In many blackjack variants at online casinos players have the option of making a move called “surrender”. If after seeing his dealt cards and the dealer’s face up card, the player feels that he is in a hopeless position then he can surrender his hand and reclaim half the wagered amount. There are two types of surrender moves. In American blackjack variants if the dealer’s face up card is a ten or an ace, he checks for blackjack before giving the player the option to surrender. This is known as “late surrender”. In European blackjack variants the hole card is not dealt and hence the player can surrender right away. This is called “early surrender”.

A good gambler must know when to cut his losses and the surrender move enables him to do just that. Surrender allows players to reduce the house edge by 0.08% if used optimally and hence understanding surrender strategy is of paramount importance to those online casino players whose staple game is blackjack. Blackjack surrender strategy has been devised through computer simulation and has to be memorized. The surrender option should be contemplated only when the dealer’s face up card is a nine, a ten value card or an ace. Whether he should actually surrender or not under these conditions depends on the player’s two card hand value, the number of decks and the house rule for the dealer hitting or standing on soft 17.

The single deck blackjack game with the dealer standing on soft 17 is most conducive for the player. In this situation, when the dealer has an ace or ten value card and the player has a hand value of 16 he should surrender. The player should also surrender when he has a pair of sevens and the dealer has a ten value card.

In a single deck blackjack game when the dealer has to hit on soft 17, the player’s position becomes weaker and he should surrender more often. When the dealer has an ace the player should surrender with a hand value of 15, 16 or 17. When the dealer has a ten value card the player should surrender with a hand value of 16. In both cases the player should additionally surrender when he has a pair of sevens.

Generally the blackjack surrender strategy is common for all multiple deck games, irrespective of whether it is two decks, or four decks or eight decks. In the case of the dealer standing on soft 17 the player should surrender if he has a hand value of 15 and the dealer has a ten value card or if he has a hand value of 16 and the dealer has a nine, ten value card or an ace.

The most adverse situation for the player is the multiple decks game with the dealer hitting on soft 17. The player should surrender when he has a hand value of 15 and the dealer has a ten value card or an ace; when he has a hand value of 16 and the dealer has a nine, a ten value card or an ace and when he has a hand value of 17 and the dealer has an ace. The player should also surrender when he has a pair of eights and the dealer has an ace.