Being an expert blackjack player takes practice and time. It also takes a solid understanding of the game, its rules, and the various moves that can be executed during a hand. Knowing when to surrender and minimize a loss, for instance, can wind up being a strong play over time.
Part of becoming a blackjack master is knowing when to give up a bad hand. While it might be nice to take every showdown versus the dealer, that’s just not how it works. Thankfully, there is a move called “surrender” that can be employed from time to time to help mitigate losses.
When it comes to utilizing the surrender move, it isn’t something that can or should be done on every hand. Knowing more about it and how to properly use the move will give you another weapon in your blackjack arsenal. Let’s take a look at blackjack surrender and how to properly deploy it.
What is Blackjack Surrender?
In blackjack, there are a variety of moves to be made. The standards – hit or stand – are part of every hand. Depending on the cards in question, you can also opt to double down, split a pair, and put insurance on your hand if the dealer is showing a potential blackjack.
There is another move to be made, one that you aren’t going to see in any blackjack movies: surrender. This move allows players to give up their hand and receive half of their bet back before any of the cards are dealt. Going against a hot dealer, it may be a decent way to minimize losses over the course of play.
There is also the option for a late surrender. When the dealer checks for blackjack, the player is allowed to surrender their hand. Like early surrender, they will get half of their bet back. Then again, the dealer has a better chance of winning the hand if they get to checking for blackjack, so it’s a dicey proposition.
Blackjack Surrender in Online Blackjack
Just like in real life, online casinos will offer the option to surrender in their blackjack games. Even cooler, you can utilize the option in both play money and real money versions of blackjack. That said, the sites offering this may differ depending on where you are and whether or not you want to play for real money.
For the most part, these online casinos aren’t going to offer early surrender. They only offer late surrender (more on that below), which might not be the most ideal of options. That said, it’s best to look around at a variety of online casinos to see which one you like best. A good way to determine that is by checking out the bonuses.
Having said all that, surrender is a decent strategy to employ against a hot dealer. It may be better, however, to cut your losses and get up from the table. Either try another dealer or give it a break to see if your luck turns the next time you sit down.
Early Surrender
Remember that there are two ways to surrender in blackjack. The first is known as “early surrender.” In blackjack, the early surrender is a rule where players can surrender their hand and lose half the bet before the dealer even checks their cards for blackjack.
The option is available only before the dealer checks for blackjack, so it is imperative to choose the early surrender option before you know what card the dealer has. You are effectively forfeiting the round and accepting that loss of half the original bet before the hand has a chance to even play out.
There are times when this can be advantageous even though it is basically giving up. If you get a really poor hand to start and are unlikely to beat the dealer, it can be ideal to just surrender and limit your losses to half of your original bet.
Another small reason to consider employing a surrender is the house edge. What you may not have realized is that the early surrender rule actually reduces the house edge by around 0.08%. That makes it a more attractive option for experienced blackjack players who know how to properly deploy it.
Late Surrender
There is another surrender variant but this one can get a little bit complicated. With late surrender, players have the option to surrender their hand after the dealer checks for blackjack. Having said that, the hand is only surrenderable if the dealer checks and does not have blackjack.
The key advantage here is that the player can make a decision after the dealer’s up-card has already been dealt. If the player has a poor starting hand and the dealer shows a strong up-card, it may be more advantageous to surrender the hand instead.
That said, there is a major downside to this strategy. For starters, it isn’t as widely available of an option as early surrender. You will have to do a little bit of searching to find a local or online game that offers the option in blackjack.
The most ideal strategy when it comes to late surrender is to consider the early surrender. For the most part, you will want to get rid of a hand of around 15 or 16 when the dealer shows an Ace, 9, or 10. Similarly, you would want to drop a soft 17 or 18 against those same cards. Think hard before surrendering because the probability of winning with a hand other than those is higher than it is the chance of losing.
When to Surrender
The key to any good strategy is to know when to employ it. In order to make surrender a solid strategy in blackjack, you need to know when to do so. Even experienced players may not have a solid grasp on when to deploy the tactic.
The concept of knowing when to surrender should be based on your own hand as well as the dealer’s up-card. So, if you have a 16 but the dealer is showing a 9, 10, or Ace, consider surrendering. Similarly, if you have a hard 15 (without an Ace) and the dealer is showing a 10 or an Ace, consider surrendering the hand.
If you have a 15, 16, or 17 but the dealer is showing something like a seven or lower, you are actually in a very strong position and probably should play on. The decision to surrender is like any other in blackjack. You need to weigh the odds of your hand versus the dealer’s up-card before making a decision.
Total Dependent vs. Composition Dependent
When it comes to being interested only in your first two cards to make a surrender decision, it is known as being ‘total dependent.’ When you are ‘composition dependent,’ you are looking at the grouping of cards. For instance, if you get dealt a 9,6 versus an 8,7, you are looking at the composition of the cards rather than the total.
In that above instance, you would surrender with the 9,6 but play it out if you had 8,7. There are so many exceptions in blackjack that it can take a long time to get familiar with when to act and how. It is something that can make the game quite a bit more difficult for amateurs.
Common Blackjack Tips
Whether you have been to a table or two or are planning to sit down for the first time, it helps to go into your next game of blackjack with the most knowledge possible. Having a few helpful tips at your disposal can help put you in the best position possible.
Know the Basics
Before you can hope to become a master at anything, you must first know the basics. The same rule applies for blackjack. The most powerful tool is a sound strategy but how can you hope to deploy one if you don’t know the basics?
Take the time to practice, both online and in person. Play for fake money first if you can while you learn the ropes. There is no perfect strategy when playing blackjack but you can avoid a lot of simple mistakes by having a solid foundation of the rules first.
Manage Your Bankroll
When playing any kind of casino game, the first thing you must do is to know how to manage your bankroll. Every player, no matter how skilled or experienced, will face cold cards. By having effective bankroll management, you can live to fight another day.
Set a budget before you start and know what you’re willing to lose. From there, you can set a risk per hand, which will help you get a minimum number of plays. Stay between one and two percent of your total bankroll per hand in order to avoid those downswings.
Avoid Insurance Bets
Though they may seem tempting, insurance bets can wind up being a negative strategy over the course of many hands of blackjack. The idea is that it can protect you from big losses against a potential blackjack from the dealer, but the odds are that you’ll wind up spending more than you need to.
Avoid insurance bets altogether because they will mostly just erode your bankroll. Stick with a basic strategy and make your decisions from an informed position. It might not be a perfect plan but it is one that won’t rapidly drain your bankroll, either.
Practice, Practice, Practice
The single best thing you can do to improve your play at the blackjack table is to practice. Ideally, play in-home games or find free-money online casinos. This way, you can practice the basics and toy with different strategies without costing yourself major bucks in the process.
Familiarize yourself with the pace, how the game works, and the various bets. But just as importantly, watch how others play their hands. It will give you an idea of how to approach certain hands, when to act in a particular way, and give you more information before each hand of blackjack. Even the pros need a lot of reps to become pros.
A Potentially Effective Strategy
At the end of the day, surrendering is just another of the many plays available to a player in blackjack. And like doubling down or applying insurance, it helps exponentially to know when to employ those strategies.
Though it may not feel great to give up the hand, it could be saving you money when deployed properly. The very best of the best know when to lay down their cards and live to fight another day. Deploy the surrender in a timely fashion and you can find out quickly just how effective a strategy it is.
