Not all casinos offer blackjack versions wherein “surrender” is offered. This is an option wherein a player is allowed to give up half the amount of his bet instead of playing out a seemingly hopeless hand deal that is sure to lose.

A player immediately forfeits his hand and gets 50% of his bet returned to him. Let’s say a player bets $100 and was dealt a 16 while the dealer has a 10. It is wise to consider surrendering the hand and getting $50 back instead of continuing to play out the dealt hand which is most likely to lose the player $100. This option is only allowed on the first two cards before a player takes a hit.

Blackjack surrender is an excellent and winning move when done in the right circumstance. However, the majority of blackjack players do not known when to surrender and when not to.

Blackjack Early Surrender

 

The two types of blackjack surrenders are early surrender and late surrender. In early surrender, a player surrenders his hand right after being dealt his cards and before the dealer looks at his own card to check if he has a natural blackjack. This option is advantageous as it gives the player the option to surrender no matter what hand the dealer has. However, this form of blackjack surrender is not readily offered in casinos as it lowers the house edge over the players. Casinos that do offer early surrender adopt different rules to recoup the lost house edge.

It is best to opt for early surrender when:

• Dealer has an Ace and player has a hard 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 or 17
• Dealer has a 10-valued card and player has a hard 14, 15, 16 or a pair of 7’s or 8’s
• Dealer has an Ace and player has a pair of 3’s, 6’s, 7’s or 8’s
• Dealer shows a soft 17 in a two-deck game and player has a pair of 2’s.

In a single deck blackjack, a player should not surrender a 10-valued card if the dealer has 5 and 9 or 4 and 10. He should not surrender a 10-value card in a two-deck blackjack if the dealer shows 4 and 10.

Blackjack Late Surrender

 

In blackjack late surrender, a player may forfeit half of his original bet only after the dealer has checked his hand and did not get a natural blackjack. In case the dealer gets a natural blackjack, the player will not be allowed to surrender and consequently lose his entire original bet. Late surrender is allowed in most casinos as this does not lower the house edge. However, players must ask dealers if late surrender is allowed on the table as this option is not always announced.

It is best to opt for late surrender when:

• Dealer has an Ace or 10-valued card and player has a hand total of 15
• Dealer has an Ace or 10-valued card and player has a hand total of 16 including a pair of 8’s
• Dealer has an Ace and player has a hand total of 17

A player must not opt for late surrender when:

• a dealer stands on soft 17 in a single deck blackjack
• if the dealer has an Ace, 9 or 10 and the player has a total hand of 15
• if a dealer has a 9 and the player has hand of 16

Opting for blackjack surrender may seem like a sucker move. But when the bet is high and the chance of losing is high, it is better to lose half the bet than all of it.