A proper blackjack surrender strategy is critical when playing at casinos that offer surrender. Many players surrender way too often and end up costing themselves more money than they would if they just ignored the surrender option altogether. The good news for you is that proper surrender strategy isn’t particularly difficult.
The basic gist of surrender is that if you don’t like your cards, you can forfeit half your bet and end the hand now. This eliminates the possibility of you losing the entire bet. Basically, it’s an option to get out early when you feel all hope is lost.
When to Surrender
The correct answer of “when to surrender” depends on the rules of the table, your cards and the dealer’s up-card. As far as the rules go, the main one we’re concerned with is whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17. Here’s a basic surrender strategy that you can use to increase your blackjack win rate:
If the dealer hits on soft 17
- Surrender when you have a hard 15 and the dealer is showing a 10 or Ace
- Surrender when you have a hard 16 and the dealer is showing a 9, 10 or Ace
- Surrender when you have a pair of 8s and the dealer is showing an Ace
- Surrender when you have a hard 17 and the dealer is showing an Ace
If the dealer stands on soft 17
- Surrender when you have a hard 15 and the dealer is showing a 10
- Surrender when have a hard 16 and the dealer is showing a 9, 10 or Ace
An easier way to remember when to surrender is to print the following strategy charts. Keep this card with you until you have the correct surrender strategy down pat. It won’t take long at all.
Dealer Hits S17
[table id=16 /]
Dealer Stands S17
[table id=17 /]
Final Thoughts
As you can see, you do not need to surrender very often to gain an advantage in blackjack. You may be tempted to surrender more often than this, but do not fall into that temptation. In most cases, you still have enough of a chance to win the hand that forfeiting 50% of your wager is a bad play.
When you surrender, you lose a guaranteed 50% of your bet. The only time you should surrender is when your chance of winning the hand is lower than 25%. Check out the Blackjack Classroom’s blackjack surrender page for an in-depth explanation of the numbers behind this strategy. That website is a great resource, by the way.
If you surrender more often than the recommendations listed here, you will end up costing yourself more money in the long run. If you stick with the guidelines listed here, you’ll do alright.