Section: Advice > Gaming Tips

Blackjack - Spanish 21
by Ralph Stricker

Spanish Blackjack is a new version of blackjack. The 10's are removed from the deck. The deck consists of 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,J,Q,K,A.

The rules are as follows:

• Double down on any number of cards including after splits.
• Player may Double down for less,
• Bonuses do not apply to doubled hand.
• Split:Resplit to 4 hands. Hitting and doubling allowed on 2 or more cards.
• Resplit Aces 4 times, hitting and doubling allowed on 2 or more cards.
• Player's blackjack beats dealer's blackjack and pays 3:2.
• Ties: Player's 21 beats dealer's 21, all other ties are pushes.
• Insurance pays 2:1
• Surrender on 1st two cards. (Late Surrender)
• Double down rescue: If the player is dissatisfied with his doubled hand, he may rescue the doubled portion of the bet and forfeit the original bet. Doubled down rescue does not apply to a "busted double." Dealer hits Soft 17.
• Super Jackpot Bonus;Player holds suited 7-7-7 and Dealer upcard is any 7:Envy Bonus $50.00
• No Additional bet needed to qualify for Bonuses.

There is a separate basic strategy for this game. In spite of the rules being favorable, the game has a -.88% disadvantage even when playing perfect basic strategy. (There is a basic strategy for the game.)

The removal of the 10's is detrimental to,the player. It reduces the percentage of blackjacks a player can get were it a normal deck composition. The payoff of blackjacks is what makes the difference in the player's negative expectancy between Spanish 21 and regular blackjack.

As long as regular blackjack is being offered, I see no need to develope a counting system for this game. Even with a counting system, it can not be as profitable as regular blackjack.

Ralph Stricker, otherwise known as "The Silver Fox", has appeared on ABC, NBC, and CBS television, and every major talk show throughout the United States. He has been featured in more than 50 newspaper and magazine articles. His Silver Fox Blackjack System is based on mathematical probabilities proven by billions of trials with the use of computers. Ralph has played "winning Blackjack" for thousands of hours in casinos throughout the world.

All information presented on this site is copyright to it's original author. Please do not reproduce any content without permission.
If you have questions or comments about the site, please Contact Me