What Is Insurance In Blackjack?

Insurance is an option that you are offered when playing Blackjack only if the dealer is showing an ace. To take insurance costs you a further bet of half the original bet amount that you placed. Insurance is meant to protect you against the chance that the dealer gets Blackjack as his hand.

When you take insurance, if the blackjack dealer gets something other than Blackjack, you lose your insurance stake but you continue to play your hand as normal. If the dealer does get Blackjack, then you lose your original bet but you are paid evens on the insurance and so receive some returns.

If you get Blackjack when you have taken insurance, some variations of the game offer an option called "even money". This option means that you will only get paid even money on your Blackjack rather than the usual 3-2 payout. However, if the dealer gets Blackjack, you will still be paid whereas usually this would be a push or tie.