Surrender with Blackjack

What is Blackjack Surrender?

Surrender in blackjack is an optional rule in the casino game that allows you to give up half of your bet after you have seen your two cards and the dealer's up card. Because the rule reduces the house edge, it has become less popular at land-based casinos and they remove it from their blackjack tables. However, at online casinos, it is possible to play it especially when you play Blackjack Surrender with a live dealer.

Knowing when to use the blackjack surrender betting option can go a long way in determining how long your bankroll will last when playing the game. Players who understand the game very well consider a lot of factors before they Surrender. Chief among these are the number of decks in play, the house rules, and the cards dealt to both the player and the dealer.

Types of Surrender in Blackjack

The surrender option is blackjack is a strategic move in the game that helps you to minimize losses by returning half your stake. There are two main types of surrender in blackjack. They are early and late surrender. Each one has its peculiarity and we shall look at them in this section.

Early Surrender

Early surrender is the type of surrender in blackjack where you are allowed to surrender half your bet just before the dealer checks their hole card. In early surrender, you will have to pay only half of your initial bet regardless of what happens. This is the best surrender option as it reduces the house edge by a reasonable margin.

This is perhaps why the option is not available in some blackjack surrender variants. Then, variants that allow early surrender might have even tweaked it in some ways. So this is why you should make sure that you check the early surrender rule before you play that Blackjack variant.

Late Surrender

Late surrender is similar to early surrender only in the sense that you still get to surrender. However, in this blackjack surrender option, you can only surrender after the dealer has checked their hand for blackjack. In this case, half of your bet will returned if the dealer doesn't have a blackjack. However, if the dealer has a blackjack, then you lose the entire bet.

The late surrender option still reduces the house edge but not as much as the early surrender. Late surrender still pays the players but it doesn't put the house at a serious disadvantage. Because it pays the house more, most blackjack variants are more likely to allow this late surrender than early surrender.

When to Surrender in Blackjack

Whether there are four or more decks used in the game you must never surrender in blackjack when you have a 10 and ace as you have a blackjack and cannot lose that round. This perhaps should be the basic blackjack surrender rule.

When you play blackjack and you feel like the dealer has a stronger hand than yours then, surrendering has to be the first thought on your mind. This often happens when the up card of the dealer is a 10 or an ace and you know that you have a weak hand.

Because you fear the dealer's ace or ten-value card will help them hit a Blackjack or have a better hand, you might want to surrender. If you surrender any time you fear then, you might short-change yourself in the long run. This is why you need Blackjack surrender rules to help you make this decision.

Early Blackjack Surrender Strategy

Since early surrender allows you to surrender before the dealer checks for blackjack, the decisions are straightforward since you'll get half your stake back guaranteed regardless of the number of decks in play.

You should surrender if the dealer shows an ace and you have hands of 5 - 7 and 12 - 17. If you have a hand pair of 3s, 6s, 7s, or 8s you should also be surrendered against an ace rather than splitting them. If the dealer shows a 10, players with hard 14 - 16, pairs of 7s and 8s must also Surrender to achieve the highest expected value.

There are also situations where players should not surrender early when playing a blackjack game. Keep playing against the dealer's 10 if you have a hand of 4 & 10 or 5 & 9 in a single deck game, and 4 & 10 in a double deck game. Keep playing against the dealer's ace if you have a pair of 2s (if the dealer hits soft 17). Finally, keep playing against the dealer's 10 if you have 8, 8 in a single deck game when doubling after the split is permitted.

Late Blackjack Surrender Strategy

In late surrender blackjack, you forfeit your hand after the dealer has checked for blackjack. There are many situations in which you believe the late surrender is perfect but hold on a minute, let's explain some things so you don't take a late surrender for a hand that might win you the game.

You should go for a late surrender when you hold a total of 15 against the dealer's ace (if the game only allows the dealer to hit on soft 17. Also when you hold a total of 16 against the dealer's 10 or ace. Finally, take a late surrender if you hold 17 when the dealer has an ace.

Don't go for a late surrender if you hold a total of 15 - 17 and the dealer stands on soft 17 while holding a 9, 10 or Ace. Don't take a late surrender if you hold a total of 16 and the dealer shows 9.The late surrender rules aren't complex and the more you play, the better you understand.

Examples of Situations When You Should Surrender

It is impossible to state all the situations when you should surrender in blackjack, just understand that you should surrender to a potentially stronger hand. However, whether you are playing a single or multi-deck blackjack, here are some situations in which you should surrender:

• Hard 15 or 16 against a dealer's 10, or ace
• Soft 15, 16 against dealer's 9, 10, or ace
• Hard 12 against dealers 9 or higher
• If doubling down isn't allowed, surrender soft 17 against the dealer's ace, 10, or 9

Possibility of Playing Blackjack with Surrender Betting Option on Mobile Phones

It is possible to play blackjack surrender on your mobile devices like phones and tablets. This is made possible by the software providers and the online casinos that can use HTML5 technology on their websites to allow for easy gameplay on every device.

However, you can only surrender in live dealer blackjack as the option is not available in electronic blackjack. For this reason, you may want to ensure that your phone or tablet has qualities that will allow you to stream videos without stress.

Playing Blackjack Surrender Responsibly

Knowing how to surrender in blackjack is great but like all casino games, blackjack is a game of chance. For this reason, you need to understand that you can learn all the strategies and still not always win. This makes it necessary for you to always play responsibly to keep your finances, time and mental health in check.

Casinos provide you with tools for deposit, loss, wager, and self-exclusion which can help you play more responsibly. We advise that from time to time, you take advantage of the responsible gambling resources that you find at the casinos on our website.

Surrender in Blackjack: FAQ