Spanish 21 is a common form of blackjack played in many of the larger casinos. You’ll find the game played all over the world, though it originated in European casinos. Most gambling establishments in the United States didn’t offer the game until 1995 or later. Spanish Blackjack is the most unique of them all The game includes some extra rules that favor the player over the house If you think there’s nothing about Blackjack that can still surprise you.

Introduction

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. If you are looking for a change of pace from traditional blackjack but insist on a game with a low house edge, then you may find new excitement in Spanish 21.

In Australia and Malaysia, Spanish 21 is called Pontoon. There are some rule changes in Australia, which merit a separate page. For all the details please visit my page on Australian Pontoon. To make matters more confusing, there is another similar game, but different enough to warrant a separate page, called Player's Edge 21.

Following is a list of known aliases of the game:

• Betsoft, a major provider of software for Internet casinos, offers Spanish 21 under the name Pirate 21.
• The Casino Bregenz in Austria changes the name to Blackjack Exchange.

The Rules

Spanish Blackjack

Spanish 21 uses six or eight Spanish decks, each deck consisting of 48 cards — the regular 52 cards less the four tens. Any card counter can tell you that removing any 10-point card from the cards moves the odds in favor of the dealer. To make up for this, Spanish 21 gives the player a host of bonuses and favorable rules. There are lots of Spanish 21 games all over the country, so rules will vary somewhat from place to place, but the usual rules in the player's favor are:

1. Late surrender allowed.
2. Double after split allowed.
3. Re-splitting aces allowed.
4. A player 21 always wins.
5. Player blackjack beats dealer blackjack.
6. Player may double on any number of cards.
7. Player may usually hit and double down after splitting aces.
8. Player may surrender after doubling, known as 'double down rescue.' The player forfeits an amount equal to his original bet.
9. A five-card 21 pays 3 to 2, a six-card 21 pays 2 to 1, a seven or more card 21 pays 3 to 1. Bonus not honored after doubling.
10. A 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 of mixed suits pays 3 to 2, of the same suit pays 2 to 1, and of spades pays 3 to 1. These bonuses do not pay after doubling.
11. Suited 7-7-7 when the dealer has a seven face up pays $1000 for bets of $5-$24 and $5000 'Super Bonus' for bets of $25 or over. In addition, all other players receive a $50 'envy bonus.' This bonus does not pay after doubling or splitting.

Variable Rules

1. Dealer may hit or stand on a soft 17.
2. 6 or 8 Spanish decks can be used.
3. Some casinos allow redoubling, up to three times.
4. I have heard of some casinos not allowing surrender or drawing to split aces, but it isn't the norm.
5. A face card and ace after splitting has been known to count as a blackjack, at at least one casino.
6. There has been a lot of debate through the years whether the bonuses are payable after a split. First, there is almost no argument that they do not pay after doubling. However, the way the game was designed, all bonuses except the Super Bonus are supposed to be payable after splitting. However, most casinos do not pay the bonuses after a split. The effect of not allowing the bonuses after splitting is very small, around 0.01%.

Strategy

Following is my Spanish 21 basic strategy when the dealer hits a soft 17.

Next is the Spanish 21 basic strategy when the dealer stands on a soft 17.

Note: If drawing to split aces is not allowed, and the dealer stands on soft 17 (as is the case at the Mohegan Sun), then hit A,A vs A.

The next table if for when the dealer hits a soft 17, redoubling is allowed, and the player has not already doubled.

The next table if for when the dealer hits a soft 17, redoubling is allowed, and the player has already doubled, which limits his options to stand, surrender, and double again.

Many readers have expressed doubt about my advice to hit 17 against an ace with 3 or more cards. However, I stand by what I said. The player will save about 2.8% of the initial wager by hitting as opposed to standing. The dealers will advise against this play and the other players may curse the day you were born, but trust me, the odds favor hitting.

Following is the house edge under various common rules, before considering the Super Bonus.

• Dealer stands on soft 17: 0.40%
• Dealer hits on soft 17, redoubling allowed: 0.42%
• Dealer hits on soft 17, redoubling not allowed: 0.76%

Super Bonus

The probability of hitting the Super Bonus is 1 in 668,382, with six decks, and 1 in 549,188 with eight decks. The reduction in the house edge depends on the bet amount, and to a lesser extent, the number of players. With no other players, and bets of exactly $5 or $25, the Super Bonus lowers the house edge by 0.030% in a six-deck game, and 0.036% in an eight-deck game. At a bet of exactly $5, the Envy Bonus lowers the house edge by an additional 0.0015% in a six-deck game, and 0.0018% in an eight-deck game, per additional player.

For bet amounts other than those indicated above, the benefit of the Super Bonus will go down as the bet amount goes up.

No Draw to Split Aces: At the Mohegan Sun drawing to split aces is NOT allowed. The effect of this rule is to increase the house edge by 0.29%.

Ace and 10 after splitting aces pays 3 to 2: I have an unconfirmed report that at at one time the Meskaki casino in central Iowa paid 3 to 2 on an ace and 10 after splitting aces. I have another unconfirmed report that as of Aug. 2010 they removed the Spanish 21 table completely. According to my calculations this lowers the house edge by 0.16%. Otherwise they hit a soft 17 and no redoubling, for an overall house edge of 0.60%.

Doubling only allowed on first two cards: I had a false report that a casino in Malaysia didn't allow doubling on any number of cards. If such a rule did exist, it would increase the house edge by 0.16%.

Match the Dealer

Match the Dealer is a side bet found in both blackjack and Spanish 21. The player wins for each of his initial two cards that match the dealer's up card. Matches in rank only pay less than a match in rank and suit. The following tables show the various pay tables that I am aware of for Spanish 21.

Match the Dealer — Six Decks

Event	Combinations	Probability	Pays	Return
Two suited matches	10	0.000244	18	0.004386
One hard and one each match	90	0.002193	13	0.028508
Two non-suited matches	153	0.003728	8	0.029824
One suited match	1320	0.032163	9	0.289467
One non-suited match	4752	0.115787	4	0.463147
No matches	34716	0.845886	-1	-0.845886
Total	41041	1	0	-0.030555

Match the Dealer — Eight Decks

Event	Combinations	Probability	Pays	Return
Two suited matches	21	0.000287	24	0.00689
One hard and one each match	168	0.002297	15	0.034448
Two non-suited matches	276	0.003773	6	0.022637
One suited match	2464	0.033683	12	0.404194
One non-suited match	8448	0.115484	3	0.346452
No matches	61776	0.844477	-1	-0.844477
Total	73153	1	0	-0.029855

C4

The Casino Bregenz in Austria offers Spanish 21 but calls it Blackjack Exchange. They tack on a side bet called the C4, which is analyzed below. The table is based on six decks and assumes that if the player qualifies for more than one win, he only gets the higher win. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 14.48%.

C4 — Six Decks

Event	Combinations	Probability	Pays	Return
Four of a kind	500	138,138	0.000337	0.168467
Straight	20	3,649,536	0.008902	0.178032
Flush	12	5,647,896	0.013776	0.165310
Two pair	10	5,941,728	0.014492	0.144925
Three of a kind	8	7,330,752	0.017880	0.143044
All other	-1	387,278,420	0.944613	-0.944613
Total	409,986,470	1.000000	-0.144836

Spanish Blackjack online, free

Following is the house edge of the C4 for other numbers of decks.

• Four decks: 18.49%
• Eight decks: 12.41%

Methodology

The Spanish 21 strategy found here is based on a combinatorial program which considered both card composition and the six deck nature of the game. In addition an infinite deck model was created in Excel, of which the basic strategy nearly agreed with that of the combinatorial model. The basic strategy found here does not agree with that of the late Lenny Frome in some borderline situations. Frome's strategy can be found in such books as 'Secrets of the New Casino Games' (Marten Jensen) and 'Armada Strategies for Spanish 21' (Frank Scoblete). Although I have a great deal of respect for Frome and his body of work, I strongly feel that his basic strategy is incorrect. I speculate he did notincorporate the double down surrender feature correctly into his analysis. My strategies also agree with those of Katarina Walker, who has done an amazing job analyzing Spanish 21 and its cousin, Australian Pontoon, as well as an independent analysis by Mike Hopson.

Acknowledgments

I would like to give a huge thanks to Katarina Walker for correcting some minor strategy errors in this page. She is the author of The Pro's Guide to Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon.

Links

German translation of this page.

Written by:Michael Shackleford

Spanish 21 is a variation of one of the most iconic casino games, Blackjack. Spanish 21 offers some new and interesting changes that shift the dynamic of the game, one of which is the removal of all number ‘10’ cards from the deck. This leaves the dealer with decks of 48 cards, rather than 52. This increases the house edge, or the chance that the dealer will beat the players, due to the fact that high value cards are incredibly important to the player, and there are less of them to be utilized.

Players may wonder why they would want to play a version of Blackjack in which the odds are worse off for them. The truth is that this house edge is leveraged by additional in-game rule changes and advantageous bonus payout scenarios, evening the score for the players.

Differences vs. Blackjack

When playing a game of Spanish 21, it will look very much like a game of Blackjack. The variations do not change the main rules of how the game is played, but change how various scenarios in the game can be used by the players.

The first of these variations, which is very helpful to the player, is that a players’ Blackjack always beats the dealer’s Blackjack, with a payout of 3:2. Identically, a player with card values equaling 21 will always beat a dealer’s 21.

Another variation is the option of using a Late Surrender. With this feature, players are allowed to surrender their hands, as long as the dealer does not have Blackjack, and receive half of their original wager. This feature allows players to minimize losses and an opportunity to back out with half their bet if they feel overwhelmed.

Yet another change from the original game of Blackjack deals with splitting and doubling. In Spanish 21, players can split cards with equal values, including Aces, up to 3 times. Splitting 3 times would result in a player having 4 hands to play from. Additionally, players are able to double down on any cards, unlike in Blackjack where the players are only allowed to double down on the original two cards drawn for them. For those unfamiliar, doubling down is a bet placed on your hand that doubles your wager.

Upon doubling down, players are always given another card. Some casinos even offer players the ability to do what is called a ‘double-double down’. After players double down and receive a card, they can double-double down, which doubles the total wager yet again. Players can do this up to three times which could see their wager increasing up to 8 times.

Due to the fact that hands can get very large, players are allowed to use a Late Surrender at any point in the game to receive half of their wager. The ability to Late Surrender at any time is a huge benefit to players, as they can entertain certain avenues such as splitting or doubling without fear of losing the entirety of their wager should things go wrong.

Other than the in-game variations mentioned above, Spanish 21 normally offers special payouts for extraordinary hands as well as side bets that can benefit the player.

Spanish 21 Side Bets

The first of the side bets is known as the Super Bonus. The Super Bonus does not require the player to make a separate wager and players always have a chance of winning it, although the payout of the Super Bonus is dependent upon how much the player’s wager is. Although very rare, this side bet can provide massive payouts for the players.

The conditions for winning the Super Bonus are as follows…

The player must have three suited 7’s (forming a hand of 21) and the dealer must also have a 7 of any suit.

If the player originally wagers $5-$24, the payout of winning the Super Bonus is $1000. Bets of $25 and over will result in a payout of $5000.

The final facet of the Super Bonus is that whenever a player wins it, all other players at the table receive $50, so that they can have some fun as well.

As mentioned, this is an extremely rare occurrence, but since there is no needed separate wage to potentially win the Super Bonus, every hand provides the player with the opportunity to win big.

The other side bet in Spanish 21 is the Match the Dealer wager. With this wager, players can bet that one or both of their cards will match the dealer’s up card, or the dealer’s card that is visible to players during the game. The payouts vary on whether the match is based only on card value or on both card value and card suit, with the ‘perfect match’ of both value and suit paying out more for the player.

Spanish Blackjack Chart

Spanish 21 Payouts

The final bit to cover of Spanish 21 is the varying payout values for different combinations of the player’s winning 21.

If the player hits 21 with 5 cards of any suit, the payout will be 3:2.

For 6 cards of any suit, the payout is 2:1, and for 7 cards of any suit the payout is 3:1. Therefore, a winning hand of 21 with more cards will provide players with bigger payouts.

Should a player form 21 with specifically the cards 6, 7, and 8, the payout will be 3:2. If the 6, 7, and 8 are of identical suits, the payout is 2:1.

Finally, if the 6, 7, and 8 are all Spades, the payout will be 3:1. If a player has a hand consisting of three 7’s, the payouts are identical to the 6-7-8 scenarios in which mixed suits pay 3:2, similar suits pay 2:1, and all Spades pays 3:1.

Spanish Blackjack 21

In conclusion, Spanish 21 may frighten Blackjack players away due to the lack of number 10 cards, culminating in a higher house edge. However, players that are familiar with the caveats of Spanish 21 can find ways to overcome this house edge through more opportunities to split and double down, special payouts for certain hands, and perhaps most importantly, the ability to surrender at any time and receive half their bet. All the while, the Super Bonus’ huge payout hangs overhead, with players hoping for a string of sevens and a bit of luck.

House Edge in Spanish 21

Spanish Blackjack Strategy

The House Edge is a guaranteed profit that casinos make off of the bets made by players. This provides a source of long term, ensured income for the casino, while also offering opportunities for short term payouts for winning players. As Blackjack, and thus Spanish 21, are games that vary depending on the skill levels of the players, the house edge is very low in comparison to other games. One would assume that due to the rule changes that are tailored to help the player, the house edge should be less than the normal Blackjack game house edge. However, the casino has evened the score with the removal of all the number 10 cards, tipping the house edge in their favor.

For both Blackjack and Spanish 21, the house edge fluctuates depending on specific rules regarding what the dealer must do when they have a “soft 17”. A soft 17 is a hand which includes an Ace and has a total card value of 17. When dealers are forced to hit on a soft 17, the house edge is swung in favor of the casino. Therefore, players should seek games that have the dealer stand in such scenarios.

For games using 6 decks of cards, the house edge is 0.78% when dealers hit on a soft 17 and 0.37% when they stand. In 8 deck games, the house edge is 0.80% when dealers hit, 0.38% when they stand. This clearly shows the advantage to having the dealer stand on a soft 17, from the perspective of the players, that is. For sake of comparison, good Blackjack games usually hover around a 0.5% house edge, but this percentage can change due to the many rule variations that Blackjack can have.

How To Play Spanish Blackjack