Surrender is offered by a few casinos, especially in Atlantic City and some online. Basically if you think the dealer has a better hand than you surrender giving the house half the bet and you take the other half back. Some casinos offer what is called early surrender where you can surrender half the bet before the dealer takes the hole card. Again unfortunately, the info from books and web sites seems to vary on the subject of surrender decisions. Below are the only common rules I could determine. Basic Strategy Decision for Late Surrender: Surrender hard 16 vs. dealer ace. Surrender hard 16 and 15 vs. dealer 10. Surrender hard 16 vs. dealer 9 Basic Strategy Decision for Early Surrender: Surrender hard 5-7 vs. Dealer Ace Surrender hard 12-17 vs. Dealer Ace Surrender hard 14-16 vs. Dealer 10 Surrender hard 16 vs. Dealer 9