Spanish 21
Encyclopedia
Spanish 21 is a blackjack
variant owned by Masque Publishing Inc., a gaming publishing company based in Colorado
. Unlicensed, but equivalent, versions may be called Spanish blackjack. In Australia
and Malaysia, an unlicensed version of the game, with no dealer hole card and significant rule differences, is played in casinos under the name "Pontoon
". It was first introduced into Nevada
casios in about 1995.
The removal of the four tens in each deck gives roughly a 2% advantage to the dealer. 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. Matching the rank of the dealer's card pays 4:1 on a six-deck game, and 3:1 on an eight-deck game, while a "perfect match" of rank and suit pays 9:1 on six decks and 12:1 on eight decks. A player may win on both cards; (e.g. if a player has 8s 8c and the dealer has 8c as an upcard, the player will receive 3:1 on the rank match and 12:1 on the perfect match, paying out a total of 15:1.) While this side bet has a house edge of approximately 3%, significantly higher than the edge of the main game, it is one of the lowest house edges of any blackjack side bet.
Masque Publishing, the owners of this game, maintains a list of venues that offer S17 or redoubling rules http://www.spanish21.com/goodlocations.php.
hand simulations and have a standard error of 0.001%. The super bonus is averaged out to a 100:1 payout.) These charts assume that the player is using basic strategy.
offered on most Spanish 21 games. The player wins the side bet if the rank of either or both of their initial two cards matches the rank of the dealer's up card. If the cards match in both rank and suit, the player wins a bigger payout. Some casinos offer a second Match the Dealer bet which wins when either or both of the player's initial two cards match the dealer's hole card. The payouts and the house edge vary depending on the number of decks in play as shown below.
ineffective. In fact, the opposite is true; Spanish 21 is more vulnerable to card counting than blackjack for several reasons:
As a result, Spanish 21 games with low house edges (S17 and H17 with redoubling) will give the card counter a far better return for a given bankroll than most Blackjack games.
In addition to card counting, other advantage play techniques, such as hole carding
and ace sequencing are possible.
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
variant owned by Masque Publishing Inc., a gaming publishing company based in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Unlicensed, but equivalent, versions may be called Spanish blackjack. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Malaysia, an unlicensed version of the game, with no dealer hole card and significant rule differences, is played in casinos under the name "Pontoon
Pontoon (card game)
Pontoon is an unlicensed variant of the American game Spanish 21 that is played in Australian, Malaysian and Singaporean casinos, in Treasury Casino, Brisbane, it is known as Treasury 21...
". It was first introduced into Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
casios in about 1995.
Rules
Spanish 21 is played on a blackjack table with a custom layout and uses the following rules:- The game is played with six or eight decks dealt from a shoe, or from a continuous shuffling machine (CSM)Shuffling machineA shuffling machine is a machine for randomly shuffling packs of playing cards.Because standard shuffling techniques are seen as weak, and in order to avoid "inside jobs" where employees collaborate with gamblers by performing inadequate shuffles, many casinos employ automatic shuffling machines to...
. Spanish 21 is played with 48-card Spanish decks, which are standard 52-card decks with the 4 ten-spot cards removed. All cards have the same values as in blackjack. - The dealer gets a hole card.
- Like traditional blackjack, the dealer hits on 16 and stands on 17. In some venues, the dealer hits on a soft 17 (abbreviated as S17), though most venues have the dealer stand on soft 17 (S17). Hard 17 (H17) negatively impacts the player; that rule increased the house edge by 0.40%.
- Blackjack (a natural total of 21 on the first two cards) always wins, and is always paid 3:2 regardless of whether or not the dealer has a blackjack.
- Insurance is paid 2:1, just like in blackjack, despite the fact that there are four fewer ten-valued cards per deck. As 3 cards in 12 are worth ten, the chance of the dealer getting a blackjack when showing an Ace is only 25%. Therefore, for insurance to be an even bet, it would have to pay 3:1, not 2:1. The house edge on the insurance is 24.7%, one of the worst of any wager in a casino.
- Hitting, standing, and splitting all follow similar rules to blackjack. Doubling after splitting (DAS) is always permitted, and, in most venues, players are allowed to draw as many cards as they wish after splitting aces, or may double down after receiving second or subsequent cards.
- Players can split to a maximum of four hands, even on aces.
- In most venues, if the dealer does not have blackjack, players may surrender, and get half their bet back in exchange for relinquishing the right to play on. This type of surrender is known as a "late surrender" (LS).
- Players can surrender after doubling (sometimes called forfeit, double-down rescue, or concede). The dealer takes the original bet, and the player retains the double portion of the bet. This is because the player is allowed to double down for less than the original bet.
- Once the initial two-card hands are dealt, if the dealer is showing an Ace or face card, he peeks underneath the hole card to check for a blackjack, before playing actually commences. If he has blackjack, all players automatically lose, unless they also have a blackjack (which, as mentioned above, automatically win 3:2).
- The player may double down on any total and on any number of cards.
- In some casinos, players may double double down, or redouble up to two times after doubling down. For example: The player bets one unit and is dealt 2-3, giving a hand total of 5; the dealer is showing a 6. The player doubles the first time and draws a 3. The hand total is now 8 and the total amount wagered is two units. The player doubles a second time and draws a 3. The hand total is now 11 and the total amount wagered is four units. When the player doubles a third time on 11, the total amount wagered will be eight units. Redoubling is a profoundly player-advantageous rule, when optimally executed.
- A total of 21 always wins for the player. It never pushes against the dealer's 21.
- A five-card 21 pays 3:2, a six-card 21 pays 2:1, and a 21 with seven or more cards pays 3:1. A 21 composed of 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 of mixed suits pays 3:2, of the same suit pays 2:1, and of spades pays 3:1. These bonus payouts apply even if the hand was the result of a split. However, doubling down negates these bonuses.
- A "super bonus" of $DollarThe dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
1000 for bets under $25, and $5000 for bets of $25 and over, is paid on a suited 7-7-7 against any dealer 7. All other players at the table receive a $50 "envy bonus". Splitting or doubling down negates the "super bonus".
The removal of the four tens in each deck gives roughly a 2% advantage to the dealer. 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. Matching the rank of the dealer's card pays 4:1 on a six-deck game, and 3:1 on an eight-deck game, while a "perfect match" of rank and suit pays 9:1 on six decks and 12:1 on eight decks. A player may win on both cards; (e.g. if a player has 8s 8c and the dealer has 8c as an upcard, the player will receive 3:1 on the rank match and 12:1 on the perfect match, paying out a total of 15:1.) While this side bet has a house edge of approximately 3%, significantly higher than the edge of the main game, it is one of the lowest house edges of any blackjack side bet.
Masque Publishing, the owners of this game, maintains a list of venues that offer S17 or redoubling rules http://www.spanish21.com/goodlocations.php.
House edge
The following tables list the Spanish 21 house edges for all rule sets found in North America. (The figures were obtained from 10-billion1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
hand simulations and have a standard error of 0.001%. The super bonus is averaged out to a 100:1 payout.) These charts assume that the player is using basic strategy.
| Rules | Decks | House Edge |
|---|---|---|
| H17 | 6 | 0.78% |
| 8 | 0.80% | |
| S17 | 6 | 0.37% |
| 8 | 0.38% | |
| H17 with redoubling | 6 | 0.42% |
| 8 | 0.45% |
| Rule Changes | Change in House Edge |
|---|---|
| No surrender (H17) | 0.018% |
| No surrender (S17) | 0.006% |
| No draws on split Aces (H17 or S17) | 0.28% |
| No draws on split Aces (H17 with redoubling) | 0.29% |
| Natural after split pays 3:2 | –0.16% |
Match the Dealer
Match the Dealer is a side betProposition bet
In gambling, the term "proposition bet" has two definitions.-Primary definition:...
offered on most Spanish 21 games. The player wins the side bet if the rank of either or both of their initial two cards matches the rank of the dealer's up card. If the cards match in both rank and suit, the player wins a bigger payout. Some casinos offer a second Match the Dealer bet which wins when either or both of the player's initial two cards match the dealer's hole card. The payouts and the house edge vary depending on the number of decks in play as shown below.
| Number of Decks | Non-Suited Match | Double Non-Suited Match | Suited Match | Suited + Non-Suited Match | Double Suited Match | House Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4:1 | 8:1 | 15:1 | 19:1 | NA | 3.63% |
| 4 | 4:1 | 8:1 | 10:1 | 14:1 | 20:1 | 3.20% |
| 5 | 3:1 | 6:1 | 13:1 | 16:1 | 26:1 | 3.53% |
| 6 | 4:1 | 8:1 | 9:1 | 13:1 | 18:1 | 3.06% |
| 8 | 3:1 | 6:1 | 12:1 | 15:1 | 24:1 | 2.99% |
Card counting in Spanish 21
The five-, six-, and seven-card bonuses make small cards more valuable in Spanish 21 than in blackjack, and the ten-spot cards are removed. It was thought that the combined effect of these would render card countingCard counting
Card counting is a casino card game strategy used primarily in the blackjack family of casino games to determine whether the next hand is likely to give a probable advantage to the player or to the dealer. Card counters, also known as advantage players, attempt to decrease the inherent casino house...
ineffective. In fact, the opposite is true; Spanish 21 is more vulnerable to card counting than blackjack for several reasons:
- The most player-advantageous card (Ace) occurs in a higher proportion (1/12 instead of 1/13)
- Re-splitting Aces and drawing on split Aces is often permitted, making Aces even more player-advantageous.
- Naturals (aka blackjacks) are always paid out at 3:2, even against a dealer natural, making Aces even more player-advantageous.
- In both games, card counters win more double downs at high counts. As the rules permit doubling after any number of cards, Spanish 21 card counters get even more benefit from high-count doubling than blackjack card counters.
- In both games, stiff hands (a k a "bust hands") are the most common type of hand. In blackjack multiple-deck basic strategy, players stand on all stiff hands versus 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, except for 12 versus 2 and 3. Hence, as the count increases, there is very little scope for play variation. In Spanish 21, there is much greater scope for play variation with the count. As a result, indices have a much greater impact on win rate in Spanish 21 than blackjack.
- For each increase of +1 in the Hi-Lo true count, the average increase in the frequency of naturals is 17% higher in Spanish 21 than in blackjack, and the Spanish 21 advantage, using indices, increases by an average of 0.65% per increase of +1 in the true count, which exceeds blackjack, which is around 0.5%. This is partly due to the fact that indices have a greater effect on the Spanish 21 win rate than for Blackjack.
- Because many casinos don't perceive card counters as a threat in Spanish 21, it is easier to get away with a large betting spread. In many casinos, it is possible to bet perfectly proportional to your advantage, thus optimizing your win rate in a way that has not been possible in Blackjack for decades. It is also possible to play a pure Wonging game without being asked to leave.
As a result, Spanish 21 games with low house edges (S17 and H17 with redoubling) will give the card counter a far better return for a given bankroll than most Blackjack games.
In addition to card counting, other advantage play techniques, such as hole carding
Hole carding
Hole carding refers to obtaining knowledge of cards that are supposed to be hidden from view in card games. The term is usually applied to blackjack but can apply to other games with hidden hole cards, like three card poker and Caribbean stud poker...
and ace sequencing are possible.