This is a blackjack variation that got its name because it is played with six or eight Spanish decks – a regular 52 card deck from which the four tens cards are taken out. Beside some of the common blackjack rules, such as number of decks, double after split and resplit Aces, Spanish 21 offers some exciting bonuses with good payouts. These bonuses and the 48 card decks make this a unique and popular blackjack variation.
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On this page, you will find additional information about the game rules of Spanish 21 Blackjack, the house edge of the game and the optimal playing strategy for securing the best possible odds for the player.
Spanish 21 Blackjack as offered by online casinos that use the Microgaming software allows for a huge number of strategic plays that must be learned well to achieve a high payout rate. In short, it’s one of the most complicated versions of online blackjack available on web. Spanish 21 is the ultimate Blackjack variation which combines the excitement of a Blackjack game with the multiple payoffs of a slot machine. Spanish 21 is like regular 21 (blackjack) with more options, providing more fun and more ways to wins. Spanish 21 vs Blackjack. Although the classic table game, Blackjack, has been around for quite a long time, the Spanish 21 variant has only been around for the last decade. However, it has picked up at casinos both online and offline for one reason – its advantageous rules for the player.
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Rules and Special Features
The Dealer will stand on hands with the value of 17 and if his/her hand has a value over 21, it is a “bust” and the player automatically wins. When the player hand and the Dealer’s hand tie, even on Blackjack, this is known as a “Push”. Should the Dealer have Blackjack, both original and doubled bets are lost. Spanish 21 actually came before Spanish blackjack, but nowadays it is basically the same thing. No Download Spanish 21 Spanish 21 uses multiple decks of cards, usually 6 or 8 decks. Spanish 21 is a variation of blackjack, that in some cases is the best bet in the casino. In locations where the dealer stands on a soft 17, or redoubling is allowed, Spanish 21 may be a better bet than blackjack, depending on the specific blackjack rules. Spanish 21 is a popular American variant of the traditional game of blackjack. Played worldwide and offered in the majority of land-based casinos, it is a quick-to-learn and easy-to-play alternative for when you are looking for something slightly different.
The most usual form of the game is played with six or eight decks of 48 cards, while the four 10s are removed. The player is allowed to surrender and double after splitting the cards. Resplitting Aces is allowed and the player can hit or double down after splitting them. In addition, the player can double on any number of cards and surrender after doubling. Some of the rules that favor the player are: player 21 wins and player blackjack beats dealer blackjack.
The rules explained above are rules common for every Spanish 21 game. However, there are some variables that should be mentioned. For example, the dealer in some variations is allowed to hit on soft 17, while in others he stands on soft 17. At certain casinos redoubling is allowed up to three hands and somewhere a split Ace and a face card are counted as a blackjack.
In any case, what make Spanish 21 so unique and thrilling are the many bonuses. This blackjack variation awards five-card 21 with a 3:2 payout, a six-card 21 with a 2:1 payout and a 7+ card 21 with a 3:1 payout. If the player gets a combination of unsuited 6-7-8 or 7-7-7, a 3:2 bonus payout is granted to him. If the same combination is suited the payout is 2:1, while 6-7-8 and 7-7-7 of spades has the best payout of 3:1. Furthermore, suited 7-7-7 across a dealer’s 7 is considered to be a super bonus and pays £1,000 for bets from £5 to £24 and £5,000 for £25+ bets.
House Edge and Soft 17
Certain rule variations affect the house edge of the game. If the game is played with eight decks and the dealer stands on soft 17 the house has an edge of 0.38%. Reducing the number of decks to six will immediately lower the house edge to 0.37%. Hitting on soft 17 increases the house edge to 0.78% when played with six decks and to 0.80% when played with eight decks. Usually, this variation allows the player to surrender. However, if this rule is changed, the house edge grows for 0.006% (dealer hits on soft 17) or 0.018% (dealer stands on soft 17).
Side Bets and Bonuses
In Spanish 21 usually a side bet known as Match the Dealer is offered. The point of this bet is the player’s cards to match the dealer’s face up card. For example, if the dealer’s card is 9 of spades, the player should have 9 of spades, 9 of any kind or a total card amount of 9 in order to win the side bet. Depending on the number of decks, the payout varies and can be 4:1 (6 deck) or 3:1 (8 deck). Furthermore, a perfect match or rank pays 9:1/12:1. Additionally, if the player has 9 of spades and 9 of diamonds, he will get two bonuses.
Game Play Strategy
Because of the many rule variations that significantly change the optimal Spanish 21 strategy, here is discussed the best strategy when the game is played with eight decks and the dealer hits on soft 17. First, in case of receiving a pair of 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and Aces, the played is advised to split. Some exceptions apply whatsoever. In case of suited 7-7 when the dealer holds 7 it is the best to hit, while 8-8 across a dealer’s Ace signals the player to surrender. The player should stand with a pair of nines if the dealer has 2, 7 or Ace. If the dealer shows 9 or Ace and the player have 2-2, 3-3, 6-6 or 7-7 hitting another card is a good move.
Second, in case of hard 4-14 the player should hit no matter the dealer’s card. However, exceptions are situations when the dealer has 4 and 5, while the player has a hard 14 and 6 across player hard 13 or 14. Hard 15+ is a sign to stand, unless the dealer has 7, 8, 9 or Ace and hitting is a good option. Hard hand of 10 or 11 is a good time for doubling, however you should pay attention to the number of cards you have. For example, if you have three cards and a hard 10, it would be the best to hit instead of double. Hard 16 and 17 when the dealer holds Ace should result in player’s surrender.
Spanish 21 Blackjack Trainer
Finally, soft 12-17 should motivate the player to hit, no matter the dealer’s hand. Same goes if the player has soft 18, while the dealer holds 9 or Ace. To stand is a good move when you have soft 18 and 19. However, it is also important how many cards you hold. In a case of a soft 19 and six card hand you should hit. Soft 17 and 18 across dealer’s 4, 5 or 6 is a sign to double.
Overview
Spanish 21 is a very exciting blackjack variation. There are some rules that make it favorable to the dealer and some that are better for the player. Depending on the rules modifications it can have a low to medium house edge compared to other blackjack games. However, the many bonuses and the Match the Dealer side bet make it very interesting and challenging for the players. Using the optimal playing strategy can increase the player’s chances to win and turn this blackjack variation in a long lasting entertaining experience.
What Is Spanish Blackjack
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Your newsletter gives the casino advantage on Spanish 21 as 0.34% if the dealer doesn’t hit soft 17. How effective is card counting in further reducing this house advantage and giving the advantage to the player?
Good question. Yes, this house edge is definitely low enough to consider card counting. Since most card counters don’t even consider Spanish 21 I think the field is ripe to exploit the game and to do so with a great deal of impunity. However counting may not be as effective in Spanish 21 as regular blackjack. A small card rich deck will benefit the player in more multiple card 21’s. To the best of my knowledge nobody has developed index numbers for Spanish 21 but somebody should. Maybe I will.
Your Spanish 21 basic strategy at your web site gives the opposite tables for dealer hitting soft 21 and standing on soft 21 from those given in Casino Player September edition. Casino Player magazine gives table 1 for dealer hitting a soft 17 and table 2 for standing. Your web site gives the opposite charts. Which is correct? Also, hard 17 vs. dealer ace says surrender on first 2 cards, otherwise hit. Do you hit hard 17 vs. ace?
Casino Player reversed the two charts in their layout. I'm very embarrassed by this mistake. Yes, you should hit a hard 17 against an ace if you can't surrender.
I know of a casino in the Seattle area that has six-deck payout odds for the match the dealer bet in Spanish 21 with an eight-deck shoe. I am curious how this effects the house advantage?
In Spanish 21 you state that the house edge is .34% using your basic strategy and dealer stands on soft 17. How does the super bonus affect this percentage? That is to say, what would the house edge be without the super bonus? Also, what are the odds of hitting the super bonus on any given hand?
In a 6-deck game the probability of a super bonus is 1 in 668382, and in an 8-deck game it is 1 in 549188. The house edge without the super bonus would be 0.03% more either way.
Which is a better game for the player Spanish 21 or just regular blackjack in Atlantic City.
Spanish 21! Under Atlantic City rules blackjack has a house edge of 0.43% and Spanish 21 of .40%.
Where is the best casino in Las Vegas to play Spanish 21?
The Venetian. To the best of my knowledge they are the only casino in Las Vegas which stands on a soft 17 in Spanish 21, lowering the house edge from 0.76% to 0.40%.
Update: The Venetian later switched to hitting a soft 17. As of this update (May 14, 2013) the best Spanish 21 game is at the D, which allows re-doubling.
Update: The Venetian later switched to hitting a soft 17. As of this update (May 14, 2013) the best Spanish 21 game is at the D, which allows re-doubling.
Where on the Internet can I play Spanish 21 for either fun or real money?
All Unified Gaming casinos as well as Global Player offer Spanish 21. Unified Gaming stands on a soft 17 and thus has the lower house edge.
2013 Update: Unified Gaming software has since disappeared. As far as I know, nobody offers Spanish 21 online any longer.
2013 Update: Unified Gaming software has since disappeared. As far as I know, nobody offers Spanish 21 online any longer.
What are your casino choices in Atlantic City for craps and Spanish 21? When you mention that it is wise to take full odds on a bet while playing craps, do you mean to match your bet with an equal odds bet, or to make the highest allowed odds bet along with your bet (ex: at a table with 10x max odds place a $1 bet with a $1 free odds bet, or a $1 bet with a $10 free odds bet). I'm a little confused on that. I love your site, and honestly see it as 'a diamond in the rough' among gambling advice web sites. Personally, I like to know what the mathematical odds are when it comes to wagering my hard earned money! Thanks in advance for answering my questions!
Thanks for the compliment. The Spanish 21 rules are the same across Atlantic City. I only know of two that have the game, the Tropicana and the Claridge, but there could be others by now. If I'm not mistaken, the best craps game is at the Sands, which offers 5X odds. When I say to take the maximum odds I mean bet the maximum allowed on the odds. For example, $50 after a $10 line bet. Keep in mind that you won't win more money by taking the odds, you just get to bet more without losing more in the long run.
Why didn’t they show when I was searching. So I go into recent players I have played with and I see players playing in the tables I’m looking for. Zynga poker app for kindle. No tables with players. I join and there are two seats available.
I recently started playing Spanish 21 because the rules at the local Thunder Bay casino give it much better odds than Blackjack. The dealer stands on soft 17, but uses 8 decks of cards. Does using 8 decks give better or worse odds for the player than the 0.40% you calculated with 6 decks?
I always liked the name Thunder Bay for a city. I used to work at a summer camp not too far from there in Missanabie, Ontario. To answer your question 6 decks is better than 8. However the difference in the house edge is small, only about 0.03%.
With reference to the first table of the Basic Strategy for Spanish 21, I have some questions that I hope you could clarify for me (standard game, dealer hits s17): Q1. For 17 v A (your reference - Rh). If the player doesn’t surrender (or double down surrender), does he in fact hit? I ask this question because I’m a little unsure - Scoblete’s book says to stand 17 v A, as does Norm Wattenberger’s Spanish 21 strategy table in CVBJ3.
Q2. Your references to the 6-7-8 bonuses. Do all the references apply equally to the 7-7-7 bonuses? e.g. Does * mean 'Hit if any 6-7-8 [OR 7-7-7] bonus possible'?
Q3. p20 of Scoblete’s Spanish 21 book says to hit 9 v 6 if player has a 3 card 9. Should I ignore this advice, along with the 'don’t double down rescue' advice given in his book?
Sorry to bother you with these questions but I’ve got a Spanish 21 tournament coming up, and need all the help I can get. Many thanks.
- Yes, you should hit. I believe all those who disagree to be in error.
- No, the 7-7-7 bonus is only possible with two initial sevens. The proper strategy is indicated in that row.
- Yes, you should ignore this advice.
You mention the really low house edge in Spanish 21, but I have such a hard time playing the game because I get verbally abused playing your strategy. Not that I question anything you say about gambling, but man you are right about hitting a 17 vs an Ace. The worst slack I got was from a guy who was playing $400 split 8’s vs a 3 and got two 11’s and doubled down and got 19 on both. I hit my 14 vs a 3, busted with a ten. The dealer had 13 and pulled an 8. Now again I question nothing you say, but man when they had to almost call security it was really scary.
I get verbally abused too when I play Spanish 21. When I lived in Baltimore I played it a lot in Atlantic City because the house edge is lower than blackjack there. These idiots doing the abusing don’t understand that removing the tens from the decks makes hitting less dangerous because the probability of busting is less. Don’t bother to try to explain this, the logic won’t make it through their thick skulls. I used to just bite my tongue in these situations but the next time I may not be so nice.
Are there any published card-counting strategies for Spanish 21? If not, do you think the rules of Spanish 21 make it conducive to counting?
There was discussion about this at www.bj21.com under the Green Chip section about a couple years ago. As I recall the consensus was that counting was not as advantageous as in blackjack but you could get away with a lot more. I know of no published material on this.
At the Meskwaki in central Iowa they pay 3 to 2 on an ace and 10 after splitting aces in Spanish 21. What is the effect of this rule?
In variants of Spanish 21 where redoubling is allowed, but the only permitted plays after doubling are redouble or stand, what is the correct play where the strategy card says 'hit'?
Most redoubling situations tell you to double anyway. However, with a soft 15 to 17 against a 3, when the strategy says hit, you should actually redouble.
The version of Fun 21 offered on Carnival cruise lines has some rules that are surprisingly favorable. They are so favorable that they appear to make up for the hit on soft 17 and then some. I can't find the catch. Any chance the edge is better then standard big casino Vegas blackjack or even slightly in players favor? Whether you answer or not, GREAT SITE and thanks much.
Thanks. This game is just a rip-off of Spanish 21. Note that the bottom of the card says that all queens are removed.
What advantage (%) would a player have if the 10’s were used in a stand on all 17, 8-deck spanish 21 game?
Keeping all the tens in the deck is worth 1.89% to the player. The house edge under those rules is normally 0.40%. So with all the tens in the shoe, the player edge would be 1.89%-0.40% = 1.49%.
I know that the rules of Spanish 21 say that the 'envy bonus' is always $50, and the super bonus is $1,000, for bets of $5 to $25, or $5000, for bets of $25 or higher. I was curious, what is the house edge penalty for playing at an empty table, or betting more than $25 a hand? Casinos offer regular blackjack for high rollers without maximum payouts. Do you know of any casinos that offer good rules for high rollers in Spanish 21? (i.e. a $500 envy bonus for a bet of $50)
I don’t like it when games give worse odds to the higher bettors either. The value of these Super Bonuses is almost zero. The probability of hitting the Super Bonus is one in 549,000 with eight decks, and one in 668,000 million with six decks. Assuming six decks, the value of the envy bonus is worth 0.0015% per additional player, besides yourself. Sorry, I don’t know of any casinos that sweeten the bonuses for larger bets.
I really enjoy your site, and thank you for the pertinent information! Reading and learning has erased my bad habits and made me a better player, I am certain! Here is my question. I read about games you write about and really think that some of them would be fun to try, like the World Series of Poker (Final Table Bonus) video poker game. Not knowing, however, where to find it, and others, I usually wind up writing to the maker of the game at their website and asking where I can find their game outside of Nevada, since I am in the Midwest. I NEVER get an answer! Besides being just bad customer service, I still have the question of finding the game to be answered. Do you know of a site, or a way, to find which specific games are at which casinos? You would think the game’s manufacturer would list where to find it to assist in letting players find the game.
Thanks for the kind words. I think the gaming manufacturers should take this as a good suggestion. I get requested for this information by players all the time, but it is simply too much for one person to keep on top of. A noteworthy exception is Masque Publishing, the owners of Spanish 21. They keep an online list of where the liberal Spanish 21 rules can be found.