Whether you are playing in a brick-and-mortar casino or online, surrender is an option that you can use to improve your blackjack gameplay and minimize losses.
Surrender is a rule that allows players to fold their hand during the round and receive half of their wager back. The rules can vary from one table to another.
Early Surrender
Surrendering is one of the most important strategies to use when you’re playing blackjack. It can help you save money and win in situations where you’re losing too much to continue playing.
Early surrender is a strategy that allows you to forfeit half of your bet even before the dealer checks for blackjack. This option is a rare one, but it can significantly reduce the house edge.
It decreases the casinos’ advantage by 0.39% when the dealer shows an ace and 0.24% when the dealer has a ten-value card. This 0.62% reduction is more than enough to wipe out the house edge in many playing conditions.
Most online and land-based casinos have a late surrender rule. This version of surrender only applies if the dealer’s face up card is an ace or a 10 and they peek at their second card.
Late Surrender
Early surrender is an option that allows you to quit your hand and pay only half your initial wager before the dealer checks for blackjack. This option reduces the house advantage by 0.62 per cent and can be beneficial for players who use it wisely.
Late surrender is another option that is available in most games. It is similar to early surrender, but you can only surrender after the dealer checks their hand for blackjack (when they show a ten or an ace).
This strategy is largely optimal when your win odds are less than 50% of the time. Moreover, it can help you cut your long-term losses when you find yourself in very disadvantageous situations.
The best way to determine when to surrender is by studying the table rules and how many decks are being used. There are also micro-surrender strategies that can alter your strategy depending on these factors. Using the correct strategy will give you more chances of winning, so make sure you learn it well.
Side bets
If you have ever visited a blackjack table, then you probably know there are many side bets on offer. They range from the oh so simple (like betting on the dealer’s card matching yours) to the more complex (such as betting on the player’s first two cards forming a pair).
The most popular of these is the insurance or even money side bet. The bet is available before players take their first cards and provides insurance against the dealer having a blackjack. It pays odds of 2 to 1 and you can bet as little or as much as you want.
The rules aren’t as simple as they may seem though. There are two main types of side bets: the early and late ones. The early one is the more obvious and it involves sacrificing half of your original wager in exchange for half of your hand back. The late one is a bit more complicated and requires a good understanding of the rule.
Rules
Surrendering in blackjack is an optional rule that lets players forfeit their hand and lose half of their original bet when they get a hard hand against the dealer’s ace or 10. The rules of surrendering vary from casino to casino and table to table, but it’s generally an effective strategy that can significantly cut the house edge.
Early surrender is the most common option and allows you to forfeit your hand and lose half of your bet even before the dealer checks for blackjack. When used optimally in a six-deck game, it reduces the house edge by nearly 20%.
Late surrender is also an option and works by allowing you to forfeit your hand and lose half of the bet only after the dealer checks for blackjack. When used optimally, it also dramatically decreases the house edge in games that use only one deck.
There are a few ways to signal that you’re ready to surrender, but the most common is to draw an imaginary horizontal line behind your betting box using your index finger. You can also announce your intention to surrender verbally.