Early Surrender vs. Late Surrender in Blackjack
Surrender is an option in blackjack where if you don’t like the way the hand is going, you may forfeit half your bet and quit the hand. Even though you are guaranteed to lose half your bet, you don’t have to continue on in the hand and possibly lose the entire bet. It’s not an option you should take all the time but it does come in handy.
You may only exercise the surrender option at the beginning of the round before you take any other actions. For example, you cannot surrender after you hit, split or double down. If you want to surrender, say the word “surrender” out loud and trace one of your fingers in a horizontal line on the table.
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The difference between early surrender and late surrender in blackjack is as follows:
Early Surrender
Early surrender is when players have the option to surrender before the dealer checks for blackjack. This is the most advantageous form of surrender but few casinos offer early surrender. If you find a casino that offers early surrender, consider yourself lucky.
If you do run across a blackjack table that offers early surrender, it may be wise to double check the rules of that game. Early surrender is so rare that it would do you good to be a little suspicious. It is quite likely that a casino that offers early surrender makes up for it with a different rule that negates the player advantage.
Late Surrender
Late surrender is the most common form of surrender. Under this rule, you may surrender only after the dealer checks for blackjack. Another way to think of it is that with late surrender, you can only surrender if the dealer does not have a blackjack. This option isn’t offered very frequently but you do run across it occasionally.
The idea of “surrendering” isn’t the most appealing, but this rule lowers the house advantage. You don’t have to surrender very often to take advantage of the surrender option. A few well-timed surrenders in blackjack will result in you saving half a bet here and half a bet there. In the long run, this makes a big difference.
Many blackjack players use the surrender option way too frequently. Before you jump right in, make sure to check out our blackjack surrender strategy page. The optimal surrender strategy isn’t terribly difficult, so it’s worth a look. Every little advantage you can gain in blackjack is just extra money in your pocket.