’t license online casinos, so online blackjack, insurance included, isn’t legally offered there. The New York State Gaming Commission says online casinos, including ones that claim to be sweepstakes, are unlawful in the state; legal online wagering is limited to licensed sports betting, horse racing, fantasy sports and certain lottery purchases. Dual-currency sweepstakes casinos are also banned under S5935-A. Third-party reports say Decode refuses New York players. See our New York page and is it illegal to play at offshore casinos.
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