However, I have found their Spanish 21 rules, at least on the east coast, are quite friendly. Online pokies game. Dealer stays on soft 17, surrender after doubling, split aces, resplitting allowed, can double down after any amount of cards, can double after split. I have not seen many Spanish 21 games in las Vegas, and maybe they are at other properties. Spanish 21 gets it name because it is played with only 48 cards, similar to some Spanish card games. The difference between a normal 52-card blackjack deck and the Spanish 21 deck is it simply has all four 10 cards removed from each deck. Of all the people that visit Las Vegas, 79 percent are repeat visitors. 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. Spanish 21 is essentially a table game which has experienced a growth in popularity in the recent decade. It was formally introduced to Las Vegas casinos seven years ago and these days, most casinos will boast one or two Spanish 21 tables. The online version of the game is even newer, only having hit the scene a few years ago, and is yet to be.
On This Page
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 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:
- Late surrender allowed.
- Double after split allowed.
- Re-splitting aces allowed.
- A player 21 always wins.
- Player blackjack beats dealer blackjack.
- Player may double on any number of cards.
- Player may usually hit and double down after splitting aces.
- Player may surrender after doubling, known as 'double down rescue.' The player forfeits an amount equal to his original bet.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Dealer may hit or stand on a soft 17.
- 6 or 8 Spanish decks can be used.
- Some casinos allow redoubling, up to three times.
- I have heard of some casinos not allowing surrender or drawing to split aces, but it isn't the norm.
- A face card and ace after splitting has been known to count as a blackjack, at at least one casino.
- 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 |
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. Book of ra gratis.
Spanish Las Vegas
Written by:Michael Shackleford
How to Play Spanish 21
Betting
Initially, betting in Spanish 21 is just like betting in Blackjack. To begin a hand, players must bet at least the table minimum. For example, at a $3 to $100 table, the minimum bet to play is $3. The player may bet any amount up to the maximum of $100.
In Spanish 21, however, players may have additional ways to win, including a Bonus 21 or Super Bonus payout if their hands meet specific criteria:
Island Spanish 21 Bonus Payoffs
Gameplay
At Island Resort & Casino, Spanish 21 is played with six Spanish Decks—A-9, J, Q, K—no 10s. Like Blackjack, the object of Spanish 21 is to create a hand as close to 21 as possible, without busting, or going over 21. Players whose hands total closer to 21 than the dealer win. Face cards are valued at 10, while Aces are valued at either 1 or 11, depending on the player's hand.
Players who receive a two-card combination equaling 21, such as a Jack and Ace, win the hand automatically. This is known as a blackjack. In Spanish 21, player blackjacks beat dealer blackjacks and pay 3-2.
To begin the hand, each player is dealt two cards face-up. The dealer also receives two cards; however, one is dealt face-down and the other face-up. Once all cards are dealt, each player has a range of options to take action on their individual hands.
Spanish 21 In Las Vegas
At this point, the player has several options, including:
- Surrender: If the dealer's up card is a J, Q, K or Ace, they must check for blackjack. If the dealer does not have blackjack, and a player is dissatisfied with their hand, they have the option to surrender. Players cannot surrender if the dealer does have blackjack.
- Stand: A player who is satisfied with the total of their hand may stand. This means that the player does not want to be dealt any additional cards.
- Hit: A player who does not feel that their hand can beat the dealer may hit, or take additional cards. A player may hit as many times as they like until they reach a satisfactory hand, or the total of their hand exceeds 21.
- Double down: Players who feel confident about the strength of their hands may choose to double down. If a player chooses to double down, they must make an additional wager equal to or less than the original wager. The double down bet must meet the table's minimum requirements. In Spanish 21, players may rescue, or be given back, the doubled portion of the bet if they are dissatisfied with a non-busted hand. In double down rescues, the player's original wager is forfeited. Note:Bonus 21 and Super Bonus payouts do not apply to doubled hands.
- Split: Players who are dealt matching cards, such as a pair of 8s, may choose to split the pair into two separate hands. To split, the player must make an additional wager matching the value of their original bet. Once split, the player takes action on each hand individually, and must complete action before moving to the second hand. In Spanish 21, players may split cards of equal value up to four hands and hitting and doubling of split hands is allowed.
- Take insurance: If the dealer's face-up card is an Ace, players may choose to take insurance. Insurance may be taken for half of the player's original bet. If the dealer's hand equals 21 and the player has taken insurance, the player is paid 2-1. Insurance helps to protect the value of the player's original bet in case the dealer has blackjack.
Once all players have completed action, the dealer's face-down card is revealed. If the dealer's hand totals 17 or higher, they must stand. Once the dealer has completed action, their hand is compared to the players'.
If a player's hand is closer to 21 than the dealer, the player wins their bet. If the dealer's hand is closer to 21, the player loses their bet. If the hands are equal, the bet pushes and no chips are exchanged either way, unless the hands total 21, in which case the player's hand wins and pays up to 3-1.
