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How To Play Spanish 21

Spanish 21 is a variation of blackjack that is often overlooked despite the fact that it is one of the best bets in a casino. In locations where the dealer stands on a soft 17, 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 you may find new excitement in Spanish 21.

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 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 re-splitting 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. Six Spanish decks are used (except in Atlantic City where eight decks are used).

Strategy

Following is my Spanish 21 basic strategy when the dealer hits a soft 17. This strategy is based on a combinatorial analysis and is verified by an infinite deck model in Excel. In some hands the strategy is different than the one by Lenny Frome which appears in Armada Strategies for Spanish 21 by Frank Scoblete and Secrets of the New Casino Games by Martin Jensen. Unfortunately Lenny has passed away and I can not challenge him on his strategy. However I stand firmly behind my strategy and believe all others to be in error.