1. Blackjack Surrender Strategy Chart
2. Blackjack Surrender Online
3. Blackjack Surrender Rules

• Appendices
• Miscellaneous
• External Links

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. Surrender is one of the most misunderstood rules in blackjack. On the surface, it sounds like a weak move; where one is allowed to give up one’s hand early in the game and in exchange for forfeiting half of one’s bet. The hand is never played out. Most players think it’s a sucker bet that favors the casino. The best strategy for playing Blackjack Surrender with a house edge of 0.38%, 6 decks and a dealer who stands at soft 17 is to know all of your possibilities and know when to surrender. Surrendering is advisable only when you hold a hard 16 and the dealer has 9, 10 or Ace. Late surrender rules is different enough that even the ideal playing styles are different. Here’s a basic guide to the proper ways to play for both early and late surrender blackjack games. When You Should Take an Early Surrender. Though the early surrender is a tempting move when you find a.

Introduction

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

*: 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.

• 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.

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Written by: Michael Shackleford

At certain online casinos, you will find the option to “surrender” at some of the available blackjack tables.

Surrendering in blackjack is a form of strategy and of safe-guarding your hand when you recognize bad odds. It doesn’t make you a bad or cowardly player to surrender.

It’s also usually available for classic or American blackjack, rather than European.

Traditionally, blackjack games that offered the surrender option were for the high-roller games. So if you’re looking for the option, you may want to try the VIP Blackjack tables at your online or live casino.

Let’s take a look at the types of surrender options you’ll find. We will also break down when you should surrender, to optimize your strategy.

No surrender, Early Surrender or Late Surrender

Blackjack games will either not offer the option (“no surrender”), or offer the option at specific moments in the game.

You will be able to surrender if the dealer has an Ace as his upcard. If he does, there are chances that he may have a blackjack.

• Early: you can surrender before a dealer checks for Blackjack
• Late: after dealer has checked for blackjack and doesn’t have it

When you surrender, you get half your bet back. You will, of course, lose less money if you surrender earlier rather than later.

When To Surrender: Odds and Dealer Hands

There are a lot of strategy guides out there that will tell you when you absolutely should or absolutely shouldn’t surrender.

In the end, it really boils down to how you want to play, but it’s true that playing with the odds in mind can be lucrative.

First of all, you should know how many decks the dealer is using. If it’s a double-deck game or a 4-8 deck, then the odds will differ.

Knowing when to surrender basically depends on the dealer’s hand, and what he’s allowed to do. We’ll break down some relevant blackjack surrender terminology and then look at a few scenarios.

Blackjack Surrender Terms: Hard Hand vs Soft Hand

You will often see blackjack guides referring to a “hard” or “soft” score. This refers to the value of the ace, as the ace can be worth a 1 or an 11.

When the ace value is 1, the overall score is “soft”.

When the ace value is 11, the overall score is “hard”.

Here’s an example: a “soft 17” could be for instance, a 10+6+Ace. And a “hard 17” could be an Ace+6.

When to Surrender: Difference Blackjack Scenarios

As we mentioned further up, surrendering counts as a part of your strategy. We’ve compiled a list of recommendations-per-scenario made by blackjack experts to help you know when to surrender.

1. Dealer with an ace as their upcard, must stand on 17

In this situation, if your score is anything under 16 then you may hit or stand as you please.

If your score is 16 however, surrender is your best option.

2. Dealer with ace, must hit on all hard 17s

In some games, the general rule of “dealer stands on 17” will have this variant. Experts say that this decreases player edge; and so you should surrender if your score is at 15-16-17.

3. Dealer with a 10-value card, must stand on 17

There are three general rules to follow here. If your score is:

• 15: surrender
• 16: surrender
• 17: stand

Blackjack Surrender Strategy Chart

These are of course rules based on your odds of winning against a dealer with such a hand. If you want to risk it, you’re free to hit or stand as you please.

4. Dealer with a 9, must stand on 17

Blackjack Surrender Online

Again, here are the guidelines recommended by the experts:

Blackjack Surrender Rules

• 15: take a hit
• 16: surrender
• 17: stand