Surrender is allowed at many casinos throughout the world. This includes ones on the Internet. Most players do not understand its benefits and often misplay hands due to not knowing the basic strategy of blackjack surrender.

When to Surrender at Blackjack The strategy of blackjack surrender depends on whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17. There are only four instances when a player should surrender when the dealer stands on soft 17. There are seven times a player should surrender when the dealer hits a soft 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.

Surrender is only offered at shoe blackjack games. Single and double deck blackjack games, even ones spread at online casinos, never allow surrender.

What is Surrender?

• But generally, if the dealer is showing a 10 and you've got a 15, then you should surrender. The dealer's showing an ace, depending on the house rule, then you want to just play it like normal.
• The bottom line is that you should only surrender blackjack hands when your chances of winning are less than 25% (this means the casino has a greater than 50% of beating you). If the casino's edge is greater than 50% than you are better off to surrender half (or 50%) of your bet.
• One challenge facing blackjack players is that the rules aren't precisely the same in one casino as another, or even sometimes at one table as opposed to another in the same casino. There are a number of optional rules, including late surrender, which after the dealer checks to see if he has blackjack, allows you to give up half your bet instead of playing it beyond your first two cards.

Surrender is where the house allows a player to fold before drawing cards. If a player chooses to surrender then half of the original wager is returned and the cards are removed from play. The action of a surrendered hand is over, even if the dealer busts. A player that wishes to surrender in a live game will run a finger behind the bet. Online games that offer surrender will have a button on the table.

Make sure to check the rules before playing to ensure that surrender is available.

When to Surrender at Blackjack

The strategy of blackjack surrender depends on whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17. There are only four instances when a player should surrender when the dealer stands on soft 17. There are seven times a player should surrender when the dealer hits a soft 17.

Blackjack Surrender Hand Signal

Players should surrender 16 against a 9, 10 or ace when the dealer stands on all 17’s. The exception is a pair of 8’s. Those should still be split against any dealer door card and never surrendered. A 15 hand should be surrendered versus a dealer’s 10-value card.

The rules change a little when the dealer hits a soft 17. The surrenders in the stay on 17 games also apply to the hit 17 games. Players will also surrender 15 and 17 against an ace. A pair of 8’s is still split against every hand except for when the dealer has an ace. In that case, it should be surrendered.

How Does Surrender Affect House Edge?

Surrender In Blackjack

A game that offers surrender has a house advantage .08% lower than a game with similar rules but no surrender. Some casinos will try to lure players by placing placards on the table that state “surrender available”. These signs are common at Caesars Entertainment tables on the Las Vegas Strip. Most tables with these signs are games that pay 6-5 on a blackjack, which adds 1.39% to the house edge. Make sure to ask the dealer if the game pays 3-2 on a blackjack before throwing your cash on the table.