Blackjack Surrender

Most casinos offer an option for blackjack known as blackjack surrender. As the name suggests, blackjack surrender allows the player to prematurly withdraw from the game.

A blackjack player can surrender his/her hand when the dealer has an Ace or a ten value card face up. If the player thinks that he/she will not be able to beat the dealer after receiving the initial two cards, the player can surrender to the dealer. The player must surrender his/her hand before taking any further action. That is, once the player has drawn a third card, or double down, or split, then he/she cannot surrender the game. One of the interesting factors is that the surrender announcement is the only play in the game which is made verbally.

There are mainly two types of blackjack surrender options available – “Early Surrender” and “Late Surrender”.

In “Early Surrender”, after the player has announced his/her intentions to surrender the game, the dealer will take half of the bet amount without checking whether he (the dealer) has a blackjack or not. Most blackjack experts recommend “Early Surrender” as the best among both surrender options.

In “Late Surrender”, the player needs to announce his/her intentions and the dealer marks you bet, by either placing a plastic chip or by placing the player’s chips on top of the cards. But if the dealer is having a blackjack, the player will lose his/her entire bet. If the dealer is not having a blackjack, the player will get half of the total bet amount by using later surrender option.