Spanish 21

Spanish 21 is a variation of blackjack, considered to be the world's most popular casino card game. The glaring difference between the two is that Spanish 21 makes no use of the 10 cards, which should appeal to casino gamblers and blackjack players who love a good challenge. You have a higher house edge, but more attractive payouts, bonuses, and rule modifications to provide a reasonable balance.

How to Play Spanish 21

Spanish 21 is played similarly as blackjack, but the rules are not the same. The tens are removed from the game, which is very disadvantageous to the player because it moves the odds in favor of the dealer. To compensate, Spanish 21 adds new rules that are more favorable to players and new ways to win bonus payouts, resulting in some of the best bets you can make when casino gambling.

A game of Spanish 21 makes use of six or eight Spanish decks. Each Spanish deck comprises 48 cards—52 cards in a standard deck less the four 10 cards (one from each of the four suits). The process itself is like that of blackjack, in which the player and the dealer are each initially dealt two cards. The basic moves are the same: to hit means to add another card to your hand; to stand means to leave your hand as is, without adding another card; to split means to divide your two cards and make each one the first card of two new hands; and to double down is to alter you bet mid-play, after you have been dealt your first two cards, if you think that your hand has a good chance of winning.

A blackjack means a two-card hand that totals 21 (an Ace plus a 10-point card, which means a King, Queen, or Jack) and automatically wins the game. The game proceeds until the player's hand is busted or has been asked to stand. Spanish 21 game rules are based on liberal six- to eight-deck blackjack rules, as follows:

The player's 21 always beats the dealer's 21.

The player's blackjack always beats the dealer's blackjack.

A player may double down on any number of cards. (In blackjack, you may only double down after two cards, and then get no more than a third card.)

Usually, after splitting Aces, a player may hit and then double down. (Some casinos do not allow this.)

A player may re-split up to three times, including Aces.

Usually, a player me re-double down up to three times. (Some casinos do not allow this.)

Late surrender is allowed, including on the first two cards. The player may pull out of a hand by forfeiting half his bet, but only if the dealer does not have a blackjack.

Double down rescue is allowed. If, after doubling down, the player is dissatisfied with his non-busted hand, he may surrender the doubled portion of his bet and keep (rescue) his original bet.

All 21 bonus hands do not count if the result of doubling down.

Usually, the dealer hits a soft 17. (Standards blackjack rules are that the dealer must hit a 16 or lower, and must stand on a 17 or higher.)