The blackjack surrender chart is the shortest chart in blackjack. Only a handful of hands ever get surrendered, all against a dealer 9, 10 or ace, and they’re worth knowing exactly because getting them wrong in either direction costs money. In a six-deck game where the dealer stands on soft 17, the whole list is four hands: hard 16 against a 9, 10 or ace, and hard 15 against a 10.
Blackjack surrender chart: dealer stands on soft 17
| Your hand | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard 17 | – | – | – |
| Hard 16 | Surrender | Surrender | Surrender |
| Hard 15 | – | Surrender | – |
| 8,8 | Split | Split | Split |
| Hard 14 or less | – | – | – |
Dealer hits soft 17
When the dealer hits soft 17, an ace up card turns into a stronger hand, so three more spots against an ace get surrendered.
| Your hand | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard 17 | – | – | Surrender |
| Hard 16 | Surrender | Surrender | Surrender |
| Hard 15 | – | Surrender | Surrender |
| 8,8 | Split | Split | Surrender |
| Hard 14 or less | – | – | – |
A dash means don’t surrender: play the hand as the CasinoCalcs blackjack strategy chart says. Surrender only applies to your first two cards, so a three-card 16 is hit or stand as normal.
Why these hands and no others
Surrender gives you back half your bet, so it’s right whenever playing on loses you more than half on average. Hard 16 against a 10 is the classic: hit and you lose about 54% of your stake on average, stand and it’s about the same. Surrender locks in exactly 50%, a small saving every time. Hard 16 against a 9 is the closest call on the chart, saving under a penny per pound, while 15 against a 10 saves a little more. Hard 14 against a 10 loses about 47%, which is bad but still better than half, so you play it.
The pair of 8s is the exception people get wrong. Splitting turns one awful 16 into two hands starting with an 8, which loses much less than surrendering, so 8,8 is split against everything except an ace when the dealer hits soft 17.
European blackjack strategy: no hole card
In most European casinos the dealer doesn’t take a second card until everyone has played, and there’s usually no surrender. If the dealer then makes blackjack, you lose everything you put out, including doubles and splits. That changes three decisions against a dealer 10 or ace:
- 11 against a 10 or ace: hit, don’t double.
- 8,8 against a 10 or ace: hit, don’t split. Against a 10 it’s close, but the extra bet is too often lost to a dealer blackjack.
- A,A against an ace: hit. Against a 10 you still split.
If the table pays “original bets only”, meaning you only lose your first stake to a dealer blackjack, ignore these changes and use the normal chart. We worked the numbers out from exact infinite-deck probabilities, which match six and eight-deck games closely. To see how much each rule is worth, try the blackjack house edge calculator, and for every decision with its exact EV, the blackjack EV chart.
Surrender saves money on bad hands. It can’t make the game a winner. BeGambleAware.org has free support if you need it.