Blackjack rules XIII
There are several choices of action open for a player to choose from when his turn to act in a blackjack game comes. Once the player has placed his bet and received his cards, he must make a decision about how to continue his game or whether to continue to all. Thus one of the most basic of decisions in a blackjack game is the option of surrender. While, this option is very rarely exercised by the players, its significance lies in the fact that until a player has decided whether he wants to surrender or continue playing, he cannot make any further choice regarding how to play his hand. However, one thing that needs to be remembered is that not all games offer the option of surrender. But if a game does allow the participating players to exercise this choice according to their discretion, there are two possible categories of surrender– early and late.
The concept of surrender in a blackjack game is the same as the principle of folding one’s hand in a game of poker and it indicates the player wishes to quit the hand of play. The price that a player must pay if he chooses to surrender his hand and quit is that he must forfeit half of the amount of his original wager that he had staked for the hand. However, one important thing that any blackjack player must remember is that he must make his choice and surrender, if he wants, immediately after being dealt his first two cards and before he can make any other choice of actions. So, if a player has already either chosen to stand or hit, that is, draw his third card, or to split or double down, he no longer has the option to exercise the decision of surrender.
