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Lesson 2.5 Basic strategy
Late surrender: when giving up half your bet costs the least
After this lesson, you will know the few hands where you press Surrender and take back half your bet: hard 16 against 9, 10 and ace, and hard 15 against 10. You will also know the three extra hands to surrender against an ace when the dealer hits soft 17.
What late surrender does
Surrender means you give up your hand, and the game returns half of your bet. With late surrender, the dealer checks for blackjack first.
Here you have hard 16 against a dealer 9. If you press Surrender, the hand ends and you get half your bet back.
- If the dealer has blackjack, you lose the whole bet and cannot surrender.
- You can surrender only as your first move, on your first two cards.
- You cannot surrender after you hit, double or split.
- Online, the game shows a Surrender button only when the table allows it.
The house edge is the share of each bet the house keeps over time. On the standard table, late surrender lowers it by 0.09 percentage points, to 0.53%.
Read the table rules before you play. Many online games do not offer surrender, and the surrender guide explains the details.
Surrender 16 against 9, 10 and ace
Hard 16 is a 16 with no ace counted as 11. Against a dealer 10, every move loses money on average.
- Hit: average result of −0.535 per bet.
- Stand: average result of −0.540 per bet.
- Surrender: you always lose exactly half the bet.
Surrender costs less than hitting or standing.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
This row is the chart without surrender: stand against 2–6, hit against 7–A. With late surrender, you surrender hard 16 against 9, 10 and ace.
Against 2 to 8, follow the row.
Surrender 15 against 10
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
Without surrender, the chart says: stand against 2–6, hit against 7–A. With late surrender, you surrender hard 15 against a dealer 10.
- 15 against 2 to 6: stand.
- 15 against 7, 8 or 9: hit.
- 15 against 10: surrender.
- 15 against an ace: surrender only when the dealer hits soft 17 (next section).
Three extra hands when the dealer hits soft 17
Soft 17 is a 17 where an ace counts as 11. When the dealer hits soft 17, an ace up card makes more strong dealer hands.
That adds three surrender hands against an ace. Read more on the soft 17 page.
| Your hand | Dealer up card | Without surrender | With late surrender (dealer hits soft 17) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard 15 | A | Hit | Surrender |
| Hard 17 | A | Stand | Surrender |
| Pair of 8s | A | Split | Surrender |
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
The row shows the move without surrender: split against 2–A. A pair of 8s is surrendered only against an ace, and only when the dealer hits soft 17.
Against 9 and 10, you still split, as the splitting guide shows.
Practice these surrender hands in the trainer below until you press Surrender without stopping to think.
Practice: 25 hands
Only hands from this lesson. Your first answer counts.
The lesson on one card
- Late surrender: give up your first two cards, get half your bet back.
- Surrender hard 16 against dealer 9, 10 and ace.
- Surrender hard 15 against dealer 10.
- Dealer hits soft 17: also surrender hard 15, hard 17 and a pair of 8s against an ace.
- Split a pair of 8s against 9 and 10; do not surrender.
- Late surrender lowers the house edge by 0.09 percentage points on the standard table.
Check yourself
1. You have a 9 and a 7 (hard 16) against a dealer 10. The table offers late surrender. What is the cheapest move?
Surrender
Right. Hard 16 against a 10 is a surrender hand. Losing half the bet costs less than the average loss from hitting or standing.
Stand
Not quite. Standing on 16 against a 10 has an average result of −0.540 per bet. That costs more than half the bet.
Hit
Not quite. Hitting is the move without surrender, with an average result of −0.535 per bet. Surrender costs less.
2. You have a pair of 8s against a dealer ace. The dealer hits soft 17, and late surrender is offered. What do you do?
Split
Not quite. Split is the move when surrender is not offered. With late surrender and a dealer who hits soft 17, a pair of 8s against an ace is a surrender hand.
Surrender
Right. When the dealer hits soft 17, a pair of 8s against an ace is one of the three extra surrender hands. The other two are hard 15 and hard 17 against an ace.
Stand
Not quite. The chart never says stand for a pair of 8s. Here the choice is between split and surrender, and it is surrender.
3. You have a 10 and a 5 (hard 15) against a dealer 9. Late surrender is offered. What do you do?
Surrender
Not quite. Hard 15 is surrendered against a 10, and against an ace when the dealer hits soft 17. Against a 9, you keep playing the hand.
Hit
Right. The chart says stand against 2–6, hit against 7–A. Against a 9, hard 15 is not a surrender hand, so you hit.
Stand
Not quite. Standing on hard 15 is the move only against dealer 2 to 6. Against a 9, the chart says hit.