Former British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill set the tone when he rallied the Commons with his most famous WWII speech that included the line “we shall never surrender”. Surrendering may have a bad reputation in historical contexts, but in blackjack, surrender can be a good thing.
Available in certain blackjack variants, including Classic Blackjack at Bodog Casino, surrendering means you forfeit a round after seeing your cards and the dealer’s up-card. This strategic move lets you retrieve half of your bet as you cut things short and move on to the next hand.
Although the move is unpopular with a certain crowd of people who don’t want to miss any action at the tables, it is sometimes the best move. When the cards are stacked against you, it’s better to leave half a bet behind instead of the full thing. Going up against a dealer Ace with a score of 16 is something no one wants to do or should have to.
In this blackjack strategy guide, we dive deep into what it means to surrender in blackjack and explain when you should do it according to basic strategy. After absorbing all of the information here, you can put it to practice in our blackjack online games risk-free or with real money. If you’ve never surrendered a blackjack hand before, we encourage you to try it.
Understanding the Surrender Rule in Blackjack
The surrender rule is included in many blackjack games and should be part of every blackjack player’s bag of tricks. Basic blackjack strategy advises using the move when the situation calls for it if you want to play optimally.
Available after the deal, the surrender option lets you prematurely end a round after you’ve seen your cards and compared them with the dealer’s up-card, as long as the dealer doesn’t have Blackjack. You’ll get back half of your bet and move on to the next round, which will hopefully provide you with a more competitive hand.
Surrendering is designed to give you an out when the odds of beating the dealer are slim. By not having to waste time and money on those bad hands, you can skip to the next round and save a bit of money in the process.
Types of Surrender in Blackjack
There are two ways to go about surrendering in blackjack: you can surrender early or late. Both options depend on if the dealer checks his hand for Blackjack before you can surrender.
The game rules specify the type of surrender included in the variant you’re playing. As you’ll see, all of the blackjack games with surrender in our casino offer the late version as a rule. But we’ll go over both options to make sure you know what to expect if you encounter rule variations when playing blackjack at different casinos.
Early Surrender
You won’t encounter the early surrender rule nearly as often as late surrender in blackjack. With early surrender, you get a chance to surrender before the dealer checks his hand for Blackjack if he shows an Ace. This rule leads to a fairly significant player advantage compared with the late surrender rule since you can block the dealer from the instant win that comes with Blackjack.
With early surrender, you’re supposed to follow the standard surrender steps outlined in basic blackjack strategy charts on top of additional scenarios. These extra scenarios come up when the dealer has a Ten or Ace as an up-card. For example, typically, you’d hit with a hard score of 5-7 and 12-14 against a dealer Ace, but if you have the option to surrender early, you’re better off doing that than hitting.
There are a number of pairs that should be surrendered versus a dealer Ace if you have the option to do it early, including Threes, Sixes and Sevens. A pair of Eights versus a dealer Ace should be surrendered too whether it’s early or late.
Late Surrender
It may not have the same advantage as early surrender, but late surrender is still a critical part of sound blackjack strategy. This is the type of surrender you’ll encounter most often, including right here at Bodog Casino.
Late surrender is only possible after the dealer checks for Blackjack if he has an Ace as an up-card. By utilizing this move at the right time, you’ll further reduce the house edge and stay in the game longer. In the next sections, we’re going to look at the best times to use later surrender in blackjack according to basic strategy.
When to Use the Surrender Option
We know that surrender is a gift from the blackjack software creators that will help you bring down the house edge and improve your game. Now we’ll dig deeper into key scenarios that call for surrender above all else, starting with the worst hand you can be dealt in blackjack.
Hard 16 vs. Dealer’s Nine, Ten, or Ace
The best candidate for late surrender is a hard 16 against any of the following dealer upcards: Nine, Ten and Ace. A score of 16 is the worst score you can have in blackjack since you’ll likely bust if you hit, but standing is also not a great move since the dealer always aims for a score of 17 as a minimum. That’s why it’s the perfect hand to bow out of and retrieve half of your bet.
If, however, the 16 comprises a pair of Eights, you should only surrender against a dealer Ace. With any other dealer up-card, you should split the pair of Eights and hope to upgrade your score of 16 to a score of 18. Bear in mind, splitting a pair costs a second bet that’s equal to the first.
Hard 15 vs. Dealer’s 10
Hard 15 scores are a bit nuanced in blackjack. According to basic blackjack strategy with four-to-eight deck games, you’re supposed to surrender this hand against a dealer’s Ten, but against a dealer Ace, you surrender only if the dealer hits on Soft 17. If they stand on soft 17, you’re actually supposed to hit. Soft 17 rules are always displayed on the blackjack table.
This rule changes with Single Deck Blackjack. In our casino, Single Deck Blackjack has the dealer hit on soft 17, so we’ll use this variant in our hard 15 example. When playing Single Deck Blackjack where the dealer hits on soft 17, you should hit on a hard 15 versus a dealer Ten.
How Surrender Affects House Edge
Any player’s blackjack strategy should include surrender as one of many tools that work together to bring down the house edge in blackjack. When used properly, late surrender will drop the house edge by 0.08%, while early surrender drops the edge by up to 0.23%. Either way, they boost your return when used in the right situations.
Surrender in Online Blackjack at Bodog
As we mentioned, surrendering in blackjack is part of a complete blackjack strategy. It’s important to make sure the game variations you’re playing include it as an option. Here at Bodog Casino, there are 16 online blackjack games plus a series of Live Dealer options. You’ll be able to tell which games include surrender by checking the game rules, or running a practice round and seeing if there’s a “Surrender” button available after the first deal.
In our six-deck online variant, you can surrender any first two cards by using the “Surrender” button (white flag). This is the version most people play here. As for Single Deck Blackjack, Double Deck Blackjack and European Blackjack, there is no Surrender option included.
Many of the blackjack spinoffs, some of which are made by Dragon Gaming, have their own rules, including the availability of surrender. In 22 Blackjack Free Bet and Dragon Blackjack Guaranteed Multiplier for example, you won’t find surrender as an available move. But in the classic Perfect Pairs, it’s included after the initial deal.
When you play Live Blackjack in the Live Dealer section of our casino, there is a surrender option available as long as the dealer doesn’t have Blackjack.
Common Misconceptions About Surrender
In general, people don’t like the idea of surrendering. Unfortunately, that sentiment transfers over to blackjack, where some players think it’s a weak move and prefer to play out their hand every time. You’ll see this at the tables when a player is dealt a score of 16 and carries on against a dealer Nine, Ten or Ace, hoping for good luck. The odds of winning in this scenario are slim.
The reality is that surrendering is a tool included in some blackjack games that will help you whittle down the game’s house edge. It’s the same as double down, but just not as exciting. Know the key scenarios for the surrender option and use it when they come up in a session; it’s the smartest way to play blackjack. Don’t let people’s questioning looks at a land-based casino dissuade you from making the best possible move at the blackjack tables.
How to Indicate Surrender at the Table
Hand signals are part of the bricks-and-mortar blackjack experience. When you want to hit, you tap the table with your finger, and when you want to stand, you wave your hand palm-down over your bet to indicate you’re done.
Since surrender isn’t part of every blackjack game, the hand signals aren’t as well established as the primary ones mentioned above. As a result, you’re better off combining verbal cues and hand signals to show the dealer that you intend to surrender the hand. To do this, you simply say “surrender” and drag your index finger across the edge of the table. The dealer will get half of your bet for you to retrieve and take your cards.
Knowing the right signals before joining a live table will help you uphold casino etiquette—something you don’t need to worry about when playing casino games online.
Integrating Surrender into Your Blackjack Strategy
Most blackjack rounds will see you hit and stand. These are the most common blackjack moves by a long shot. Double down and split are secondary moves that will be peppered in when the situation calls for them.
Surrender, however, will be a rare move for blackjack players who are following basic strategy. For it to be effective, it needs to be reserved for the times when you have a very weak hand and the dealer has a very strong up-card. Basically, if you don’t think you can win, use surrender.
By retrieving half of your bet in these scenarios, your stack will last longer at the tables. Then, when you have good cards and want to hit, you should still have chips available to make a play.
Should You Use Surrender in Your Blackjack Strategy?
If there’s one thing for you take away from this guide, let it be this: surrendering in blackjack is a good move that will improve your blackjack strategy over the long run. Not all blackjack games include it, because it does reduce the house edge by 0.08%, so when it is available, you should take advantage of it. By playing it at the right time, you’ll align your performance with highly-skilled blackjack players who always play optimally.
The easiest way to know the right time to use it is to follow along with a basic blackjack strategy chart that matches the game you’re playing. These are easy to find online and useful for novice blackjack players.
Go ahead and launch a session of our six-deck Blackjack, which includes the surrender rule. Play on Practice mode to test it out and get a sense of how it feels to surrender a round. The best way to play blackjack is by selecting a game variety that includes all of the possible moves—including surrender. You can also learn about when to double down in blackjack, playing aces in blackjack and when to split in blackjack. We’ve got you covered.