Play Blackjack Surrender for Real or in Demo Mode

Blackjack Surrender is a great option for those who are struck by bad luck. As the name suggests, players are given the option to surrender and lose the game, but also keep half of their bet amount. This option significantly reduces the house edge. The game is usually played with six decks of cards, as is in the case of Playtech’s spin on the variation on which we’re going to focus in this review. You can try this game for free a little bit further down this page or you can play Blackjack Surrender for real money at Ladbrokes:

Blackjack Surrender allows the dealer to peek for blackjack; however, the dealer stands when receiving a soft 17. This is an interesting blackjack variation, with a relatively low house edge, which gives the players an opportunity to save themselves after being dealt a really bad hand. Check out the rest of the page for more details about the game.

Blackjack Surrender Free Play

As in any other casino game, it’s recommended that you try Blackjack Surrender in free play mode before you bet your own money on it. You can try the demo game below and decide for yourself whether it’s the right variation for you:

Instant play

How to Play – The Rules of the Game

Depending on the game developer certain rule modifications can be found when playing Blackjack Surrender. First of all, the regular rules for playing blackjack apply to this variation, unless there are highlighted exceptions. The game is usually played with six decks of cards and the dealer stands on soft 17. The player can double on the first two cards, as well as double after splitting. However, splitting is allowed only once.

The table setting is similar to all the other blackjack games. The dealer first deals two cards to himself and to the player. This is when the player has the opportunity to place a side bet in case the dealer holds an Ace; the dealer is always allowed to peek for blackjack. Additionally, the player can choose to hit, stand, split or double. Of course, if the player has a very bad combination of cards he can take advantage of the surrender rule and give up his cards alongside with half of the initial bet amount.

If the player is dealt a pair of cards, he may split them once. However, the player cannot resplit nor hit split Aces. If the dealer or the player goes over 21 they bust and lose the game. Same as all blackjack games’ objective, in order to win, the player should beat the dealer’s hand by hitting a blackjack or having a bigger amount than the dealer.

Odds and House Edge

The house edge of Blackjack Surrender depends on the number of deck with which the game is played and certain rule variations, such as whether the dealer hits or stands on soft 17 and if player can or cannot resplit Aces. For example, in a Blackjack game played with six decks, where the dealer stands on soft 17, the player can resplit for four hands and resplit the Aces, the house has an edge of 0.25%. In contrast, when everything is the same, yet the player is not allowed to resplit, the house edge increases to 0.39%.

Side Bets

As is commonly known, side bets are seen as unprofitable bets since they increase the house edge. However, in this game players are given the chance to place insurance bets whose pay out is 2:1. In this particular game, the insurance bet can be placed only on a dealer Ace. After the dealer has received a face up Ace, the player is offered insurance bet half the amount of the regular bet. In case of a dealer blackjack, the player loses his full bet; however, since the side bet pays 2:1, the player wins as much as he lost.

Blackjack Surrender strategy

The best strategy for playing Blackjack Surrender with a house edge of 0.38%, 6 decks and a dealer who stands at soft 17 is to know all of your possibilities and know when to surrender. Surrendering is advisable only when you hold a hard 16 and the dealer has 9, 10 or Ace. Another option to surrender is in case the dealer holds 10, while you have a hard 15. One you have read the strategy section, be sure and try to beat the dealers at William Hill Casino, where you can find this and other interesting variations of the game.

Hit any time you hold a hard 5-12 or soft 3-7, no matter the dealer’s card. An exception to this is a situation in which the dealer holds 4, 5 or 6 against your hard 12. If the dealer received 7, 8, 9, 10 and Ace, and the player holds hard 13-16, the best options is to hit. Exceptions are the surrender suggestions which were explained before. Pairs of 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 6-6 and 7-7 should be kept if the dealer shows 8, 9, 10 and Ace. When it comes to pair of fours, the player should also hit when the dealer has 2, 3, 4 or 7.

The player is advised to stand whenever he has a hard hand of 17+, soft 9 or 10 and a pair of tens. Additionally, having in hand hard 12-16 when the dealer shows 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 is another sign to stand. A 9-9 pair opposite the dealer’s 7, 10 or Ace should make the player to stand. Finally, the player has to stand on soft 18 if the dealer holds 2, 7 or 8.

Splitting eights, nines and aces is always a good idea unless stated differently in the text above. A 2-2 and 3-3 pairs is advisable to be split in situations when the dealer has 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7. If the player gets 5-5 and the dealer has any card except 10 and Ace, the player should consider doubling the bet. The same applies for hard 10, 11 and soft 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 after the dealer shows 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7. There are some exceptions to this rule and they were already explained.

Good to Know About This Game

Definitely one of the best aspects of playing Blackjack Surrender is the possibility to save yourself and regain half of your wager. Depending on the rule modifications, this game can have low to medium house edge compared to other blackjack variations. The option to surrender makes this game favorable to the players and having a bad combination of cards not necessarily means losing the whole bet. Nevertheless, all the basic blackjack rules apply to this variation, hence the possibility to surrender is just one advantage plus for the player.