Playing 'Spanish' Blackjack
Many visitors to casinos know that one of the most popular games at the card tables is Blackjack. There are however over one hundred ways of playing the game throughout the casinos of the world.
While most variations hold to the standard rules of play, some make changes to traditional payout amounts, some allow “insurance” or bonus wagers against a hand, some make rewards to certain cards appearing in a hand, and some change the decks to make a game more interesting.
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That is the case with “Spanish” Blackjack, or as it is also called “Spanish” 21. For this game all of the ten cards are removed from a deck, though the face cards of the Jacks, Queens and Kings remain. This means that the player is working at a disadvantage since Blackjack statistics prove that decks of cards rich in tens always favor the player and not the dealer, or the “house”.
The disadvantage of the missing tens is offset by a significantly more liberal set of rules, and an increased method of winning. The variations from the rules of classic Blackjack include:
“Double down” is permitted on any number of cards, along with a “surrender” option that will cost only one wager.
A player’s “blackjack” or twenty-one will always win
Late surrender is permitted on first two cards, or by forfeiting half the standing bet if a dealer does not have “blackjack”.
Double down is allowed after a “split”. This means the player can elect to place a second or double wager, alongside their first and then separate their two original cards into two new hands, which can then have a double down applied.
Splits can be done up to three times, and can include hands with Aces.
A player may also take a “hit” and double down to split Aces.
In addition to the liberal rules applied to a game of “Spanish” 21 or Blackjack, which allow for a great deal of strategy to be used in each hand, there are also some excellent bonus and payout rewards.
A game of “Spanish” 21 or Blackjack will pay:
A payout of three to one on the original wager for a twenty-one configured from five cards.
A payout of two to one on the original wager for a twenty-one configured from six cards.
For twenty-ones composed of a six, seven and eight in mixed suits the payout will be a three to two of the wager.
For twenty-ones composed of a six, seven and eight in mixed suits the payout will be a two to one of the wager.
If a twenty-one is made from the six, seven and eight combination in the suit of spades, the payout ratio is three to one on the original wager.
A twenty-one drawn from three sevens in mixed suits pays three to one on the bet
A payout of two to one is paid for a twenty-one made up of three sevens in matching suits.
Three sevens in the suit of spades yield a three to one payout on the wager.
Additionally the three sevens configuration is further rewarded if the dealer should have a seven showing in their hand, and this pays a one thousand dollar reward for bets between five and twenty-four dollars. For bets of twenty-five dollars or more a player receives a five thousand dollar bonus, and all other players at the table win a lucky “envy” bonus of fifty dollars each.
