Lesson 4 of 10 · 4 min
Lesson 4: what pays and what robs you
Key takeaway: Blackjack should pay 3 to 2. Avoid 6:5 tables. Never take insurance — or even money.
| Result | Pays |
|---|---|
| Win | 1 to 1 |
| Blackjack | 3 to 2 ($10 wins $15) |
| Push | Bet returned |
The 6:5 trap
Some tables pay blackjack only 6 to 5 ($10 wins $12). It doesn’t sound like much, but it adds about 1.4 percentage points to the house edge — roughly four times what you lose playing perfectly. It’s the worst rule there is. If the felt says “Blackjack pays 6 to 5”, find another table.
Insurance
When the dealer shows an ace you’ll be offered insurance: a side bet, up to half your wager, that the dealer has a ten underneath. It pays 2 to 1. To break even it would need the dealer to have a ten more than a third of the time, and they only do about 31% of the time. The house wins around 7% on that bet.
Even money
If you have blackjack and the dealer shows an ace, you’ll be offered “even money”: take 1 to 1 right now. It’s exactly the same as insuring your blackjack. Turning it down is worth 1.04 bets on average; taking it, exactly 1. You give away 4%.