Roulette: Surrender

There is the spinning wheel, the whir of the silver ball, the clatter of the chips and the laughter and enjoyment of the crowd. 

We can only be talking about one thing: Roulette. The French classic is one of the most popular and sought after table games in the world. 

With its vast array of bets and simplistic methodology, people have enjoyed the ball drop for generations. 

One of the betting options is known as ‘surrender’ and it is a quirky bet that is not often found, but it is important to understand the rules surrounding it in the case that you do.

Casinos sometimes offer the ‘surrender’ option when you are playing on an American roulette wheel. 

The American roulette wheel differs from its European cousin because it has the additional ‘double zero’ space that accompanies the ‘single zero’ space. 

This makes the American roulette wheel less popular because it increases the house edge. 

With this in mind, some of the casinos offering the best bets online will provide the option to place a ‘surrender’ bet on these types of tables.

This in turn lowers the house edge and half of your bet is returned to you should the ball land in either the ‘single zero’ or ‘double zero’ slots.

There is also a derivative of the ‘surrender’ bet available in some casinos in France called ‘en prison’. 

Under ‘en prison’ rules, instead of taking half of your bet, the casino freezes your bet until the next spin cycle has been completed. 

If you lose the subsequent spin your chips will be lost, but if your bet is a winner your chips are returned to you (but you don’t win any additional chips).