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Expanding Surrender

In a previous lesson (Taking Advantage of Surrender), I advised that you use this option if your favorite, local casino offers it. If you count cards, it's an even better deal as the count goes up. If you've read my lessons up to this point, you know that in a 'high' count situation, the proportion of 10s and faces (and Aces) in the remaining deck(s) versus 'little' cards is much greater, so the odds of getting such a card have increased considerably. This is where the value of surrender goes up.

Most surrender available these days is 'late' surrender, which means that the dealer checks the hole card if s/he is showing an Ace or 10. If s/he has a 'natural', your entire bet is lost and surrender isn't an option. Knowing that the dealer doesn't have a Blackjack makes surrender, to some people, a 'stupid' play, but let's examine the situation a bit closer. Just what kind of hand can the dealer get with a face card showing? First of all, the dealer is going to bust only 23% of the time when s/he is showing a 10 or face as an up card. Secondly, s/he is going to end with a total of 20 or 21 41% of the time! And you think you're going to beat her with your 16? When the dealer is showing an Ace, and does NOT have a Blackjack, s/he still is going to end with a total of 19 or more 46% of the time and will bust only 17% of the time! That's why surrender is valid, even if the dealer doesn't have a Blackjack.

Now, as the count goes up, both you and the dealer have a better chance of getting 10 cards. Thus, it's more likely that you'll get a 10 card if you hit. So, if you have a hand of 15 and the dealer is showing a 9, s/he has a better chance of having a 10 in the hole and it's more likely that you'll hit with a 10. Time to bail! When the true count is 2 or more, surrender your 15s against a dealer's 9. Against an Ace, surrender 15 at a true of 2 or more, if the dealer stands on A-6. If the dealer is required to hit A-6, surrendering 15 is a basic strategy move. Another good one to remember is to surrender 14 against a 10 at a true of 3 or more.

The use of surrender is, from my experience, interesting from a 'camouflage' point of view. As you are hopefully aware, we card-counters prefer to keep our skills concealed since, for some sick reason, casino personnel don't like counters. Surrendering is actually a fairly sophisticated playing technique, so it's fair to say that the 'average' gambler doesn't use it. Yet, I want to look like an avaerage gambler in order to conceal my abilty to beat the game. But I use surrender when it's offered and it really helps when the count is high, I have a big bet out there and I surrender a 15 against a 9 (or a 13 against a 10 - true of 8), because it makes me look like a 'chicken.' Most casino personnel think surrender is a 'sucker' play anyway, so when they see you giving up half a $200 bet, they think you'll never make any $$$ at the game. That's just what I want them to think.

See you here next time.

 

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