Spanish 21, or as our friends down under like to call it – Pontoon; is a version of Blackjack that is not only fun to play, but one of the best bets in a casino. If you are lucky enough to find the game that is. Spanish Blackjack isn’t spread as often as other Blackjack games due to the low house edge. As a rule of thumb, if you have the option to play Spanish 21, play it!

Spanish 21 is kind of like taking the best parts of every Blackjack version and creating a new Blackjack version around them. Most Blackjack games will have some good and bad. All the bad things like not being able to re-split Aces, are designed to give the house a higher edge. However, you can find just about all of the “Good” that is found in other versions.

Content

Free Games
Rules
Bonus Payouts
Online Games House Edge Comparison
Spanish Blackjack Tips

Spanish 21 is one of the most popular Blackjack variants out there. Discover its rules & strategies to employ. Then get the best Spanish 21 Bonus online.

Free Spanish 21 Blackjack

• Wheel of Wishes is the latest addition to the jackpot family of casino online and mobile slots. With 5 reels and 10 paylines, this game features Power Spins, a Scatter Spanish 21 Vs Blackjack House Edge and a Wild, as well as a Wheel of Wishes Spanish 21 Vs Blackjack House Edge Jackpot Bonus, with 4 different progressive jackpots that can be won at any time.
• The liberal rules of Spanish 21, though, do compensate for this. With optimal play, the house edge of a Spanish 21 table is lower than that of a blackjack table with the same rules on hitting or standing on soft 17. The game also offers an optional 'Match the Dealer' side bet, which compares a player's cards with the dealer's upcard.

Where to Play for Real Cash

Spanish 21 Rules

The main difference with this version is absence of all the 10’s. There are still Jacks, Kings and Queens; but the literal 10 cards are removed from the deck. A standard shoe consists of 6 to 8 decks with 48 cards in each deck.

Double Down

As per standard Blackjack games, players can double down on their first 2 cards. However, Spanish 21 lets you double down on many occasions. You can double after a split. You can also double down after each hit if you prefer. Finally, there’s the option to double after splitting Aces. After doubling down you will receive only one additional card. Then you can either stand or surrender – double down rescue.

Splitting

You can split any two hands with similar value. You can also split and re-split Aces. The possible number of splits vary between the games, but usually it’s up to 3 hands.

Late Surrender

Spanish 21 also allows players to use the late surrender when a dealer shows a 10 or Ace.

21 and Blackjack

Spanish 21 has a unique way of rewarding 21’s and Blackjacks. The most lucrative is the fact that the dealer cannot tie when the player has 21 or Blackjack. All player 21’s and Blackjacks beat the dealers 21 and Blackjacks.

Not only do you always win with 21, it also pays off if you make 21 a certain way.

• 5 card 21 pays 3-2
• 6 cards pays 2-1
• 7 or more pays 3-1

Dealt Blackjacks pay the traditional 3-2. While all other 21’s are paid even money.

Bonuses

Spanish blackjack has a few other tricks up its sleeve. These tricks, or treats if you will, come in the form of bonus payouts for getting certain card combinations.

• 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 of different suits pays 3-2
• 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 of the same suit pays 2-1
• 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 of all spades pays 3-1
• 7-7-7 of the same suit when the dealer shows a 7 pay 50:1.

Most of these bonuses do not pay if you have split or doubled.

Online Games Rules & House Edge Comparison

You will find deviations of Spanish Blackjacks that will alter the house edge, but most casinos will use the same rules. The edge using the standard rules is 0.40%

Microgaming:

8 decks

You can split 3 times.

You can re-double once and receive additional card.

No US players

Odds: 99.58%

Where to play: Jackpot City Casino

Games OS:

8 decks.

Standard rules

No US players

Odds: 99.24%

Where to play: Guts Casino

BetSoft:

6 decks.

No Surrender available

Suited 7s with dealer’s 7 pay $1000 for $5 – $24 bets. $5000 for higher bets.

Additional Match the Dealer side bet.

USA friendly

Odds: 99.30%

Where to play: Ignition Casino

RTG:

The number of decks is not disclosed.

Standard Rules

Suited 7s with dealers 7 pay 40:1.

USA friendly

Odds: 99.22%

Where to play: Vegas Casino Online

Spanish 21 Online Game

Spanish Blackjack Tips

The main strategy is to utilize the choice to double down at any time. Use this always when you have a total of 11, regardless of what the dealer shows. You also want to take advantage of the option to split Aces.

Spanish 21 Rules

Avoid trying to hit the bonus payouts, such as going for a 5 card 21 and so on. Doing so will deviate from an optimal strategy; and the payoff when you do win the bonus will not compensate for the loss of statistical advantages.

Overall, Spanish 21 is a fun game to play and has a low house edge. So, if you’re looking for a new way to play blackjack, Spanish 21 could be your answer.

Spanish 21 is a variation of regular 21 played without tens in the deck but with more liberal rules. By 'tens' I mean the card in rank between nines and jacks, all face cards are still used. For blackjack novices it should be stressed that taking the tens out of play is very disadvantageous to the player. Any card counter, myself included, can tell you a deck rich in tens favors the player and a deck rich in small cards favors the dealer.

To compensate for the loss of tens, Spanish 21 offers the following rule enhancements over regular blackjack:

• The player may double on any number of cards.

• Late surrender is allowed. In other words the player may pull out of a hand by forfeiting half his bet, but only if the dealer does not have a blackjack.

• A player 21 always beats a dealer 21.

• Late surrender is allowed on first two cards.

• Double down rescue allows player to take back doubled portion of bet and forfeit the original wager.

• Player may double after splits.

• Player may resplit up to three times, including aces.

• Player may draw and double down to split aces.

• A five card 21 pays 3:2.

• A six card 21 pays 2:1.

• A seven or more card 21 pays 3:1.

• A 21 consisting of a 6, 7, and 8 of mixed suits pays 3:2.

• A 21 consisting of a 6, 7, and 8 of matching suit pays 2:1.

• A 21 consisting of a 6, 7, and 8 of spades pays 3:1.

• A 21 consisting of three 7's of mixed suits pays 3:2.

• A 21 consisting of three 7's of matching suits 2:1.

• A 21 consisting of three 7's of spades pays 3:1.

• Three suited 7's in addition to the dealer having any 7 face up pays. $1000 for bets between $5 and $24, and pays $5000 for bets of $25 and over. In addition all other players get an 'envy bonus' of $50.

Note:
1. Dealer usually hits a soft 17 .
2. All 21 bonus hands do not count if the result of doubling or splitting.
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.

Next is the Spanish 21 basic strategy when the dealer stands on a soft 17.

The following is a key to the table. Capital letters denote the usual play for a hand unless there is a bonus exception. Exceptions are noted with an h, *, ', ', or $.

If you can not see clearly the symbols for the 6-7-8 bonus exceptions here is a listing of hands where an exception should be made because of the 6-7-8 incentives.

• 6,7 (any) Vs. 6

• 6,8 (any) Vs. 4

• 6,8 (suited) Vs. 5

• 7,8 (any) Vs. 2

• 7,8 (suited) Vs. 3

• 7,8 (spaded) Vs. 4

House Edge

Following the basic strategy above the house edge in Spanish 21 is 0.69%. However if the dealer stands on a soft 17 the house edge is only 0.34%! This is lower than the Atlantic City blackjack game at 0.43%.

Where to find the Good Games

Usually the dealer will hit a soft 17 however some casinos offer the more favorable game in which the dealer stands on all 17's. Locations that I know of or have heard of where the dealer stands on a soft 17 are:

• All casinos in Atlantic City

• All casinos in Indiana (only verified at Trump Hotel and Casino)

• Venetian in Las Vegas

Match the Dealer

In Atlantic City there is a side bet available in Spanish 21. The bet pays 3 to 1 if either of the player's first two cards matches the rank but not the suit of the dealer's up card. The bet pays 12 to 1 if both the rank and suit match. These odds are payable on both of the player's cards. If there is a match the side bet always pays even if the player loses the hand. The house edge on this bet is 2.35% assuming eight decks are used.

Spanish 21 Blackjack