10 + 6 against a ten
10♠6♥ vs
10♣
Surrender. Hit if unavailable.
Playing the hard 16 out returns −$5.35 per $10 at best; the half is −$5.00.
Blackjack surrender: when losing half is the better play.
Surrender ends your hand and returns half your original bet. You lose the other half. With late surrender, the dealer first rules out blackjack.
The starting rule: surrender hard 16 against a 9, 10 or ace, except a pair of eights, and 15 against a 10 — with one six-deck exception: hit 8 + 7. A dealer who hits soft 17 adds a few more.
One decision, before any card. The price never moves.
Your cards, your answer
Give up this hand, or play on?
Choose your first two cards and the dealer’s face-up card. The answer is solved for the exact cards, so it knows 8 + 7 from 10 + 5 and treats a pair of eights on its own.
Dealer stands on soft 17 (S17)
Six decks · dealer checks for blackjack · late surrender · double on any first two cards · double after split.
Is surrender available on this hand?
Against a ten or an ace, the normal answer assumes the dealer has checked and does not have blackjack.
10 + 6 (hard 16) vs 10 · S17
Surrender
Surrendering returns −$5.00 per $10. The best way to play on, hitting, returns −$5.35. Half is the smaller loss.
If surrender is unavailable, hit.
Full playing strategy →Common questions:
What this checker covers
The surrender decision is solved for your exact two cards in a six-deck game where the dealer checks for blackjack. The play when you do not surrender is the same engine’s best of hit, stand, double and split, with double after split allowed. It is not a card-counting tool. One-, two- and eight-deck games move a few cells (see the reference below); early surrender and no-hole-card games are covered under timing.
What happens to your chips
Half comes back. Half is the loss.
Surrender does not add a new bet. It settles the one you already placed and ends your hand.
Assumes the surrender was accepted. Under late surrender a dealer blackjack takes the whole bet before the option exists.
Original bet$20
You get back$10
Casino keeps$10
$10 returned − $20 staked = a $10 net loss.
A push is different. On a push your whole bet comes back; on a surrender, half. Insurance is different again: it is a separate bet on the dealer having blackjack.
The complete six-deck reference
The main surrender
Fifteen is not always the same
A pair has another option
Check soft 17
The eights exception
A bad hand can still be playable
When to surrender. And what to do if you cannot.
Read these as your first two cards. S17 means the dealer stands on soft 17; H17 means the dealer hits it. Every decision assumes late surrender, after the dealer has ruled out blackjack.
| Your two cards | S17: surrender against | H17: surrender against | If unavailable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 + 5 / 9 + 6Hard 15 | 10 | 10, A | Hit |
| 8 + 7Hard 15 | None | A | Hit |
| 10 + 6 / 9 + 7Hard 16 | 9, 10, A | 9, 10, A | Hit |
| 8 + 8Pair of eights | None | A | Split |
| 10 + 7 / 9 + 8Hard 17 | None | A | Stand |
| All other hands | None | None | Play them normally |
“None” means play on. The fallback column applies to the listed cells. 10 includes J, Q and K. A hard hand has no ace counting as 11.
S17, H17, timing and fallbacks on one sheet.
Why your chart might say “surrender 15 against 10”. That is the total-based shortcut. In six decks the two-card answer surrenders 10 + 5 and 9 + 6 but hits 8 + 7: hitting returns −$4.996 per $10 against −$5.00 for the half. The margin is a fraction of a cent; the checker and the table above keep the distinction.
What changes with a different deck count?
Solved the same way for other shoes: at eight decks 8 + 7 against a 10 becomes a surrender; at one or two decks hard 16 against a 9 stops being one. Everything else on the list holds from one deck to eight. The chart page solves every cell for your deck count.
8 + 7 against a ten
8♠7♥ vs
10♣
Hit.
The six-deck exception, by a fraction of a cent: hitting returns −$4.996 per $10. Make it 10 + 5 or 9 + 6 and the answer is surrender.
Eights against a ten
8♠8♥ vs
10♣
Split.
Splitting returns −$4.85 per $10: still a losing spot, but better than the half.
10 + 7 against an ace
10♠7♥ vs
A♣
S17: stand. H17: surrender.
Standing returns −$4.77 when the dealer stands on soft 17 and −$5.15 when the dealer hits it, which is worse than the half. If surrender is not offered, stand.
Eights against an ace
8♠8♥ vs
A♣
S17: split. H17: surrender.
“Always split eights” has one late-surrender exception in six decks: under H17 the split returns −$5.19. If surrender is not offered, split.
10 + 6 against an eight
10♠6♥ vs
8♣
Hit.
Hitting returns −$4.54 per $10. The dealer’s eight does not cross the line; giving up half costs more.
One word changes the protection
Early vs late surrender: the dealer’s blackjack matters.
Both return half your original bet. The difference is whether a dealer blackjack can take the other half too.
| What changes | Late surrender | Early surrender |
|---|---|---|
| When the half-loss is secure | Once dealer blackjack is ruled out | Before the dealer checks for blackjack |
| If the dealer has blackjack | Surrender cannot protect the bet | An accepted surrender still loses only half |
| Which chart to use | The late-surrender chart and checker above | The early-surrender list below |
| What to confirm | Availability, and the dealer’s soft-17 rule | Whether early surrender covers an ace as well as a ten |
A button appearing before the check does not prove it is early surrender. Some games settle the request later: if a dealer blackjack cancels the surrender and takes the whole bet, you have not bought early-surrender protection. Check the settlement rule.
If your table offers true early surrender
Early surrender is rare, and its list is longer, because giving up before the check keeps half your bet even when the dealer has a natural. Solved for six decks; it only applies against the upcards your table offers it on.
| Dealer shows | Surrender these starting hands |
|---|---|
| 10, J, Q or K | Hard 14, 15 and 16, including 7 + 7 and 8 + 8. |
| Ace · S17 | Hard 5, 6 and 7, and hard 12 to 17, including the pairs in those totals. |
| Ace · H17 | The same, plus 2 + 2. |
| 9 | Hard 16 made of 10 + 6 or 9 + 7, where surrender is offered. Keep 8 + 8 for the split. |
No early surrender against an ace? Ignore the ace rows. Against 2 to 8, do not surrender. Worked out from the engine’s play-on figures and the chance of a dealer natural from a fresh six-deck shoe; single and double decks differ.
What about no-hole-card or original-bets-only games?
The dealing order alone does not define surrender. Check whether a dealer blackjack cancels the half-bet settlement. “Original bets only” protects added split and double bets; it says nothing about surrender. Use that game’s own rules rather than assuming the checker applies.
At the table or online
How to surrender your hand.
Make the decision on your first two cards, before you hit, stand, split or double.
-
Confirm the option exists.
Ask whether the table offers surrender, whether it is early or late, and whether it is allowed against an ace. Online, open the game’s rules before you bet.
-
Check your cards and the dealer’s upcard.
Use the checker before you make any other play. With late surrender, the dealer’s blackjack has to be ruled out first.
-
Say “surrender” clearly.
At a live table, tell the dealer and use whatever signal they ask for; leave the bet and the cards where they are. Online, press Surrender while the first decision is still open.
-
Take back half. The hand is over.
On a $20 bet the casino keeps $10 and returns $10. No more cards, no further action on that hand.
“Late” does not mean after you have played. It refers to the dealer’s blackjack check. You cannot hit once and then decide to surrender.
Why accept a guaranteed loss?
Compare the alternatives. Not just the chance of a bad card.
Once surrender is available its result is fixed: minus half your bet. On $10, a $5 loss.
To decide, compare that with the best way to play on. Surrender only when even the best alternative loses more on average.
A hand can be likely to lose and still be worth playing. A pair of eights against a ten is one: splitting loses less on average than the half does.
This is not a “50% chance of losing” rule. The average counts wins, losses, pushes and any extra bets. It is that average that has to be worse than losing half.
Across the whole game the option is worth about 0.07% of every bet: a six-deck game costs 0.46% without it and 0.38% with it. The house edge calculator prices it against every other rule.
Average net result per $10 original bet. Six decks, dealer stands on soft 17, these exact cards, dealer blackjack ruled out.
Hit the 16−$5.35
Surrender−$5.00
Surrender loses about $0.35 less per $10 bet than hitting this hand.
An average over repeated identical hands, not the result of your next one.
How these numbers are worked out
Solved by our engine from the exact cards with a full six-deck shoe, dealer blackjack ruled out, doubling after a split allowed. The play-on figure is the best of hit, stand, double and split; surrender is always minus half. Where the two are within a cent the panel shows a third decimal. Averages over repeated identical situations, per $10 of the original bet.
Make the decision yourself
Surrender, or play on?
Six quick hands to test the rule and its exceptions. Choose whether to surrender; every answer tells you the next play.
No money involved. Six decks, late surrender, dealer blackjack ruled out. The soft-17 rule is shown on each hand. The basic strategy trainer deals every kind of hand for as long as you like.
Hand 1 of 6Dealer stands on soft 17
Your hand
vs
10♠6♥
Dealer
10♣
Would you surrender?
Straight answers
Questions about surrender.
What does surrender mean in blackjack?
You give up the hand and lose half your bet; the other half comes back. A $20 bet becomes a $10 loss. With late surrender a dealer blackjack comes first and takes the lot.
When should you surrender?
When losing half is better than the average result of playing on. In the standard six-deck game that is hard 16 against a 9, 10 or ace and hard 15 against a 10, with 8 + 7 the exception. Enter your cards in the checker for the exact answer.
Should you surrender 8 + 8 or split it?
Split against a 9 or a 10: against a ten the split returns −$4.85 per $10, better than the half. Against an ace, split if the dealer stands on soft 17 and surrender if the dealer hits it.
Can you surrender after hitting, splitting or doubling?
Not in standard blackjack. Surrender is a first-decision option on your two cards. A few variants allow surrender after doubling; they need their own strategy.
Can you surrender against a dealer ace?
Only where the table allows it. With late surrender the dealer must not have blackjack. With true early surrender an accepted surrender keeps half even against a natural, which is why the early list against an ace is so much longer.
Is surrender the same as insurance?
No. Surrender ends your hand for half the bet. Insurance is a separate bet, against an ace, that the dealer has blackjack. Buying insurance does not surrender your hand.
Do all blackjack tables offer surrender?
No. Check the table sign or ask before you bet. Online, read the rules of the specific game; the casino name alone tells you nothing.
Why is the Surrender button missing or greyed out?
The game may not offer it, may exclude the current upcard, or the window may have closed because you have already acted. Check the rules rather than assuming a chart gives you permission.
What happens if the dealer later busts?
Nothing changes for you. A surrender is settled the moment it is accepted: you do not get the half back, and you are not paid when the dealer busts.
Is surrender worth using if it guarantees a loss?
Yes, on the four hands that call for it. The option is worth about 0.07% of every bet, and it costs nothing to learn: four hands and one sentence. A correct surrender can still sting when the next card would have helped; that card was unknown when you chose.
The whole option
Half a bet back, four hands.
The smallest rule on the site, and the easiest to get exactly right.
01
The price never moves
Surrender is worth exactly minus half a bet, on every hand, against every card. Take it only when the best way to play on returns less than that.
02
Four hands, one of them most of it
Hard 16 against a 9, 10 or ace, and hard 15 against a 10 — with 8 + 7 the exception. Sixteen against a ten is the one that matters: playing it out returns −$5.35 per $10.
03
Used too much, not too little
Worth about 0.07% of every bet. Surrender those four and play everything else: a hand above the line is worth more than the half you would give up.