Spanish 21 is a variation of blackjack that is one of the best bets
in a casino. In locations where the dealer stands on a soft 17 or
redoubling is allowed, Spanish 21 is probably 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 you may find new excitement in Spanish 21.
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
to the player a host of bonuses and favorable rules. The rules are
based on liberal 6-8 deck blackjack rules, including double after
split, late surrender, and resplitting aces. In addition Spanish 21
offers the follows rule enhancements:
A player 21 always wins.
Player blackjack beats dealer blackjack.
Player may double on any number of cards.
Player may hit and double down after splitting aces.
Player may surrender half of total bet after doubling down (known
as "double down rescue.")
A five-card 21 pays 3:2, a six-card 21 pays 2:1, a seven or more
card 21 pays 3:1.
A 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 of mixed suits pays 3:2, of the same suit pays
2:1, and of spades pays 3:1.
Suited 7-7-7 when the dealer has a seven face up pays $1000 for
bets of $5-$24 and $5000 for bets of $25 or over. In addition, all
other players receive a $50 "envy bonus." This rule does
not apply after splitting.
Notes:
1. Dealer usually hits a soft 17 .
2. All 21 bonus hands do not count if the result of doubling.
3. Usually 6-8 Six Spanish decks are used.
4. Some casinos allow redoubling, up to three times.
House Edge
Following is the house edge according to the table rules:
Dealer stands on soft 17: 0.40%
Dealer hits on soft 17: 0.76%
Dealer hits on soft 17, redoubling allowed: 0.38%
Match the Dealer
In some locations there is a side bet available if the either or both
of the player's first two cards match the dealer's up card. In a six-deck
game a non-suited match pays 4 to 1 and a suited match pays 9 to 1.
In an eight-deck game a non-suited match pays 3 to 1 and a suited
match pays 12 to 1. The six-deck game side bet has a house edge of
3.06%, with eight decks it is 2.99%.
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 book as 'Secrets of the New Casino Games' (Marten
Jensen) and 'Armada Strategies for Spanish 21' (Frank Scoblete).
Although I have a lot of respect for Frome and his body of work
I strongly feel that his basic strategy is incorrect. I speculate
he did not incorporate the double down surrender feature correctly
into his analysis. An independent infinite deck analysis was done
by Mike Hopson which agreed exactly with mine. The Wizard of Odds
would like to thank Mike for his contribution.
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