Blackjack Surrender Strategy
The option to “surrender” your Blackjack hand is not always available when playing Blackjack in a casino. This is mainly due to the fact that if the player utilizes the surrender strategy properly, then the casino’s built-in mathematical advantage is slightly reduced.
The decision on when to surrender in Blackjack depends on the number of decks used, whether “early” or “late” surrender is offered and if you are counting cards or not.
When Early Surrender is offered and played correctly, the house’s edge is lower than when Late Surrender is offered.
The difference between Early and Late Surrender is that in Early Surrender, you have the option to surrender your hand BEFORE the dealer checks their hole card to see if they have a Blackjack.
When Late Surrender is offered, the dealer checks for a Blackjack before you are allowed the option of surrendering your hand and if the dealer has a Blackjack, your bet is lost (if you happen to have a Blackjack as well, your hand would push).
In either case, by surrendering your hand you give up half of your original bet along with your cards. You do not play out the hand.
Let’s assume a 6-deck shoe game where Early Surrender is allowed, double after splitting is allowed and you can double on any two cards. The decision to surrender does not depend on whether or not the dealer hits a soft 17 or stands on all 17’s.
You should generally surrender all totals of 12 to 17 (including your pair of 6’s, 7’s or 8’s) against a dealer’s Ace; surrender your 14, 15 or 16 against a dealer’s 10-value card; and surrender your 16 to the dealer’s 9. Additionally, you should consider surrendering a pair of 3’s to the dealer’s Ace.
If the only option is Late Surrender, you should surrender your 15 to the dealer’s 10-value card and you should surrender your 16 to the dealer’s 9 through Ace.
So, if you are used to surrendering your 15 or 16 to the dealer’s face cards, which many Blackjack players understand, you just need to expand on this a little. Every single improvement you make to your strategy reduces the house’s edge by a very little bit, but it definitely adds up.
I hope you have basic strategy memorized – if not, learn it before anything else. You don’t necessarily need to learn a card counting method if you only play occasionally, but if you are prepared to practice and really want to improve your odds, there is a chart on this website -- a “basic strategy deviation” chart that tells you when to make a play that you normally would not, based on the count. This chart is a bonus, that is not in the “Pocket Guide to Winning Blackjack".
Most people do not go this far (the time and trouble to memorize and practice learning the basic strategy deviations), and that is OK. If you do not want to learn card counting, you can just try to be aware of any obvious disproportion of high cards versus low cards left to be dealt (you want there to be lots of high cards left).
Good luck and play smart!
More strategy and reading: Practicing *** Blackjack Analogies *** Blackjack History *** Money Management
The decision on when to surrender in Blackjack depends on the number of decks used, whether “early” or “late” surrender is offered and if you are counting cards or not.
When Early Surrender is offered and played correctly, the house’s edge is lower than when Late Surrender is offered.
The difference between Early and Late Surrender is that in Early Surrender, you have the option to surrender your hand BEFORE the dealer checks their hole card to see if they have a Blackjack.
When Late Surrender is offered, the dealer checks for a Blackjack before you are allowed the option of surrendering your hand and if the dealer has a Blackjack, your bet is lost (if you happen to have a Blackjack as well, your hand would push).
In either case, by surrendering your hand you give up half of your original bet along with your cards. You do not play out the hand.
Let’s assume a 6-deck shoe game where Early Surrender is allowed, double after splitting is allowed and you can double on any two cards. The decision to surrender does not depend on whether or not the dealer hits a soft 17 or stands on all 17’s.
You should generally surrender all totals of 12 to 17 (including your pair of 6’s, 7’s or 8’s) against a dealer’s Ace; surrender your 14, 15 or 16 against a dealer’s 10-value card; and surrender your 16 to the dealer’s 9. Additionally, you should consider surrendering a pair of 3’s to the dealer’s Ace.
If the only option is Late Surrender, you should surrender your 15 to the dealer’s 10-value card and you should surrender your 16 to the dealer’s 9 through Ace.
So, if you are used to surrendering your 15 or 16 to the dealer’s face cards, which many Blackjack players understand, you just need to expand on this a little. Every single improvement you make to your strategy reduces the house’s edge by a very little bit, but it definitely adds up.
I hope you have basic strategy memorized – if not, learn it before anything else. You don’t necessarily need to learn a card counting method if you only play occasionally, but if you are prepared to practice and really want to improve your odds, there is a chart on this website -- a “basic strategy deviation” chart that tells you when to make a play that you normally would not, based on the count. This chart is a bonus, that is not in the “Pocket Guide to Winning Blackjack".
Most people do not go this far (the time and trouble to memorize and practice learning the basic strategy deviations), and that is OK. If you do not want to learn card counting, you can just try to be aware of any obvious disproportion of high cards versus low cards left to be dealt (you want there to be lots of high cards left).
Good luck and play smart!
More strategy and reading: Practicing *** Blackjack Analogies *** Blackjack History *** Money Management
Blackjack
Disclaimer: Links outside of the www.WinningBlackjack.ca domain are provided for your convenience and entertainment only. The Winning Casino Blackjack website is not affiliated with any other website or online casino.