If you happen to head to a casino – a physical one – you’ll likely encounter several blackjack tables, more if the establishment is a large one. There might be variations from table to table, such as betting limits, but it is also very likely that each game is the same, probably American blackjack, which is sometimes known as Classic blackjack.
Nevertheless, there are numerous different versions of blackjack, some with major differences, others with minor tweaks to the rules. At online blackjack sites, you’ll find many more variations than offline, including themed blackjack games and some with progressive jackpots.
The surrender rule is not widely offered these days
Yet, one of the more interesting rule variations that can be offered for blackjack games is “surrender”. It is probably not as common now offline as it was in the past and, indeed, it may be reserved for pro players rather than casual ones, but it is widely available at online blackjack providers, including DraftKings’ blackjack site. But what is it? And why does it divide opinion?
The surrender option in blackjack is a mechanism to fold your cards at the start of the game – when you have received your first two cards, and the dealer is showing 1 of theirs. In order to surrender, you will give up half your stake. It doesn’t sound very appealing, does it? After all, why wouldn’t you just see out the game?
Well, casual players using surrender would probably struggle, but we also have to remember that blackjack is a game of math, as well as skill. If we accept the truth that skilled players can calculate the probability of a loss when seeing their own cards compared to the dealer’s cards, then the prospect of accepting the surrender changes.
Without going too deep into the math and probability of blackjack, we can look at it this way: Let’s say you were dealt a hard 16 (that’s a score of 16 with your two cards without an Ace), and the dealer was showing a 10, Jack, Queen or King. This is, statistically speaking, a rotten hand for the player. It wins about 23% of the time. So, if the stats are correct, you would likely be better in the long run surrendering that hand and getting half your stake back.
Pro players look at things in a different way
In a sense, for pro players who use surrender, they look at it differently. Some people would say it is giving up half your stake for nothing, but skilled players will believe they are escaping a bad situation and are able to recoup half their money. It’s really a glass half-empty or half-full scenario, and some players see the latter.
Now, as we said, if you are clumsy with your calculations, things can start to go wrong. Not every example of a bad hand is as stark as the one we shared above, so you may have to make some fast calculations to appreciate whether or not you are getting good value from the surrender option.
Yet, overall, the prospect of blackjack with surrender is an intriguing example of psychology. As we mentioned, it does not seem that appealing, and that’s one of the reasons it’s not ubiquitously found at offline blackjack tables. But when employed properly, the math behind it is sound, and card sharps see an opportunity to cut their losses and, perhaps, make a profit in the long run.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
