The insurance bet in blackjack is considered as one of the worst casino bets that you will ever make. There is a lot of advice against it, and it appears that the name of this wager is more of a misnomer instead describing something factual. The first and most obvious explanation for classifying this wager as one of the worst casino bets is its high house edge.
The goal in blackjack is not to get your hand as close to a value of 21. Your real goal in blackjack is to accumulate a total that will beat the dealer's hand. If you try to be as close to 21 for every single hand you play, you risk busting your hand at certain times when you don't really have to.
For players to become successful in blackjack they should be knowledgeable about the game. They should at least know hand valuation and what their options are after the cards are dealt. However, understanding these options are only enough to get you along but not enough for you to win.
Blackjack is definitely one of the games in a casino where the players have a chance to turn the tables around. You don't have to rely on luck to get a hand which is better than the dealer's. This type of casino game requires one to understand and use basic strategy. You don't have to hope to get a 21 for you to win every time.
If played knowledgeably, you can reduce the house edge in blackjack and make worthwhile winnings while you're at it. If you don't, which means you play by your own sheer gut, then you get to feel the whole weight of the casino's advantage every single hand you play in the game.
Those who do not understand this also do not understand why the blackjack insurance bet is one of the worst bets in a casino. Your dealer also has the opportunity of getting a 21. So, when the up card is an Ace you can assume that he has a 21.
If you don't follow basic strategy and just assume he's got a 21 then you have just made one of the worst bets in a casino. You are not insuring your hand, you are actually betting that the dealer's other card is a ten. If you follow basic strategy, you can be sure that the dealer will have less ten value cards, which means you'll likely lose your insurance bet. This hits you harder if you lose your insurance bet as well as your original wager.
The high house edge and the poor odds of insuring your wager combine to make the insurance bet one of the worst casino bets around. You'll be saving yourself from a lot of trouble if you play blackjack knowledgeably and follow basic strategy.