Blackjack Surrender
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Introduction
Surrender is a maneuver that’s available in a few types of variants of Blackjack which are found at both online casinos as well as brick-and-mortar casinos in Vegas, Atlantic City and other gambling meccas around the globe. Typically, the move is exercised when players feel that they have a hand which will not be worth playing out. Blackjack Surrender Strategies; All you need to do in order to play blackjack surrender is sign up at an online casino of your choice that offers the game. That is, of course, if you wish to play with real money. Otherwise, you can easily find the game for free online. If you want to learn more about blackjack surrender, continue reading. To find blackjack surrender inside Betfair's online portal you'll first need to navigate to the tab marked 'card'. Once inside this portal you'll find the blackjack surrender panel which offers two options: 'play' and 'demo'. For novices and those without a real money account, the demo mode will give you £2,000 in play money with which to test.
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 Surrender is possible before the dealer check. This page takes an in-depth look at the choice to surrender in blackjack. It depends on lots of things, whether the dealer takes a hole card, the number of decks, whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17, and sometimes the composition of the player's hand.
The purpose of this page is to give exact advice to the basic-strategy player on when to surrender. When the tales show a total of 16, this refers to either a 10+6 or 9+7 total. The situation of two eights has a separate row when surrender is appropriate.
Late Surrender
Late surrender means that the player may surrender his hand and lose half his bet only after the dealer checks for blackjack. The following basic strategy tables show when to surrender (Y=yes, N=no) depending on the player's total, dealer's up card, and the number of decks. The right two columns represent a dealer ace according to whether the dealer stands (S17) or hits (H17) a soft 17.
Late Surrender — One Deck — Total Dependent
| Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
| __9__ | __10__ | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
| 15 | N | N | N | Y |
| 16 | N | Y | Y | Y |
| 17 | N | N | N | Y |
Late Surrender — Two Decks — Total Dependent
| Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
| __9__ | __10__ | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
| 15 | N | Y | N | Y |
| 16 | N | Y | Y | Y |
| 17 | N | N | N | Y |
Late Surrender — Four or More Decks — Total Dependent
| Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
| __9__ | __10__ | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
| 15 | N | Y | N | Y |
| 16 | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| 17 | N | N | N | Y |
The exact card composition of the player's hand can sometimes make it advantageous to deviate from the basic strategy tables above. The following tables show when exactly to surrender given the player's total, dealer's up card, and number of decks. If the dealer has an ace up then the strategy often depends on whether the dealer hits (H17) or stands (S17) on a soft 17.
One Deck — Late Surrender — Composition Dependent
| Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
| 9 | 10 | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
| 14 | Never | 7+7 | Never | 7+7 |
| 15 | Never | 9+6,10+5 | Never | 9+6,10+5 |
| 16 | Never | Always | 10+6 | 9+7,10+6 |
| 17 | Never | Never | Never | 10+7 |
Two Decks — Composition Dependent — Late Surrender
| Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
| 9 | 10 | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
| 15 | Never | 9+6, 10+5 | Never | 9+6, 10+5 |
| 16 | Never | Always | Always | 9+7,10+6 |
| 8+8 | Never | Never | Never | * |
| 17 | Never | Never | Never | Always |
Blackjack Surrender Hand Signal
*: In a double-deck game, when the dealer hits a soft 17, surrender 8+8 vs. A only if double after a split is not allowed.
Four or Six Decks — Composition Dependent — Late Surrender
| Player's Hand | Dealer's Card | |||
| 9 | 10 | A (S17) | A (H17) | |
| 15 | Never | 9+6, 10+5 | Never | Always |
| 16 | Always | Always | Always | Always |
| 8+8 | No | No | No | Yes |
| 17 | Never | Never | Never | Always |
The composition-dependent eight-deck strategy is the same as the total-dependent strategy. In other words, the composition of the hand never matters, for purposes of surrender.
Early Surrender
Early surrender is a seldom found rule in which the player may forfeit his hand and half his bet before the dealer checks for blackjack. The strategy is different from late surrender only when the dealer has a ten or ace showing. Following is a list for when to take early surrender against a dealer 10 or ace, regardless of the rules, except as noted.
- Dealer ace Vs. hard 5-7
- Dealer ace Vs. hard 12-17
- Dealer ace Vs. pair of 3's, 6's, 7's, or 8's.
- Dealer 10 Vs. hard 14-16
- Dealer 10 Vs. pair of 7's or 8's.
Blackjack Surrender Match Bet
- Do not surrender 10 Vs. 4+10 or 5+9 in single deck
- Do not surrender 10 Vs. 4+10 in double deck
- Surrender dealer ace against pair of 2's if dealer hits soft 17.
- Do not surrender 8,8 vs 10 in single deck when double after split is allowed.
Internal Links
Blackjack Surrender
Written by: Michael Shackleford