Spanish 21 is quite a well known variation of blackjack which in some casinos is considered to be the best bet while playing in casinos. In several locations where the dealer will have to stand on soft 17 or where the redoubling is allowed, it is considered that 21 in Spanish is better than playing blackjack depending on the specific rules of the game. The game is quite exciting and for those who are looking for something a little different than the normal blackjack with a low house edge, 21 in Spanish is the game to choose.
In countries like Malaysia and Australia, the game is known as Pontoon. There are a few rules which are specific to Australia.
Basic rules
Players who are interested in trying out Spanish 21 on their next visit to the casino might be interesting in knowing about the basic rules of the game. In Spanish 21, six or eight Spanish decks are used where each deck will consist of 48 cards. The four tens are removed from the deck. When the tens are removed from the deck, the odds are in favor of the casino dealer. However, in order to make up for this, there are quite a lot of benefits and bonuses which are given to the players as well. In several Spanish 21 games, the rules would vary according to the casino.
Given below are the rules which would benefit the players:
- Late surrender is allowed
- Players are allowed to double after splitting a pair.
- Players are also allowed to re-split the aces.
- Any player who has 21 would always win the hand.
- The blackjack of a player would always beat the blackjack of the dealer.
- The player can double on cards of any number.
- The player can double down or hit after splitting the aces.
- The player can also surrender after doubling down which is referred to as double down rescue where the player has to forfeit an amount which is equal to his original bet.
- A five card blackjack would pay at the odds of 3 to 2 while a six card blackjack would pay at the odds of 2 to 1 while the seven card blackjack pays at 3 to 1.
- A mixed suit hand of 7 7 7 or 6 7 8 will pay at 3 to 2 while of the same suit would pay 2 to 1 and for spades it would pay 3 to 1. The bonuses might slightly vary depending on the casino.
- The dealer can stand or hit on soft 17.
- Six or eight Spanish decks are used in the game.
- A few casinos would allow redoubling the hand up to 3 times.
- Some casinos do not allow the surrender or drawing to split the aces.
- After splitting, a ten and an ace is known to count as blackjack at many casinos.
These were the basic rules of Spanish 21 variation of the blackjack game.
