Interested in perfecting your blackjack gameplay? There is a lot more to basic blackjack strategy than first meets the eye. There’s an optimal time for everything: for hitting, standing, splitting and doubling down. Blackjack games that offer the option to surrender offer a slightly lower house edge, but the player must time their moves perfectly. So, what is a surrender in blackjack and when should you consider making that move? Learn how to optimise your blackjack gameplay and explore the depths of the surrender strategy in this guide.
Interested in perfecting your blackjack gameplay? There is a lot more to basic blackjack strategy than first meets the eye. There’s an optimal time for everything: for hitting, standing, splitting and doubling down. Blackjack games that offer the option to surrender offer a slightly lower house edge, but the player must time their moves perfectly. So, what is a surrender in blackjack and when should you consider making that move? Learn how to optimise your blackjack gameplay and explore the depths of the surrender strategy in this guide.
Blackjack Surrender — What Is It?
A blackjack surrender is a move available in addition to hit and stand, and not all blackjack games offer a surrender. When players surrender in blackjack, they forfeit the entire hand, including half of the wager placed on it and remove themselves from play.
How to Play Blackjack Surrender?
Blackjack games that offer the surrender move are not significantly different from classic blackjack tables. The only difference is that players have the option to forfeit their hand before drawing additional cards in return for half of their original bet. Despite the negative connotations of surrendering, it can actually be a strategically advantageous move in blackjack, particularly in fast-paced play at online casinos. Two cards will be dealt to the player, face up, and the dealer receives one card face up (upcard). The dealer’s second card will be laid on the table after the player’s initial cards have been dealt, face down (hole card). The rules of the game remain the same — players must reach a point total that is equal to, or as close as possible to 21 without going over and while beating the dealer’s hand. Based on the value of the face-up card and your initial cards, you must make an educated guess about the probability of winning this hand. When the cards have been dealt, players will have the option to hit, stand or surrender. On some tables, doubling down and splitting is also available. Hitting will draw one more card and standing leaves your hand as is. Doubling down will double your bet in return for only one more card (you can hit multiple times on an unbusted hand) and splitting is only available on a pair. Surrendering, as defined previously, forfeits the hand in return for half of the wager placed. Blackjack Surrender may also feature optional side bets, such as Hot 3, 21+3, Any Pair and Bust It.
When Should You Surrender In Blackjack?
The math behind the surrender rule is that if your chance of winning is less than one out of four hands, then playing the hand yields a less than 25% chance of winning the hand and over a 75% chance of losing. Statistically speaking, surrendering in this case will save a larger portion of your bankroll than playing the hand would, in the long run. The basic strategy behind surrendering depends on whether or not the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17. There are four instances when a player should surrender when the dealer stands on soft 17, and seven when the dealer hits a soft 17.
There are two types of surrenders in blackjack, let’s find out what they are and the rules of when when a player should surrender.
Late Surrender
A late surrender is only available after the dealer peeks at their hole card when showing an ace or a 10, to determine whether or not the hand is a blackjack. If it is, the surrender option will no longer be available and the bet is lost (unless the player also has blackjack). Correct use of a late surrender can reduce the house edge by approximately 0.07% on tables played with a multi-deck shoe. On multi-deck tables, a late surrender is advisable in the following circumstances.
S17 decks (when the dealer stands on a soft 17).
- Surrender if your hold 16 and the dealer’s upcard is nine, 10 or ace.
- Surrender if you hold 15 and the dealer’s upcard is a 10.
H17 decks (when the dealer hits on a soft 17).
- Surrender when you hold a 15 and the dealer shows a 10 or ace.
- If you hold 16 and the dealer shows nine through ace, you should surrender.
- Surrender on a 17 if the dealer has an ace.
- On a 8-8, the rule is to surrender when the dealer has an ace. In all other cases, a split is advisable.
Early Surrender
An early surrender is available pre-peek, allowing players to surrender their hand to a dealer’s ace or 10 upcard before the dealer checks to determine if they have blackjack. An early surrender is more favourable for the players, but may include limitations depending on the casino. Macau casinos, for example, usually allow an early surrender only on a dealer’s 10-value upcard and not the ace. The early surrender basic strategy is a bit more simple, broken down below:
- Surrender a hard 5-7 and 12-17 against the dealer’s ace.
- Surrender a hard 14-16 against the dealer’s ten.
- Surrender a 33, 66, 77 and 88 against the dealer’s ace.
How Does A Surrender Affect The House Edge?
Blackjack is one of the casino games with the lowest house edge of just under 1%. Blackjack games that offer late surrender have a house advantage that is approximately 0.08% lower than blackjack with no surrender. When an early surrender is available, surrendering against the dealer’s ace or ten increases the RTP (return to player) by 0.39% and 0.24%, respectively. This roughly translates to a decrease of 0.63% of the house edge. Keep in mind that blackjack tables with surrender may have different payout odds, such as 6:5 on blackjack (which would add 1.39% to the house edge, bringing it up to nearly 2%). When optimising your gameplay with a basic surrender strategy, make sure that you are playing blackjack with a payout of 3:2 on blackjack. On top of that, multi-deck tables increase the house edge. The difference that surrendering makes may be small, but it can make a significant impact on a player’s gameplay in the long run by stabilising the bankroll, avoiding larger losses and strategically employing probability.
Thing To Keep In Mind
Before you play online Blackjack Surrender, or any game of blackjack, make sure to check the rules of the game to make sure that the surrender is available. If you’re playing at a land-based casino, don’t hesitate to ask the dealer if they have any surrender-friendly tables. Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that the use of any strategy does not guarantee positive results to all players, and that approaches may differ. Don’t attempt any blackjack strategy without thoroughly researching the topic, and cover all of your bases: establish a manageable bankroll, start with small wagers and keep learning the intricacies of blackjack.
FAQ
✅What is surrender in blackjack?
Surrender is an optional move on some online blackjack tables, such as Blackjack Surrender, which allows the player to forfeit their hand in return for half of the wager.
✅How to play Blackjack Surrender?
The rules of Blackjack Surrender don’t deviate from classic blackjack, the only difference is the ability to surrender your hand.
✅Where to play Blackjack Surrender?
At the moment, Blackjack Surrender is unavailable at LV BET Online Casino and other online casinos that feature this NetEnt Live table. Due to the popularity of the game and its variants, like Playtech’s Blackjack Surrender, we can be sure that it will make a reappearance in the near future!
✅What is the perfect surrender strategy?
The optimal time to surrender will depend on whether or not the dealer hits or stands on a soft 17, as well as the composition of your own hand. Players can check the rules of the game (or ask the dealer) to determine if the table offers a late or early surrender, and consult the surrender breakdown in this guide to determine when they should surrender in blackjack.