Is Blackjack The Same As 21

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Pure 21.5 Blackjack is the closest thing California offers to traditional blackjack played in most major casinos. Pure 21.5 Blackjack follows the same basic rules as traditional blackjack. The object of the game is to get closer than the dealer to a total of 21 without going over. Each player receives two initial cards face up. The main difference between Spanish 21 and most other forms of Blackjack is that it is played with a Spanish deck of cards that has 48 cards instead of the usual 52 – the deck is the same with all 10’s removed. As a 10 is an important card in all forms of Blackjack, you would have thought that this gives a huge advantage to the House.

Introduction

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.

In Australia and Malaysia, Spanish 21 is called Pontoon. There are some rule changes in Australia, which merit a separate page. For all the details please visit my page on Australian Pontoon. To make matters more confusing, there is another similar game, but different enough to warrant a separate page, called Player's Edge 21.

Following is a list of known aliases of the game:

Betsoft, a major provider of software for Internet casinos, offers Spanish 21 under the name Pirate 21.
The Casino Bregenz in Austria changes the name to Blackjack Exchange.

The Rules

Spanish 21 uses six or eight Spanish decks, each deck consisting of 48 cards — the regular 52 cards less the four tens. Any card counter can tell you that removing any 10-point card from the cards moves the odds in favor of the dealer. To make up for this, Spanish 21 gives the player a host of bonuses and favorable rules. There are lots of Spanish 21 games all over the country, so rules will vary somewhat from place to place, but the usual rules in the player's favor are:

Late surrender allowed.
Double after split allowed.
Re-splitting aces allowed.
A player 21 always wins.
Player blackjack beats dealer blackjack.
Player may double on any number of cards.
Player may usually hit and double down after splitting aces.
Player may surrender after doubling, known as 'double down rescue.' The player forfeits an amount equal to his original bet.
A five-card 21 pays 3 to 2, a six-card 21 pays 2 to 1, a seven or more card 21 pays 3 to 1. Bonus not honored after doubling.
A 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 of mixed suits pays 3 to 2, of the same suit pays 2 to 1, and of spades pays 3 to 1. These bonuses do not pay after doubling.
Suited 7-7-7 when the dealer has a seven face up pays $1000 for bets of $5-$24 and $5000 'Super Bonus' for bets of $25 or over. In addition, all other players receive a $50 'envy bonus.' This bonus does not pay after doubling or splitting.

Variable Rules

Dealer may hit or stand on a soft 17.
6 or 8 Spanish decks can be used.
Some casinos allow redoubling, up to three times.
I have heard of some casinos not allowing surrender or drawing to split aces, but it isn't the norm.
A face card and ace after splitting has been known to count as a blackjack, at at least one casino.
There has been a lot of debate through the years whether the bonuses are payable after a split. First, there is almost no argument that they do not pay after doubling. However, the way the game was designed, all bonuses except the Super Bonus are supposed to be payable after splitting. However, most casinos do not pay the bonuses after a split. The effect of not allowing the bonuses after splitting is very small, around 0.01%.

Strategy

Following is my Spanish 21 basic strategy when the dealer hits a soft 17.

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

Note: If drawing to split aces is not allowed, and the dealer stands on soft 17 (as is the case at the Mohegan Sun), then hit A,A vs A.

The next table if for when the dealer hits a soft 17, redoubling is allowed, and the player has not already doubled.

The next table if for when the dealer hits a soft 17, redoubling is allowed, and the player has already doubled, which limits his options to stand, surrender, and double again.

Many readers have expressed doubt about my advice to hit 17 against an ace with 3 or more cards. However, I stand by what I said. The player will save about 2.8% of the initial wager by hitting as opposed to standing. The dealers will advise against this play and the other players may curse the day you were born, but trust me, the odds favor hitting.

Following is the house edge under various common rules, before considering the Super Bonus.

Dealer stands on soft 17: 0.40%
Dealer hits on soft 17, redoubling allowed: 0.42%
Dealer hits on soft 17, redoubling not allowed: 0.76%

Super Bonus

The probability of hitting the Super Bonus is 1 in 668,382, with six decks, and 1 in 549,188 with eight decks. The reduction in the house edge depends on the bet amount, and to a lesser extent, the number of players. With no other players, and bets of exactly $5 or $25, the Super Bonus lowers the house edge by 0.030% in a six-deck game, and 0.036% in an eight-deck game. At a bet of exactly $5, the Envy Bonus lowers the house edge by an additional 0.0015% in a six-deck game, and 0.0018% in an eight-deck game, per additional player.

For bet amounts other than those indicated above, the benefit of the Super Bonus will go down as the bet amount goes up.

No Draw to Split Aces: At the Mohegan Sun drawing to split aces is NOT allowed. The effect of this rule is to increase the house edge by 0.29%.

Ace and 10 after splitting aces pays 3 to 2: I have an unconfirmed report that at at one time the Meskaki casino in central Iowa paid 3 to 2 on an ace and 10 after splitting aces. I have another unconfirmed report that as of Aug. 2010 they removed the Spanish 21 table completely. According to my calculations this lowers the house edge by 0.16%. Otherwise they hit a soft 17 and no redoubling, for an overall house edge of 0.60%.

Doubling only allowed on first two cards: I had a false report that a casino in Malaysia didn't allow doubling on any number of cards. If such a rule did exist, it would increase the house edge by 0.16%.

Match the Dealer

Match the Dealer is a side bet found in both blackjack and Spanish 21. The player wins for each of his initial two cards that match the dealer's up card. Matches in rank only pay less than a match in rank and suit. The following tables show the various pay tables that I am aware of for Spanish 21.

Match the Dealer — Six Decks

Event	Combinations	Probability	Pays	Return
Two suited matches	10	0.000244	18	0.004386
One hard and one each match	90	0.002193	13	0.028508
Two non-suited matches	153	0.003728	8	0.029824
One suited match	1320	0.032163	9	0.289467
One non-suited match	4752	0.115787	4	0.463147
No matches	34716	0.845886	-1	-0.845886
Total	41041	1	0	-0.030555

Match the Dealer — Eight Decks

Event	Combinations	Probability	Pays	Return
Two suited matches	21	0.000287	24	0.00689
One hard and one each match	168	0.002297	15	0.034448
Two non-suited matches	276	0.003773	6	0.022637
One suited match	2464	0.033683	12	0.404194
One non-suited match	8448	0.115484	3	0.346452
No matches	61776	0.844477	-1	-0.844477
Total	73153	1	0	-0.029855

C4

The Casino Bregenz in Austria offers Spanish 21 but calls it Blackjack Exchange. They tack on a side bet called the C4, which is analyzed below. The table is based on six decks and assumes that if the player qualifies for more than one win, he only gets the higher win. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 14.48%.

C4 — Six Decks

Event	Combinations	Probability	Pays	Return
Four of a kind	500	138,138	0.000337	0.168467
Straight	20	3,649,536	0.008902	0.178032
Flush	12	5,647,896	0.013776	0.165310
Two pair	10	5,941,728	0.014492	0.144925
Three of a kind	8	7,330,752	0.017880	0.143044
All other	-1	387,278,420	0.944613	-0.944613
Total	409,986,470	1.000000	-0.144836

Following is the house edge of the C4 for other numbers of decks.

Four decks: 18.49%
Eight decks: 12.41%

Methodology

The Spanish 21 strategy found here is based on a combinatorial program which considered both card composition and the six deck nature of the game. In addition an infinite deck model was created in Excel, of which the basic strategy nearly agreed with that of the combinatorial model. The basic strategy found here does not agree with that of the late Lenny Frome in some borderline situations. Frome's strategy can be found in such books as 'Secrets of the New Casino Games' (Marten Jensen) and 'Armada Strategies for Spanish 21' (Frank Scoblete). Although I have a great deal of respect for Frome and his body of work, I strongly feel that his basic strategy is incorrect. I speculate he did notincorporate the double down surrender feature correctly into his analysis. My strategies also agree with those of Katarina Walker, who has done an amazing job analyzing Spanish 21 and its cousin, Australian Pontoon, as well as an independent analysis by Mike Hopson.

Acknowledgments

I would like to give a huge thanks to Katarina Walker for correcting some minor strategy errors in this page. She is the author of The Pro's Guide to Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon.

Links

German translation of this page.

Adding a 3-Card Side Bet to Blackjack Gives a Whole New Experience

Many casinos have tried to make blackjack more interesting (and often increase their house edge) by using side bets. Popular examples include 777 or Perfect Pairs. 21 +3 Blackjack is a regular game which can be either European or US rules, which has a 3-card optional side bet. The idea is that you make a poker style hand with your first 2 cards in combination with the dealer’s up card. There are some big payouts possible. These depend on the pay table in use – there are several variations. 21 +3 Blackjack can be played online and in live casinos.

This page gives you a complete overview of 21+3 Blackjack. I have used the live version as a basis, using the US rules – though the format is the same with European blackjack rules. First you will find an overview of the game, followed by some notes on strategy. Pros and Cons of this side bet are covered after that.

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Overview of 21+3 Blackjack

The 21+3 side bet is optional, and its size does not need to be the same as the main bet. In order to play the side-bet, you need to participate in the main hand.

Placing a bet in the 21+3 square is all you need to do to participate. As soon as the deal is made, and before any player takes any actions the 2 player cards and the dealer’s up-card (or only card in European Blackjack) are compared to the pay table.

There are several variations of 21+3 payouts, the most simple pays from a ‘flush +pair’ and up, with 9-to-1 payouts in each case. When pairs are also included, this is hit more often, so the prizes are lowered to reflect this. There are 3-to-1 for all hands (pair, flush, straight, trips and straight flush) or there are staggered pay tables.

When the prizes are staggered, a straight flush or better can win significant money. Here is an example:

Flush – Pays 5:1
Straight – Pays 10:1
Straight Flush – Pays 35:1
Three of a Kind – Pays 33:1
Suited 3 of a Kind – 100:1

Keep in mind that depending on the pay table, the house edge can get as high as 13% for this side bet. You can find examples of games (depending on the number of decks in use) where this is around 2.78% instead.

Strategy for 21+3 Blackjack

It goes without saying that knowing the correct basic strategy of the base game is a prerequisite here. Without this you are just handing money to the house.

Your main ‘strategy’ decision over the long run with the 21+3 side-bet is whether to play or not. The house edge is bigger than in most base games. If you know this, then you get to decide whether the added interest and entertainment (and chance of a windfall win) are worth it to you. If the extra engagement from the 21+3 bet works for you – then you can simply add a little to your bankroll to cover this.

Card counters can beat this game by memorizing the suits as they are dealt. It is possible on some deals to find one suit over-represented as the shoe gets smaller – turning the edge positive for players. The expected hourly rate for this is very low compared to other forms of counting. Online the deck is shuffled after each hand, making card counting impossible.

Pros and Cons of 21+3 Blackjack

Adding a poker style hand to blackjack makes for an interesting variation – though I do wonder whether ‘purists’ in either discipline would approve! Depending on which of the pay tables you use there is the chance of a 9-to-1 or even bigger windfall. That elusive suited 3-of-a-kind (paying 100-to-1) would certainly be memorable.

Whether you participate depends on your attitude towards side-bets in general. Some players like these bets, and are happy to pay the extra house-edge for the chance of the occasional big win. Others scorn these bets as long-term losers.

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