When the dealer shows an ace, insurance typically lets you wager up to half of the original bet. It pays 2:1 if the dealer’s hole card is worth 10 and loses otherwise.
The name is the trap
The side bet does not change your cards or protect the original hand. You are simply betting that the dealer has blackjack. Without information about the remaining composition of the shoe, the payout is not sufficient for that wager to be favorable.
Evaluate insurance as its own bet, not as emotional protection for a strong hand.
What about even money?
When you have a natural blackjack and the dealer shows an ace, “even money” is the same underlying insurance trade presented differently. Non-counting basic strategy declines it and keeps the normal blackjack outcome.
The rule to remember
Under non-counting basic strategy, decline insurance and even money. Casino Strategy Trainer does not teach card counting or use prior cards in the shoe.