Blackjack surrender is commonly called late surrender. It is what the name implies. With this option, you can give up your hand and then forfeit about half of your actual wager after the dealer will check to find out whether they have blackjack.

• 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.
• 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.
• Surrender is rare as it gives the player quite a significant advantage. Blackjack Single Deck is a surrender blackjack game. To balance the game, though, returns on getting a blackjack are 6:5. In the game, you can still double down and double after a split, with the dealer standing on 17 and drawing to 16.

Surrender is probably one of the most confusing rules in Blackjack. It allows players to give up on a hand when they believe that they cannot beat the dealer and save half of their original bet. However, to make use of this rule, one must know when they should go for it. There are two options when it comes to this rule in Blackjack, early and late surrender. Knowing whether you should play early or late surrender makes all the difference, so let’s learn more about the rule and how to make the most of it.

How Early Surrender Works?

Just like its name suggests, early surrender is giving up on your hand immediately after you receive the first two cards and before you know whether the dealer has a natural Blackjack. It comes at a price of half of your original bet. While it is considered the most desirable way of surrender, it is not always available at Blackjack tables. However, the good news is that you can still find it at online casinos.

What makes early surrender particularly attractive is the fact that it reduces the house edge by 0.63%. If you have found a Blackjack game that offers early surrender, you should use this rule in the following situations:

• The dealer has an A and you have been dealt a hard 5-7 or 12-17
• The dealer has an A and you have been dealt a pair of 3s, 6s, 7s or 8s
• The dealer has a card worth 10 and you have been dealt a hard 14-16 or a pair of 7s or 8s
• If 2 decks are in play, the dealer has a soft 17 and you have received a pair of 2s.

These are the situations in which you should not go for early surrender:

• When you play a single-deck Blackjack game, never surrender on a card worth 10 when the dealer has a 4 and 10 or a 5 and 9
• In a 2-deck game, never surrender on a card worth 10 when the dealer has a 4 and 10.

How Late Surrender Works?

Late surrender comes at the same cost as an early surrender – half of your initial bet. However, just like its name says, you play it after you see whether the dealer has a natural Blackjack. If the dealer has been dealt a natural Blackjack, you won’t be able to surrender. In this case, you lose your original bet, just like you haven’t played surrender. In effect, this rule won’t decrease the house edge as early surrender does. According to some sources, the late surrender rule lowers the house edge by 0.1% only.

Here are the situations in which you should play late surrender:

• The dealer has an A or a card worth 10 and you have been dealt a hand worth 15
• The dealer has an A or a card worth 10 and you have been dealt a hand worth 16 including a pair of 8s
• The dealer has an A and you have been dealt a hand worth 17

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
• When you play a single-deck Blackjack game with the dealer standing on a soft 17, don’t play a late surrender when the dealer has a 9 or 10 and your hand is worth 17.

To learn more about Blackjack Surrender and give it a try, click here!

Let’s face it, sometimes we are just having an off day, with bad hand after bad hand. And sometimes, surrendering is our best bet; an occasionally viable tactic in games of blackjack which allow the player to do so. Surrendering, as we explain in our glossary of blackjack terms, refers to the offer in some games styles of blackjack (mainly American versions) which allows players to forfeit their hand in the current round and get back half of their original wager. The option to do so is offered by some land-based casinos, and the majority of online casinos.

If you have a hard hand of 14 and the dealer has an Ace on show, surrendering in order to retrieve half of your bet instead of quite possibly losing it all can be appropriate. Surrendering is a feasible option if you are dealt a poor hand and the dealer has a strong hand, but it has to be used in the right situation. Otherwise, it’s money down the drain that could have won.

Available Surrendering Options

Surrendering is only available as a first decision of a two-card hand. It is usually only offered in hole-card games (but see below for variations), where the dealer draws two cards and may or may not peek at the hole (face down card), before players make their decisions. But in general, surrendering will usually only be available directly after the dealer has checked for blackjack.

The variations we speak of are early and late surrender. Late surrender, explained above, refers to being able to do so in hole card games, only after the dealer has checked for a blackjack. It is the most common option at all types of casinos. If the dealer checks and does indeed have a blackjack, surrendering is thus made unavailable.

Alternatively, early surrender is when you are allowed to surrender before the dealer checks (or if the dealer doesn’t check at all) for blackjack in hole-card games, or in a no-hole-card game, where the dealer does not draw a second card until all players have acted. As you can see, early surrender is significantly more favourable to the player than late surrender is, which is why early surrender is not often available.

When to Consider the Move

As mentioned above, surrendering can be an appropriate play if used at the right time. It may seem like a cowardly move which is not progressive or beneficial in the long-run, and it is if not used correctly: you’re wasting hands that have the potential to win. Only consider surrendering as a last possible resort on the very worst hands.

There are only a few hands in which surrendering can be considered (late surrender). If you are lucky enough to be playing with the rare early surrender option, this allows for more flexibility and you might consider surrendering medium to low strength hands if the dealer holds an Ace (and the hole-card has not yet been examined).

Poor Hands to Consider for Early Surrender

• You hold a total of 12 to 17 against a dealer’s Ace.
• You hold a total of five to seven against a dealer’s Ace.
• You hold a total of 14 to 16 and the dealer has a Ten.
• You hold a total of 16 and the dealer shows a Nine.

Poor Hands to Consider for Late Surrender

Surrender In Blackjack Strategy

• Your hand totals a hard-15 and the dealer holds a 10-valued card or an Ace.
• Your hand totals a hard-16 and the dealer holds a Nine, 10-valued card or Ace.
• Your hand totals a hard-17 and the dealer holds an Ace.

Free Blackjack Surrender

How to Surrender in Blackjack

Blackjack Surrender Hand Signal

At most land-based casinos, BJ tables will have rules on a placard for players to view, but it is still worth confirming with the dealer before playing, just to make be certain surrendering (or any other option for that matter) is available. Online casinos will typically label each game with the available options which can be checked before, during and after play.

Online Blackjack With Surrender

To surrender at an online table, click the corresponding surrender button. To do so at a land-based BJ table, wait until you have the dealer’s attention after receiving your cards, and verbalise your intentions (with a possible follow-up hand signal). There is no standard hand signal for surrendering, but players will usually move a finger from right to left on the table above their cards (drawing an imaginary line). We suggest making your surrendering intentions clear by first saying so, because signalling a surrender with your hands can be sometimes be misinterpreted as a hit, so verbalisation is really the best way to go.

Blackjack Surrender Odds

Once recognised, the dealer will remove your cards from the table, take half your bet and return the other half to you. Essentially, you have forfeited the opportunity to play out your hand and the casino keeps half of your bet while the other half acts as a push/stand-off/tie; whatever you want to call it.