At some casinos particularly in the US there is another option you have. Which is to surrender. You will not find it at many casinos but it is one rule if played correctly that is of benefit to the player rather than the casino. The rule allows a player to throw in their first two cards and in exchange you forfeit half the bet you have made. This option can only be used when the dealers up card is an Ace or a card with a value of 10. Usually if the dealer has blackjack you can not surrender.

In order to surrender your cards you must first tell the dealer that this is the intention at the start of your hand and the dealer will then take your cards and half your bet. In some casinos if the dealer has blackjack you will lose all you bet regardless.

Statistically to gain an advantage when surrendering your hand you must have a chance of less than one in four of winning. To illustrate this, say you are betting £10 pounds on each hand. If you surrender you lose will lose £5 on that hand. If you do this 4 times you will lose £20 in total. If you don't surrender and win 1 in every 4 times i.e. win 3 and lose 1 you will lose a total of £20 also. Therefore if statistically your hand will win more than 1 in 4 hands you should not surrender. The specific situations when it is beneficial will be shown later.