[HotStreak]

When you have 16 and dealer shows 9,10 or A

When you have 15 and dealer shows 10 or A

[kato]

when you ask that question

[JohnGalt2341]

As a former BlackJack Dealer I can tell you the best time to surrender is before you get to the table.

[tltaylor89]

Dealer shows 10 surrender Shows 9 Surrender shows 8 Stand.

[GiveMeaBJ]

I know the book says never to surrender. But tell me why if playing two hands of $100 I get dealt a blackjack and a 15 with the dealer showing a 10 it doesn't make sense for me to take the $100 profit rather then try to beat his and more often then not end up with a $50 profit.

[Sinister Cat]

Wizard of Odds says surrender on 15 against a 10, and 16 against 9/10/A. http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack

[JohnAnthony]

What happens to your bet if you surrender?

[tltaylor89]

What happens to your bet if you surrender?

Half of youre many is taken so if you bet 100 bucks and surrender you get 50 back

[JohnAnthony]

Half of youre many is taken so if you bet 100 bucks and surrender you get 50 back

Never knew that

[GiveMeaBJ]

Never knew that

A lot of casinos don't allow it.

[Reload]

Wizard of Odds says surrender on 15 against a 10, and 16 against 9/10/A. http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack

Generally, this is the best approach. I can also remember surrendering on 14's and 13's when I felt the count was rich enough in ten's.

Some players at the table will hate when you surrender, but stick with the odds. You'll save a little each hour at the table doing it.

[lordswing]

I know when to surrender, but I don't think I ever have.

[thezbar]

Against a dealers ace, surrender is not the best option. If you have 16 its better to stay because if the dealer has to draw they can bust out more often than people realize. The only time I would consider a surrender is if the dealer is showing a ten and I've been dealt a 16. Counting fives can assist you decide also if its a shoe game. Too many surrenders in a given shoe helps the house edge. As a player you need to get those small cards out of play. Dealers will make more hands in that situation. Surrender is more effective if you are seating in first or second base. An unskilled player who sits at third base and likes to surrender is a train wreck waiting to happen.

[Glitch]

when you have 20 or less and youre playing at a rigged online casino

[freeVICK]

never play at indian casinos. they have use "automatic shufflers" which are rigged as hell. vegas uses automatic shufflers as well, but i doubt they are rigged, or they prob are but not to the extent of indian casinos.

rule of thumb. never play a card game that uses an automatic shuffler

[shawnjohn5]

I know the book says never to surrender. But tell me why if playing two hands of $100 I get dealt a blackjack and a 15 with the dealer showing a 10 it doesn't make sense for me to take the $100 profit rather then try to beat his and more often then not end up with a $50 profit.

To answer your question take the profit and surrender in that situation. If I have a blackjack and a hand of 18 or less vs a 10 I surrender most of the time. If I'm playing one hand then I surrender maybe 1 out of a 100, but almost NEVER!!! You're better off staying, the dealer will have a busting card under there ALMOST 50% of the time (5 out of 12). It's simple odds, for you to lose a 15 vs a 10 showing the dealer has to have a 7 8 9 10 j q k assuming that he doesnt' have blackjack he can't have an ace. You still have 2,3,4,5,6, that the dealer could have and be in a busting situation. If you surrender you lose half the time, if you don't surrender the dealer will be in a busting situation 42% of the time, let's also consider if you hit, you'll get a card that helps you 6 out of 13 times (aces included) almost 50% again, so to give up on an almost 50-50 proposition is just not smart UNLESS you have blackjack and are playing 2 hands!!! Just my humble opinion!! I'm no math wiz, but this makes sense and is how i've been playing for years!

[Dunder]

Mathematically you should always surrender when:
You have 16 and the dealer shows 9, 10 or Ace.

The only other situation is:
when you have 15 and the dealer shows a 10 in six deck BJ, for single deck you should hit unless your 15 is an 8 and a 7.

[Sam Odom]

Dunder is spot on , remember this , surrendering correctly means you'll lose less doesnt mean you'll win more

[Capybara]

Wizard of Odds says surrender on 15 against a 10, and 16 against 9/10/A. http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack

Mathematically you should always surrender when:
You have 16 and the dealer shows 9, 10 or Ace.

The only other situation is:
when you have 15 and the dealer shows a 10 in six deck BJ, for single deck you should hit unless your 15 is an 8 and a 7.

These are correct.

If you want to play correctly and not be a square, you should go by the correct odds in EVERY situation, which includes surrending in the precise situations I've quoted above.

Anyone that says surrendering is a sucker bet will soon be separated from his money. A bunch of casinos don't even allow surrendering, which should clue you in to it being a smart thing to do.

[keyboarding]

when you have 20 or less and youre playing at a rigged online casino

Exactly. If you have 17 against a face card, surrender. 9 times out of 10 you saved yourself half your bet. Even if the dealer shows K4 or K6, there's a solid chance it will pull a 4 anyway.

[BennyFang]

Keep in mind that of the few casinos that allow surrender on the games, the rule is rarely advertised. It's worth asking when you sit at a table.

[Dunder]

I wouldn't surrender a 15 against a 10. I don't like to surrender period, but the best time to do it would be 16 against an A, or maybe even 10

The 15 against 10 calculation is so marginal that it is almost irrelevant.
In six deck BJ, the probability of winning is 24.92%, it would need to be 25% or higher for playing it to be the right thing to do in mathematically.

[JohnGalt2341]

wrong, I find this insulting. For most, yes. Not everyone.

How much BlackJack experience do you have? If you're playing Basic Strategy you can expect to win 42% of your hands in the long run. Really, your only chance of getting a SLIGHT edge over the house is if you're playing Single or Double Deck games and you are a VERY GOOD CARD COUNTER. Even then it is very difficult. Anyone that says they are a professional BlackJack player is either most likely lying or hasn't been playing very long. Card counter or not I'll challenge anyone on the planet to play at my table as long as I can use 4 decks or more. If you're up for the challenge come on over.

[BennyFang]

How much BlackJack experience do you have? If you're playing Basic Strategy you can expect to win 42% of your hands in the long run. Really, your only chance of getting a SLIGHT edge over the house is if you're playing Single or Double Deck games and you are a VERY GOOD CARD COUNTER. Even then it is very difficult. Anyone that says they are a professional BlackJack player is either most likely lying or hasn't been playing very long. Card counter or not I'll challenge anyone on the planet to play at my table as long as I can use 4 decks or more. If you're up for the challenge come on over.

FWIW, there's a difference in percent of hands won and house edge. I don't know the accuracy of the 42% figure, but I can say that the best blackjack games run roughly between 0.2% and 0.7% in favor of the house IF the player plays perfect basic strategy for that particular game. Doesn't seem like much of an edge, but it can become one over thousands of hands played. Proper advantage play (counting) at a countable BJ game can sway the edge between 1 and 2 percent towards the player.

BOL

[Dunder]

How much BlackJack experience do you have? If you're playing Basic Strategy you can expect to win 42% of your hands in the long run. Really, your only chance of getting a SLIGHT edge over the house is if you're playing Single or Double Deck games and you are a VERY GOOD CARD COUNTER. Even then it is very difficult. Anyone that says they are a professional BlackJack player is either most likely lying or hasn't been playing very long. Card counter or not I'll challenge anyone on the planet to play at my table as long as I can use 4 decks or more. If you're up for the challenge come on over.

I don´t play BlackJack (or any -EV game) for anything other than (very occasional) entertainment, John. I can do a Zen count at home but it would be obvious what I was doing to anyone within a 50 metre radius.

Would nonetheless be interested to know what strategies/techniques you used to spot card counters.

[JohnGalt2341]

Just please tell me how much BlackJack experience you have. Don't put much into automatic shufflers. In fact I can get a better mix than an automatic shuffler and shuffle faster than an automatic shuffler. The main reason why Casinos use them is so there is no time wasted in between shoes. While the "Blue" cards are being dealt the "Red" cards are shuffling. There ARE dealers however that are just completely awful shufflers and they can be beat if you know what to look for. But like I said, even then it's difficult. How does one become a BlackJack legend like yourself? What is it that makes you so good? What's your specialty? Counting? Or are you psychic? Are you David Blaine by any chance?