• Spanish 21 Strategy Card
• Free Spanish 21 Strategy Card
• Spanish 21 Card Counting Strategy

Spanish 21 is a variation of blackjack, that in some cases is the best bet in the casino. In locations where the dealer stands on a soft 17, or redoubling is allowed, 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, then you may find new excitement in Spanish 21.

Good question. Yes, this house edge is definitely low enough to consider card counting. Since most card counters don’t even consider Spanish 21 I think the field is ripe to exploit the game and to do so with a great deal of impunity. However counting may not be as effective in Spanish 21 as regular blackjack. A small card rich deck will benefit the player in more multiple card 21’s. To the best of my knowledge nobody has developed index numbers for Spanish 21 but somebody should. Maybe I will.

1. This makes Spanish 21 one of the most interesting of Blackjack games to play and it is very important to use correct Spanish 21 Blackjack strategy in order to have a chance at winning. Spanish 21 Rules. Benefits: - Dealer peeks at its hole card when the up card is an Ace or a ten value card - Late surrender is allowed.
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Casino Player reversed the two charts in their layout. I'm very embarrassed by this mistake. Yes, you should hit a hard 17 against an ace if you can't surrender.

In a 6-deck game the probability of a super bonus is 1 in 668382, and in an 8-deck game it is 1 in 549188. The house edge without the super bonus would be 0.03% more either way.

Spanish 21! Under Atlantic City rules blackjack has a house edge of 0.43% and Spanish 21 of .40%.

The Venetian. To the best of my knowledge they are the only casino in Las Vegas which stands on a soft 17 in Spanish 21, lowering the house edge from 0.76% to 0.40%.
Update: The Venetian later switched to hitting a soft 17. As of this update (May 14, 2013) the best Spanish 21 game is at the D, which allows re-doubling.

All Unified Gaming casinos as well as Global Player offer Spanish 21. Unified Gaming stands on a soft 17 and thus has the lower house edge.
2013 Update: Unified Gaming software has since disappeared. As far as I know, nobody offers Spanish 21 online any longer.

Thanks for the compliment. The Spanish 21 rules are the same across Atlantic City. I only know of two that have the game, the Tropicana and the Claridge, but there could be others by now. If I'm not mistaken, the best craps game is at the Sands, which offers 5X odds. When I say to take the maximum odds I mean bet the maximum allowed on the odds. For example, $50 after a $10 line bet. Keep in mind that you won't win more money by taking the odds, you just get to bet more without losing more in the long run.

I always liked the name Thunder Bay for a city. I used to work at a summer camp not too far from there in Missanabie, Ontario. To answer your question 6 decks is better than 8. However the difference in the house edge is small, only about 0.03%.

With reference to the first table of the Basic Strategy for Spanish 21, I have some questions that I hope you could clarify for me (standard game, dealer hits s17):

Q1. For 17 v A (your reference - Rh). If the player doesn’t surrender (or double down surrender), does he in fact hit? I ask this question because I’m a little unsure - Scoblete’s book says to stand 17 v A, as does Norm Wattenberger’s Spanish 21 strategy table in CVBJ3.

Q2. Your references to the 6-7-8 bonuses. Do all the references apply equally to the 7-7-7 bonuses? e.g. Does * mean 'Hit if any 6-7-8 [OR 7-7-7] bonus possible'?

Q3. p20 of Scoblete’s Spanish 21 book says to hit 9 v 6 if player has a 3 card 9. Should I ignore this advice, along with the 'don’t double down rescue' advice given in his book?

Sorry to bother you with these questions but I’ve got a Spanish 21 tournament coming up, and need all the help I can get. Many thanks.

1. Yes, you should hit. I believe all those who disagree to be in error.
2. No, the 7-7-7 bonus is only possible with two initial sevens. The proper strategy is indicated in that row.
3. Yes, you should ignore this advice.

I get verbally abused too when I play Spanish 21. When I lived in Baltimore I played it a lot in Atlantic City because the house edge is lower than blackjack there. These idiots doing the abusing don’t understand that removing the tens from the decks makes hitting less dangerous because the probability of busting is less. Don’t bother to try to explain this, the logic won’t make it through their thick skulls. I used to just bite my tongue in these situations but the next time I may not be so nice.

There was discussion about this at www.bj21.com under the Green Chip section about a couple years ago. As I recall the consensus was that counting was not as advantageous as in blackjack but you could get away with a lot more. I know of no published material on this.

Most redoubling situations tell you to double anyway. However, with a soft 15 to 17 against a 3, when the strategy says hit, you should actually redouble.

Thanks. This game is just a rip-off of Spanish 21. Note that the bottom of the card says that all queens are removed.

Keeping all the tens in the deck is worth 1.89% to the player. The house edge under those rules is normally 0.40%. So with all the tens in the shoe, the player edge would be 1.89%-0.40% = 1.49%.

I don’t like it when games give worse odds to the higher bettors either. The value of these Super Bonuses is almost zero. The probability of hitting the Super Bonus is one in 549,000 with eight decks, and one in 668,000 million with six decks. Assuming six decks, the value of the envy bonus is worth 0.0015% per additional player, besides yourself. Sorry, I don’t know of any casinos that sweeten the bonuses for larger bets.

I really enjoy your site, and thank you for the pertinent information! Reading and learning has erased my bad habits and made me a better player, I am certain! Here is my question. I read about games you write about and really think that some of them would be fun to try, like the World Series of Poker (Final Table Bonus) video poker game.

Not knowing, however, where to find it, and others, I usually wind up writing to the maker of the game at their website and asking where I can find their game outside of Nevada, since I am in the Midwest. I NEVER get an answer! Besides being just bad customer service, I still have the question of finding the game to be answered. Do you know of a site, or a way, to find which specific games are at which casinos? You would think the game’s manufacturer would list where to find it to assist in letting players find the game.

Thanks for the kind words. I think the gaming manufacturers should take this as a good suggestion. I get requested for this information by players all the time, but it is simply too much for one person to keep on top of. A noteworthy exception is Masque Publishing, the owners of Spanish 21. They keep an online list of where the liberal Spanish 21 rules can be found.

For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume re-splitting aces is not allowed. Also recall that Spanish 21 uses 48-card Spanish decks with no 10’s. Finally, recall that 21 points is an automatic winner in Spanish 21.

Even without that rule, the player should always split aces. The probability of getting a pair of aces in a four Spanish-deck game is combin(16,2)/combin(192,2) = 120/18336 = 0.65%.

The probability each ace will get a 10 is (4*12)/(48*12-2) = 48/190 = 25.26%. With two aces, the expected number that will turn into blackjacks is 2*48/190 = 96/190 = 0.5053.

Each blackjack will be worth an extra half unit. Thus, the value of this rule is (120/18336)*(96/190)*(1/2) = 0.17%.

Even with this rule, the player should still not split tens, so we don’t need to worry about that. So, this rule lowers the house edge by 0.17%.

Warning: Venting of frustration ahead.
Why the hell do I even bother trying to play Spanish 21? After 3 attempts at 3 separate casinos, I've given up. It's simply not fun. Why, you may ask? Well...
1. People only get angry with you
Try printing out the Wizard's strategy chart, following it, and see what happens. At some places, most people at least seem to understand that always hitting a 12, or not doubling a 3-card 11 against a face, are good plays. But hit a 14 against a 3, or against a 4 when it's a 6+8...it's almost comical how angry some players get. And don't even mention 17 vs. Ace. At Delaware Park, one lady even accused me of working for the casino to make her lose. (I vehemently denied it, then shared an exaggerated wink with the dealer and pit boss and said, 'drinks on me tonight, fellas.')
2. That damned Match the Dealer bet

Spanish 21 Strategy Card

The only good thing about this bet, as far as I can tell, is that it slows the game down when everyone else is playing it, meaning I lose more slowly (see number 3). Otherwise, at every place, the pattern is the same: don't make the bet, hand is dealt, some old lady on the table (and in some cases, the dealer as well) crowing about how 'you would've made $60!' when I get a perfect match. Never mind the 20 hands previous where I would have lost. And again, some people get ANGRY about this, too. What the hell do they care what I do with my money?
3. I've lost my effing shirt
I trust what the Wizard says. I don't think he's being paid by the casinos to write that the game has an HE close to, or better than, blackjack when played optimally. But I just haven't seen it. No, I don't expect to win in the long run, but at least in blackjack most of the time a decent buy-in will last a while, and I have a decent chance of being up in a session.
All my Spanish 21 sessions have been down, down, down. Well OK, I did break even that one time at the Borgata. But otherwise, it's the same story. The bonuses for certain 21's should make up for the removal of 10's...somehow I never hit any of them. Hit a 12 against a 6...get a face every time. That seems to happen to the dealer a whole lot less often, doesn't it?
Screw this, I'm sticking to games that I don't need to always consult a piece of paper to play. If you're just gambling for fun, not as an AP, it should be a fun atmosphere...and Spanish 21 simply is not an enjoyable experience, for the reasons above.
Rant over.C'mon, Dwarf. Tell us how you really feel....

Warning: Venting of frustration ahead.
1. People only get angry with you

This is why I will only play Spanish by myself or with one other person. I will also explain to that person that I'm using a strategy card for Spanish 21, and if they are curious about rules, they can ask me. If the table fills up, I'm GONE!

2. That damned Match the Dealer bet

Yet another reason I prefer to play alone. If the dealer is giving me a hard time about not playing it, I will play all tips on the bet. Occasionally it hits for them, and I'm happy for them. But most of the time, they end up losing.

3. I've lost my effing shirt
I trust what the Wizard says. I don't think he's being paid by the casinos to write that the game has an HE close to, or better than, blackjack when played optimally. But I just haven't seen it. No, I don't expect to win in the long run, but at least in blackjack most of the time a decent buy-in will last a while, and I have a decent chance of being up in a session.
All my Spanish 21 sessions have been down, down, down. Well OK, I did break even that one time at the Borgata. But otherwise, it's the same story. The bonuses for certain 21's should make up for the removal of 10's...somehow I never hit any of them. Hit a 12 against a 6...get a face every time. That seems to happen to the dealer a whole lot less often, doesn't it?

Yeah, my past few sessions have been like that. However, on Spanish, I seem to find a pocket of good runs that I can capitalize on. This is usually when the deck is low in tens, which I'm not sure I understand, but I guess that means you hit more, thus making more 21s. I like Spanish 21 overall though, and besides Pai Gow Tiles and Ultimate Texas Hold Em, it's the only game that I have to think while playing, and outside of craps and tiles, the only game that still excites me.

People only get angry with you.

Imagine how I feel. My ten years in Baltimore I played Spanish 21 a lot in Atlantic City, to the dismay the entire table.

at least in blackjack most of the time a decent buy-in will last a while...All my Spanish 21 sessions have been down, down, down.

You can't fight variance. Look at the MIT BJ team.They won a ton
of money and then negative variance kicked in and they lost for
months. They couldn't win a session to save their lives, they lost
almost all the money they'd won. You got in at a bad time, when
the variance is in a slump. If you stick with it, the swing will come
your way. But its pointless, you can't stay ahead, so why bother.
(I'm talking about the first team, the team after
them did quite well.)Is counting the strategy or something? The 0.40% HE that the Wizard shows as the best HE you can expect will kill you in long sessions if the casino uses a CSM, IMO. So I say you are probably not getting too much variance in this game, but not enough!
edit: in the WoO game comparison page (go about half way down the page), I see Sp. 21 looks better in his 'element of risk' evaluation than BJ. I wonder why that is?

I see Sp. 21 looks better in his 'element of risk' evaluation than BJ. I wonder why that is?

Free Spanish 21 Strategy Card

Most likely because a player 21 always wins and a player BJ always gets paid at 3:2, regardless of the dealer outcome. In regular BJ, you have to figure a small percentage of the time those hands will push. Adjust your strategy on Spanish, and theoretically the player makes more drawing hands pat hands, of which, roughly a fifth of those would be drawn to 21, which automatically wins.

Spanish 21 Card Counting Strategy