Atlantic City 1979 (early surrender): blackjack house edge & basic strategy

A historical curiosity: the original Atlantic City game (1978–1981) offered EARLY surrender — bail out for half your bet before the dealer checks for blackjack. It was so player-friendly the casinos withdrew it within a few years. 6 decks, dealer stands on soft 17, US hole card, double any two, double after split, blackjack pays 3:2.

House edge

0.13% per initial bet with perfect basic strategy (win 42.3% / push 8.4% / lose 49.3% of rounds). Derived by seeded Monte Carlo simulation of 300,000 rounds under the exact rules below.

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Table rules

Decks6
Shuffleshoe, ~75% penetration
Dealer soft 17dealer stands (S17)
Hole cardUS style — dealer peeks for blackjack
Blackjack pays3:2
Double downany two cards
Double after splitallowed
Splittingup to 4 hands; no resplitting aces, one card on split aces
Surrenderearly surrender

Basic strategy chart

H Hit · S Stand · D Double · P Split · R Surrender. Rows are your hand, columns the dealer upcard (A = Ace).

Hard totals

2345678910A
5HHHHHHHHHH
6HHHHHHHHHH
7HHHHHHHHHH
8HHHHDHHHHH
9HDDDDHHHHH
10DDDDDDDDHH
11DDDDDDDDDH
12HHHHSHHHHH
13HSSSSHHHHH
14SSSSSHHHHH
15SSSSSHHHRR
16SSSSSHHRRR
17SSSSSSSSSS
18SSSSSSSSSS
19SSSSSSSSSS
20SSSSSSSSSS

Soft totals

2345678910A
A,2HHHDDHHHHH
A,3HHHDDHHHHH
A,4HHDDDHHHHH
A,5HHDDDHHHHH
A,6DHDDDHHHHH
A,7SDDDDSSHHS
A,8SSSDSSSSSS
A,9SSSSSSSSSS

Pairs

2345678910A
2,2PPPPPPPHHH
3,3HPPPPPHHHH
4,4HHHHPHHHHH
5,5DDDDDDDDHH
6,6PPPPPHHHHH
7,7PPPPPPPHHH
8,8PPPPPPPPPP
9,9PPPPPPPPSS
10,10SSSSSSSSSS
A,APPPPPPPPPP

Dealer outcome odds

Probability of each dealer final result, by upcard:

Upcard1718192021BJBust
214.2%13.0%13.2%12.4%11.8%0.0%35.5%
313.5%12.9%12.7%12.0%11.5%0.0%37.3%
412.9%12.8%12.1%11.7%11.3%0.0%39.2%
512.1%12.1%11.8%11.7%10.8%0.0%41.4%
616.7%10.9%10.4%10.2%9.7%0.0%42.1%
737.1%13.9%7.9%7.9%7.2%0.0%25.9%
812.7%35.9%13.0%7.0%7.1%0.0%24.4%
912.2%12.0%34.7%11.9%6.3%0.0%22.9%
1011.1%11.1%11.2%34.1%3.4%7.9%21.2%
A13.0%12.7%13.1%13.0%5.3%31.3%11.7%

Frequently asked questions

What is the house edge at Atlantic City 1979 (early surrender)?

With perfect basic strategy the edge is about 0.13% in favour of the house, per initial bet. Derived by Monte Carlo simulation of 300,000 rounds under these exact rules.

Does the dealer hit or stand on soft 17 at Atlantic City 1979 (early surrender)?

The dealer stands on all 17s (S17), which is the more player-friendly rule.

How often does the dealer bust with a 6 showing?

Under these rules the dealer busts 42.1% of the time with a 6 up — the weakest dealer upcard.

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