INSURANCE

admin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:37:09 +0000

Let’s play another pretend hand. In this one, you’re dealt a pair of Tens while the dealer shows an Ace. If the dealer has a blackjack, everyone at the table automatically loses their money, unless another person also has a blackjack (in which case, it’s a push, or a draw, and the bet is neither won nor lost). But before the dealer checks her hole card, she asks if you’d like to buy “insurance.”

Here you have the chance to place a side bet that she has a blackjack, by betting up to half your original bet. If you place the insurance bet and she does have a blackjack, you lose your original bet but still get paid 2 to 1 on your insurance bet, so you end up with what you started with.

But that’s only if she has a blackjack. If she doesn’t, you lose your insurance bet, and play resumes. Unfortunately, all side bets are sucker bets, and insurance is no exception. The dealer will have a blackjack less than one third of the time. You should almost never, ever take insurance, whether you have 12 or 20.

However, when you have a blackjack and the dealer shows an Ace up, she’ll offer you even money before she checks for a blackjack (which would be a push). If you take her offer, she’ll pay you even money instead of the usual 3 to 2, whether she ends up with a blackjack or not. The odds are still the same that she doesn’t, but I’m telling you to take even money. We recommend only the most reliable online casinos.

Psychologically, it’s much better to win something when you finally get a blackjack than when you just get a push. I know, I know, mathematically, in the long run, you won’t make as much money, but I say better a bird in the hand (now) than two in the bush (tomorrow).

A TYPICAL HAND

admin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:34:44 +0000

Let’s take you through an actual blackjack hand to show you how it’s done. You enter the casino and go to a table with a sign that says $5-$500, which are your minimum and maximum betting limits. You take a seat and set a $100 bill on the table (at most casinos, dealers aren’t allowed to take anything directly from your hand to curb cheating). She gives you chips, you place $10 worth in the betting circle, and the round begins.

The dealer deals you a Five card and a Four card (for a total of 9) while she shows a Seven. A 9 is pretty small, and since there’s no possibility of busting no matter what card you take next, you go ahead and scrape your forefinger toward you to signal “hit me.” The dealer gives you a Queen, making a grand total of 19. This is a pretty good hand, so you wave over your bet, signaling you want to stand, or stay.

The dealer has certain rules that she has to follow no matter what, but you’re free to do whatever you want. When the dealer turns over her other card, she has to follow the rules set by the online casino, which means she takes a card (or hit) anytime her cards add up to 16 or less. At some casinos, she stands on all totals of 17, while others make her hit if she’s got a soft 17, such as an Ace-Six or Three-Three-Ace. She must stop when she has a total of at least 17 no matter what; you, on the other hand, can play however you want, regardless of your total.

So now the dealer flips over her hole card to reveal a Jack, which gives her a total of 17. Even though she can see that you have 19, clearly higher than her 17, house rules force her to stay. She slides your winnings next to your original bet, then scoops up the cards and gets ready to deal another hand.

Sure, it looks like it’s an even match against the dealer, especially since you
every single time. But because you have to act first, while the dealer waits until everyone else is done, she gets the advantage: You’ll bust first and lose, regardless of whether or not the dealer would have busted.