The Deck In Spanish 21. The biggest difference between Spanish 21 and standard blackjack is the deck. While most blackjack-style games still use a 52-card deck, Spanish 21 uses a 48-card deck (the four tens are removed). While taking out the tens gives an advantage to the house, numerous other rules are in place to benefit the player. Get the Proper Spanish 21 Strategy Chart. The best way to learn basic blackjack strategy is.
Spanish 21 is a variation of one of the most iconic casino games, Blackjack. Spanish 21 offers some new and interesting changes that shift the dynamic of the game, one of which is the removal of all number ‘10’ cards from the deck. This leaves the dealer with decks of 48 cards, rather than 52. This increases the house edge, or the chance that the dealer will beat the players, due to the fact that high value cards are incredibly important to the player, and there are less of them to be utilized.
Players may wonder why they would want to play a version of Blackjack in which the odds are worse off for them. The truth is that this house edge is leveraged by additional in-game rule changes and advantageous bonus payout scenarios, evening the score for the players.
Differences vs. Blackjack
When playing a game of Spanish 21, it will look very much like a game of Blackjack. The variations do not change the main rules of how the game is played, but change how various scenarios in the game can be used by the players.
The first of these variations, which is very helpful to the player, is that a players’ Blackjack always beats the dealer’s Blackjack, with a payout of 3:2. Identically, a player with card values equaling 21 will always beat a dealer’s 21.
Another variation is the option of using a Late Surrender. With this feature, players are allowed to surrender their hands, as long as the dealer does not have Blackjack, and receive half of their original wager. This feature allows players to minimize losses and an opportunity to back out with half their bet if they feel overwhelmed.
Yet another change from the original game of Blackjack deals with splitting and doubling. In Spanish 21, players can split cards with equal values, including Aces, up to 3 times. Splitting 3 times would result in a player having 4 hands to play from. Additionally, players are able to double down on any cards, unlike in Blackjack where the players are only allowed to double down on the original two cards drawn for them. For those unfamiliar, doubling down is a bet placed on your hand that doubles your wager.
Free Spanish 21 Blackjack Games
Upon doubling down, players are always given another card. Some casinos even offer players the ability to do what is called a ‘double-double down’. After players double down and receive a card, they can double-double down, which doubles the total wager yet again. Players can do this up to three times which could see their wager increasing up to 8 times.
Free Spanish 21 Card Game
Due to the fact that hands can get very large, players are allowed to use a Late Surrender at any point in the game to receive half of their wager. The ability to Late Surrender at any time is a huge benefit to players, as they can entertain certain avenues such as splitting or doubling without fear of losing the entirety of their wager should things go wrong.
Spanish 21 Blackjack Card Game
Other than the in-game variations mentioned above, Spanish 21 normally offers special payouts for extraordinary hands as well as side bets that can benefit the player.
Spanish 21 Side Bets
The first of the side bets is known as the Super Bonus. The Super Bonus does not require the player to make a separate wager and players always have a chance of winning it, although the payout of the Super Bonus is dependent upon how much the player’s wager is. Although very rare, this side bet can provide massive payouts for the players.
The conditions for winning the Super Bonus are as follows…
The player must have three suited 7’s (forming a hand of 21) and the dealer must also have a 7 of any suit.
If the player originally wagers $5-$24, the payout of winning the Super Bonus is $1000. Bets of $25 and over will result in a payout of $5000.
The final facet of the Super Bonus is that whenever a player wins it, all other players at the table receive $50, so that they can have some fun as well.
As mentioned, this is an extremely rare occurrence, but since there is no needed separate wage to potentially win the Super Bonus, every hand provides the player with the opportunity to win big.
The other side bet in Spanish 21 is the Match the Dealer wager. With this wager, players can bet that one or both of their cards will match the dealer’s up card, or the dealer’s card that is visible to players during the game. The payouts vary on whether the match is based only on card value or on both card value and card suit, with the ‘perfect match’ of both value and suit paying out more for the player.
Spanish 21 Payouts
The final bit to cover of Spanish 21 is the varying payout values for different combinations of the player’s winning 21.
If the player hits 21 with 5 cards of any suit, the payout will be 3:2.
For 6 cards of any suit, the payout is 2:1, and for 7 cards of any suit the payout is 3:1. Therefore, a winning hand of 21 with more cards will provide players with bigger payouts.
Should a player form 21 with specifically the cards 6, 7, and 8, the payout will be 3:2. If the 6, 7, and 8 are of identical suits, the payout is 2:1.
Finally, if the 6, 7, and 8 are all Spades, the payout will be 3:1. If a player has a hand consisting of three 7’s, the payouts are identical to the 6-7-8 scenarios in which mixed suits pay 3:2, similar suits pay 2:1, and all Spades pays 3:1.
In conclusion, Spanish 21 may frighten Blackjack players away due to the lack of number 10 cards, culminating in a higher house edge. However, players that are familiar with the caveats of Spanish 21 can find ways to overcome this house edge through more opportunities to split and double down, special payouts for certain hands, and perhaps most importantly, the ability to surrender at any time and receive half their bet. All the while, the Super Bonus’ huge payout hangs overhead, with players hoping for a string of sevens and a bit of luck.
House Edge in Spanish 21
The House Edge is a guaranteed profit that casinos make off of the bets made by players. This provides a source of long term, ensured income for the casino, while also offering opportunities for short term payouts for winning players. As Blackjack, and thus Spanish 21, are games that vary depending on the skill levels of the players, the house edge is very low in comparison to other games. One would assume that due to the rule changes that are tailored to help the player, the house edge should be less than the normal Blackjack game house edge. However, the casino has evened the score with the removal of all the number 10 cards, tipping the house edge in their favor.
For both Blackjack and Spanish 21, the house edge fluctuates depending on specific rules regarding what the dealer must do when they have a “soft 17”. A soft 17 is a hand which includes an Ace and has a total card value of 17. When dealers are forced to hit on a soft 17, the house edge is swung in favor of the casino. Therefore, players should seek games that have the dealer stand in such scenarios.
For games using 6 decks of cards, the house edge is 0.78% when dealers hit on a soft 17 and 0.37% when they stand. In 8 deck games, the house edge is 0.80% when dealers hit, 0.38% when they stand. This clearly shows the advantage to having the dealer stand on a soft 17, from the perspective of the players, that is. For sake of comparison, good Blackjack games usually hover around a 0.5% house edge, but this percentage can change due to the many rule variations that Blackjack can have.
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Spanish 21 blackjack is actually one of the original versions of blackjack invented nearly 400 years ago. During this time period, all of the ten cards were removed from the deck and the game was played. This didn't include the face cards though. Either way, this reduction of 4 ten cards per deck ended up increasing the house edge by a lot. Spanish 21 actually came before Spanish blackjack, but nowadays it is basically the same thing.
No Download Spanish 21
Spanish 21 uses multiple decks of cards, usually 6 or 8 decks. The original game from the 17th century had a huge house edge percentage. The free flash game we have on this page has extra features that increase your odds and make the game a lot more fun to play. These variations in the rules put the house advantage down to about 0.50% or in the half a percent range.
If you would like to play this no download flash game, just click on the image below and the game will instantly load up in another browser window in full screen. You will be able to play free Spanish 21 in seconds with great graphics. The flash-based game uses Micrograming software and can be operated with other media-based software such as Macromedia and Shockwave players. The house edge in our free flash game is actually about 0.38% so this is better than most land based casinos.
Other differences in this variation of 21 blackjack include the player being able to win on all 21 hands. This means if you get a natural blackjack or add up to a soft 21, you will win even if the dealer also has a 21. Players can split cards and re-split them multiple times. Other neat bonus rules include higher blackjack payout odds with a 21 score. For example, if you get a 21 by using 5 cards, you are paid 3 to 2 odds. If you make a 21 hand using 6 cards, you will be paid 2 to 1 odds and if you build a hand of 21 using 7 cards, you will be paid 3 to 1 odds. All of these increase your odds and these rules create beneficial results vs. the normal blackjack rules.
Spanish 21 Card Game
Spanish 21 has a few other side bet bonuses as well. If you have a three card flush or of the same suit after hitting and the numbers making up this suit are either 678 or 777, you automatically get paid 2 to 1 odds. If they are not suited, then you are paid 3 to 2 odds. Notice that these three cards add up to 21. Recall that the Spanish 21 rules indicate that you win on all 21's regardless of what the dealer has.
How To Play Spanish 21 Card Game
A huge free benefit occurs when you have triple seven flush or the suited 777, while the dealer has a 7 face up card. When this happens, you automatically win $1000 if you have a bet of $25 or less. If you have a bet of $25 or more, then you automatically win $5000! Spanish 21 is very popular because of these bonuses and it's a very fun game to play if you are using real money. The flash Spanish blackjack game below lets you practice for free and you can play as long as you want, but if you ever felt lucky and wanted to go for the thousand dollar bonuses, you can easily do this.
Spanish 21 online, free
Click on the image above to instantly play free flash Spanish 21 blackjack in your browser.
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