Blackjack is one of the easiest casino games to get your head around, but once you go slightly beyond the basics, you’ll come across a few rules – and options – that are super important, but can be a little tricky to understand. One of those options is Surrender – and to make things more complicated, it’s not available at every table, either.
As a result, plenty of casual players don’t even realise it exists – but, when used properly, it can help you to reduce your losses over time, and minimise the house edge.
So, if you’re learning the game of blackjack, figuring out where to play in New Zealand, and want to understand how surrendering works before you sit down at a blackjack table – this guide is for you.
In simple terms, surrender in blackjack means giving up your hand after the first two cards have been dealt, and, in return, accepting half of your original stake back.
Basically, instead of playing the hand through to the end, and risking your full bet, you’re “folding” – and lose 50% of what you put down. While that may sound like a pretty terrible play, it can actually be a smart move in some situations; mainly, those where you are very likely to bust and lose anyway.
Most people sit at a blackjack table expecting to play every hand to the end. And, of course, surrendering feels like admitting defeat – and wasting money. Experienced players, however, know that blackjack is not about pride or “gut feelings” – it’s a game of mathematical percentages, and a part of that is making the least costly decisions for long-run profitability.
Now, as a player, there are some hands that are simply terrible to hold against certain dealer cards. When you find yourself in this position, it’s annoying to sacrifice half your stake – but doing so, when you will almost always lose the hand anyway – is a way to claw back some cash.
So, rather than thinking of surrender as giving up, it is better to think of it as damage control.
There are two main types of surrender in blackjack: early surrender and late surrender.
Early surrender lets you give up your hand before the dealer checks for blackjack. This is a very player-friendly version of the rule, as it gives you the option to cut your losses before you lose everything against a dealer blackjack. However, given that this version of surrendering offers higher odds, it’s quite rare to find it – especially at land-based casinos.
Late surrender is much more common. In this version of the game, the dealer checks for blackjack first. If the dealer does have blackjack, you lose your full stake as normal, and if they don’t, you then have the option to surrender – and recover half of your original stake.
Surrender is not something you should use regularly or at random, especially as it does involve you giving up half of your stake! To be honest, it only actually makes sense in a few, very specific situations – and this is usually when basic blackjack strategy says your odds of winning are very low, anyway.
One of the most well-known examples is when you have a hard 16 and the dealer is showing a 9, 10, or ace. A hard 16 is one of the worst hands in blackjack because hitting carries a strong risk of busting, while standing often leaves you far behind the dealer.
Another good spot to surrender is when you hold a hard 15 against a dealer’s 10. Again, the maths isn’t in your favour – so, while it feels annoying, surrendering is the better long-term play.
One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is surrendering just because they feel uncomfortable with a hand – and that is pretty much exactly when surrendering should not be used.
There are plenty of weak-looking hands in blackjack that are still worth playing normally, and if you surrender too often, you can end up giving away money to the casino unnecessarily.
That is why surrender works best when it is used as part of a proper blackjack strategy rather than as a panic move. If you are going to rely on it, you should know exactly which hands make it worthwhile.
Yes, provided you use it correctly. Having the ability to surrender is generally better for you than not having it – and of course, that doesn’t mean that blackjack suddenly becomes an easier game to win at, but it does help you to slightly reduce the house edge when used correctly.
The surrender option gives you a way to limit losses in hands where your chances are already pretty poor anyway – and over time, those little savings can add up nicely.
Now, of course, the key phrase here is “when used correctly” – because if you use it too much, you end up giving money away. The best thing to do is search Google for “blackjack basic strategy chart” and follow exactly what the chart recommends.
This is a mathematically-designed chart that shows you what moves to make, and when, to minimise the house edge and ensure the casino’s edge is as low as possible, in the long run!
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