If they have a blackjack you automatically lose the hand, if not you’ll be able to make your next move. If, on the other hand, the dealer’s upcard is ace or ten, then they’ll peek for blackjack before you even have the chance to choose your next move. If your initial hand totals 21, then you have a ‘blackjack’ or a ‘natural’ and you automatically win, otherwise the game will continue. You’ll be dealt two face-up cards, while the dealer will receive one face-up and one face-down card. The game begins after you’ve placed your bet and hit the ‘Deal’ button. As in most blackjack variations, here a natural blackjack (an ace and a 10-valued card) pays 3 to 2, insurance pays 2 to 1 and the dealer stands on 17, including on a soft 17 (an ace and a 6). As you can see in the screenshot below, the table also features information about the rules of the game. The Playtech version of the game is played on a virtual table where there are five betting boxes, given that you can play up to 5 hands at a time. All the cards count as their natural numbers, all face cards count as 10 and the ace counts as 1 or 11, whichever is more suitable for the player. That means having a higher hand total without going over 21. Your goal in Blackjack Surrender, as in any other blackjack game, is to have a better hand than the dealer.

There’s also a Blackjack Surrender game offered by Real Time Gaming but it’s really rare to stumble upon it, so we’ve decided not to cover it in this article. Note that in this review we’ll talk only about the Blackjack Surrender variation which is developed by Playtech, as it is the most popular one.

Blackjack strategy card surrender