What is Surrender in Blackjack?

There is no hand signal for surrender, so it is done by stating the name of the option. Casino dealers do not like players who use surrender option, but it is their own opinion. You, as a player must not pay attention to any statements from the side of casino personnel and use surrender it is available, because, after all, your goal in casino is to win money or at least to lose less, and that what surrender is designed for.

However, surrender should not be abused. It is only favorable for the player when he has a very bad hand and the dealer has a very good one. 16, for example, is the worst hand in blackjack. 16 points against an Ace as the dealer's up-card will lose for the player in 70% of the cases. Surrender forfeits only 50%, so if the player two first cards have 16 points, and the dealer's up-card is 9, 10 or Ace, it is a perfect situation to surrender. 15 is not much better, and surrender with 15 points is recommended when the dealer's up-card is a 10.

Unfortunately, surrender is not a very popular option among the U.S. casinos. According to a recent survey, only 20 casinos in Las Vegas offer late surrender and none offers early surrender. It is obvious that surrender reduces the house edge and casinos do not want to allow it. While late surrender changes the odds of the game by 0.065% and is still bearable for casinos, early surrender favors the player by 0.62%, which can reduce the income of the casino significantly.