Originally posted by: O2bnVegas
I never knew about EARLY surrender, where the player can surrender BEFORE the Ace is checked for a blackjack. Keeps half the bet. Probably is the one rarely, if ever, offered since it is good for the player.
LATE surrender, player must wait until dealer peeks. If blackjack, player hand loses. If no blackjack, player can surrender, getting half the bet back.
As well as surrendering 15 or 16 according to basic strategy, good for the player.
Many players are unaware of surrender at all.
Surrender isn't the same as insurance or even money, which are declared before the dealer peeks.
Candy
In Spanish 21, the variant where the 10s are removed and the player is afforded all sorts of extra options and payouts to compensate, late surrender is allowed, and almost every player seems to know it. You signal it by using your finger to draw an imaginary line below your bet when it's your turn. You actually use surrender far more often in Spanish 21 than regular 21.
There's a unique variation on the theme in that you can surrender after you've doubled down. Let's say you double on 11 against a high card and get something like a 3 or a 5. You can now surrender and retain half your bet. This is a terrific option, because you only play the hand out when you end up with a decent total.
The game is very popular in Washington and Oregon, particularly in the small casino card clubs in Washington, where the table minimums are always $5 and occasionally $3. The game is pretty slow-paced and has a much more relaxed atmosphere than $25 minimum shitjack in some Nevada corporate casino megatoilet. I recommend that people come up to Washington in the summer, when it's glorious up there, and try some lower-intensity gambling.
Spanish 21, played with proper Basic Strategy and the best rules, offers you a -0.42% house edge. It's actually a great game. Washington also has a much better version of Pai Gow Poker, where no commission is charged on winning bets, making the house edge much lower than the same game elsewhere.
If you're gonna have yourself a gambling vacay, consider a trip to Washington, where it's 70 degrees and sunny, rather than going to Nevada, where it's 108 degrees and way, way too sunny. Now's the time of year to be in the Pacific Northwest, and to avoid Vegas.
