When You Should Surrender in Blackjack Generally, for Blackjack with surrender solution enabled, the dealer stands on 17. Thus, it would be best if you always surrendered on: Dealer’s Ace, 9, 10 if you have a hard 16 (except 8-8, when it is better to split).
Does the concept of the surrender rule in blackjack confuse
you?
You’re not alone.
We think this is the least-understood rule in blackjack. The
difference between early surrender and late surrender is
important. Improving your understanding of blackjack surrender
rules means improving your overall game strategy.
Some blackjack games allow players the option of giving up
(or “surrendering”) their hands right after the initial deal is
complete, for the cost of half of their ante bet. The idea is to
quit while you’re ahead if you feel like you don’t have a shot
at winning the hand. Surrender rules are an advantage for the
player, in that she can choose to keep half of her original bet
rather than play out her hand and lose the entire thing.
Blackjack surrenders come in two flavors: early and late.
- In these cases, you should not go for late surrender: When you play a single-deck Blackjack and the dealer stands on a soft 17, don’t play a late surrender when the dealer has a 9, 10 or an A and your hand is worth 15; When you play a single-deck game and the dealer has a 9 and your hand is worth 16.
- What is surrender in blackjack? This is a strategy in which the player may fold the hand risking only half of the bet rather than the entire amount. There are two options in terms of surrendering your hand. Late Surrender may be done after the dealer checks for blackjack and Early Surrenderis possible before the dealer check. This page takes an in-depth look at the choice to surrender in blackjack. It depends on lo.
To use the surrender rule to your advantage, it’s important
to understand the differences between the two types of
surrender.
What Is Early Surrender?
An early surrender is when the player chooses to give up on
their hand immediately after the cards are dealt but before the
dealer checks for a natural blackjack. The early surrender
requires that players forfeit half their original wager.
The early surrender rule is the most desirable type of
surrender because it’s available regardless of whether or not
the dealer was dealt a natural. As is often the case with rules
that favor the player, the early surrender rule is rare these
days.
Why has the early surrender disappeared?
According to the Wizard of Odds, the addition of an early
surrender rules cuts into the casino’s built-in edge by 0.63%.
To put that in perspective, changing a game’s shoe from eight
decks to one affects the house edge less (+0.59%) than the
addition of an early surrender rule.
This doesn’t means that casinos won’t offer early surrender –
some do–especially online casinos.
But they compensate with other rule changes that chisel away
at the advantage you gain from the early surrender rule.
What Is Late Surrender?
The late surrender rule allows a player to give up on their
hand for the cost of half their ante, just like an early
surrender.
But unlike an early surrender, this rule requires that you
wait to see if the dealer has been dealt a natural blackjack
first. If the dealer did catch a natural, you can’t surrender,
and you’ll lose your whole wager just like if you never chose
the surrender option in the first place.
Late surrender rules don’t lower the casino’s edge anywhere
near the amount that early surrender rules do.
According to the same source at Wizard of Odds, a late
surrender rule cuts into the casino’s edge by about 0.1%–about
as much as a Doubling rule. As a consequence of its smaller
negative impact on the casino’s bottom line, you’re more likely
to see this form of the surrender rule than the early version.
Even though the reduction in the house edge is small, it’s an
advantage that’s worth seeking out.
A note on blackjack etiquette and surrender rules – it’s
common for land-based casinos to offer a late surrender without
advertising it. You should always ask your dealer if there’s a
late surrender option. Even though the player advantage is
small, the casino isn’t in the business of giving any amount of
money away.
The Difference Between Early & Late Surrender
The difference between the two is simple – early surrender
rules allow you to give up your hand for half your wager even if
the dealer holds a natural blackjack, while late surrender rules
allow you to give up half your wager only if the dealer doesn’t
hold a natural.
Surrender Strategy
The strategy for games with early surrender and games with
late surrender rules is different enough that even the ideal
playing styles are different. Here’s a basic guide to the proper
ways to play for both early and late surrender blackjack games.
When You Should Take an Early Surrender
Though the early surrender is a tempting move when you find a
table that offers it, we only recommend you consider abandoning
your wager in the following three situations:
- When the dealer shows Ace and you hold a hard total of 5 – 7 or 12 – 17.
- When the dealer shows Ace and you hold 33, 66, 77, or 88.
- When the dealer shows any 10 and you hold a hard total of 14-16.
You should hit on hard totals between 8 and 11, but up
against an Ace the early surrender rule gives you the best
possible return on pretty much every other hard hand.
These are all acceptable split hands in other situations but
against a soft dealer hand, an early surrender is the acceptable
play here.
If you draw is anything about 5-7, you’re bust. Unless you’re
keeping a stellar count, you’re in dangerous territory, and the
early surrender will help you cut your losses.
When You Should Take a Late Surrender
Once again, the late surrender option may be appealing in
plenty of game situations, but we only think it is
strategically-feasible in the following three:
- When the dealer shows Ace and you hold any total of 15.
- When the dealer shows Ace or any 10 and you hold any total of 16.
- When the dealer shows Ace and you hold any total of 17.
The only exception here is that you don’t surrender if the
game’s rules indicate that the dealer must hit a soft 17.
This rule is true regardless of the game’s rules regarding
how the dealer behaves on a total of 17.
If you’re playing in a game in which the dealer is forced to
hit a soft 17, ignore this rule.
When You Should Refuse a Late Surrender
Here are a couple of common mistakes blackjack players make
with the late surrender rule:
- You should NOT take a late surrender when the dealer stands
on soft 17 while showing a 9, 10, or Ace while you hold any
total of 15 or 17. - You should NOT take a late surrender when the dealer shows a
9 and you hold any total of 16.
This is one of those rules you just have to memorize at first
until it starts to make sense to you at the table.
This is simple mathematics. The dealer is more likely to come
in underneath your point total than you are to bust out by
taking a hit.
Anyone who’s played a round or two of blackjack in the casino
appreciates the appeal of the surrender rule. Sometimes it’s
best to accept the loss of half your ante and hope for a better
deal.
The most obvious example is 16, the worst garbage hand in the
game.
Holding a 16 looks even worse when the dealer is showing a
10.
This is just one example of a time when you’re obviously
better off giving up half the ante and moving past the terrible
deal. If you think of this move as getting back half of a bet
you would have lost, you see the beauty of the blackjack
surrender rule.
Surrender is allowed at many casinos throughout the world. This includes ones on the Internet. Most players do not understand its benefits and often misplay hands due to not knowing the basic strategy of blackjack surrender.
Surrender is only offered at shoe blackjack games. Single and double deck blackjack games, even ones spread at online casinos, never allow surrender.
What is Surrender?
Surrender is where the house allows a player to fold before drawing cards. If a player chooses to surrender then half of the original wager is returned and the cards are removed from play. The action of a surrendered hand is over, even if the dealer busts. A player that wishes to surrender in a live game will run a finger behind the bet. Online games that offer surrender will have a button on the table.
Make sure to check the rules before playing to ensure that surrender is available.
When to Surrender at Blackjack
The strategy of blackjack surrender depends on whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17. There are only four instances when a player should surrender when the dealer stands on soft 17. There are seven times a player should surrender when the dealer hits a soft 17.
Players should surrender 16 against a 9, 10 or ace when the dealer stands on all 17’s. The exception is a pair of 8’s. Those should still be split against any dealer door card and never surrendered. A 15 hand should be surrendered versus a dealer’s 10-value card.
The rules change a little when the dealer hits a soft 17. The surrenders in the stay on 17 games also apply to the hit 17 games. Players will also surrender 15 and 17 against an ace. A pair of 8’s is still split against every hand except for when the dealer has an ace. In that case, it should be surrendered.
How Does Surrender Affect House Edge?
Surrender In Blackjack
A game that offers surrender has a house advantage .08% lower than a game with similar rules but no surrender. Some casinos will try to lure players by placing placards on the table that state “surrender available”. These signs are common at Caesars Entertainment tables on the Las Vegas Strip. Most tables with these signs are games that pay 6-5 on a blackjack, which adds 1.39% to the house edge. Make sure to ask the dealer if the game pays 3-2 on a blackjack before throwing your cash on the table.