The reality is that whether you’re keeping track of it or not, there is always a count. Here’s a look at the expected loss on a $100 bet without card counting. When that’s the case, clearly you’re better off surrendering and getting half of your bet returned to you rather than playing out the hand. There are certain situations in blackjack when the expected value of your hand is a loss of more than 50% of your bet.
So who is it that you’ll see using the surrender option at the blackjack tables? Is it a fearful player that quickly throws in the towel? Is it a superstitious player trying to change the flow of the cards? The truth is that it’s the smart blackjack player that takes advantage of great surrendering opportunities.
Let’s take a closer look at the “who, what, where, when and why” of surrendering in blackjack and see how this valuable player option might be able to help us at the blackjack tables… Who:
Knowing and using optimal surrender strategy helps reduce the house edge for casual blackjack players and increases profitability for card counters. Unfortunately most blackjack players either ignore this option completely or surrender when they really shouldn’t. Blackjack Surrender Strategy – Who, What, Where, When and Why?īlackjack Surrender – Surrendering in blackjack is a great move when used in the right situation.
