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A child of the computer age, Spanish 21 is a mathematically-derived variation of blackjack. The term “Spanish” refers to the 48-card deck used in some Spanish card games. It is a regular 52-card deck with the four tens removed. Although, in most respects, Spanish 21 is played just like standard blackjack, the basic strategy is somewhat different.
As a uniquely-designed modification of blackjack, Spanish 21 has liberalized rules and numerous bonuses. The casinos can be so generous because removal of the four tens from the deck gives the house a large advantage. The changes in rules and payouts were designed to attract jaded blackjack casino players and have made the game popular. The modified rules have considerable appeal. For instance, in standard blackjack, it is always exhilarating to hit a count of 21 on the nose, but it quickly turns into a disappointment if the dealer also hits 21 (resulting in a push instead of a win). In Spanish 21, if both dealer and player have 21, the player wins!
In addition, bonuses are paid for getting 21 with five cards, six cards, and seven cards, and for getting certain three card combinations such as 6 7 8 and 7 7 7. Then there is the super bonus: If you get a suited 7 7 7 and the dealer’s upcard is a 7, a bonus is paid to all the players at the table. It’s no wonder that many blackjack players are migrating to Spanish 21.
Spanish 21 is played on a regular blackjack table. Except for the liberal payoffs, the game appears to be almost identical to standard blackjack, which is what fools some experienced blackjack players. Many of them don’t realize that the basic strategy for standard blackjack does not work very well, and that the house edge is higher. To keep from losing your shirt, you have to learn a modified strategy.
Like regular blackjack, the game is easy to learn and play. You are dealt two cards and then take additional cards (hits) one-by-one, trying to get as close to a total count of 21 without going over. When all the players are through taking hits, the dealer does the same by following a fixed set of house rules. If you beat the dealer, you win even odds, and if the dealer beats you, you lose your bet. If your hand has the same numerical count as the dealer (except for a count of 21) it is a tie (called a push), and no money changes hands.
The player should consider doubling only when his hand has the value 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20. Since, in general, one can double only on the initial two-card hands, this means that the player should consider doubling only when he has (A, 2), (A, 3), (A, 4), (A, 5), (A, 6), (A, 7), (A, 8), or (A, 9). When the player should double with such a hand is indicated in Table 6of casino.
Splitting (When Doubling After Splitting Is Not Allowed) The strategy for splitting pairs is given in Table 7. When the number in a block is followed by a dot, the player should split only when the running index is less than that number.
Splitting (When Doubling After Splitting Is Allowed) The corresponding strategy is given in Table 8. Insurance, the player should place the insurance bet only when the running index is greater than, or equal to +14 We have assumed above that the game is dealt from a four-deck shoe. When the number of decks used in the casino game is different, 14 should be replaced by the following indices: six-deck games 15 two-dec games 12 one-deck games 7
Surrender
When the option may be exercised only after it was determined that the dealer does not have blackjack, the player should follow the strategy given in Table 9. When early surrender is offered, the player should follow the strategy given in Table 10. The early surrender option should be exercised before the insurance option.
No Hole-Card Games
In no hole-card games of type I, the modifications in the player’s strategy are identical with those indicated in Chapter 3, except in the case of (A, A) and hard 11 against a dealer’s ten. In any case to facilitate the reading of this subsection, we provide complete details.
When the dealer’s up card is 2,3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 the playing strategy remains unchanged. When the dealer’s up card is ten or ace the following modifications should be made to the strategy given previously:
do not split (8, 8) against a ten or ace;
do not split (9, 9) against an ace;
do not split (A, A) against an ace;
split (A, A) against a ten, only if the running index is greater than or equal to —25;
do not double on ten against a ten or ace; double on 11 against a ten only if the running index is greater than or equal to +48; do not double on 11 against an ace In no hole-card games of type II the player should use the strategy given earlier in this chapter
THE PLAYING STRATEGY FOR
SINGLE-DECK GAMES
Although the strategies for multiple-deck and single-deck games are similar, there are, however, a number of differences. Some of them are listed in Table 11 below.
The numbers in the third column are critical indices. They replace those corresponding to multiple-deck games.
THE 99-COUNT AND THE ADJUSTED-COUNT
To facilitate reference we shall call it the adjusted-count. The name is justified since this count can be obtained by correcting the 99- count for tens and aces. The adjusted-count is excellent for making playing decisions. The corresponding strategy tables can be found at the end of this chapter.
The player who can use the 99-count for betting decisions and the adjusted-count for playing decisions will improve his overall strategy. We observe, however, that the betting performance of the adjusted- count is not as good as that of the 99-count. The adjusted-count should not be used without corrections, unless, for various reasons, the player must bet always the same amount.
The player who decides to use the 99-count and the adjusted- count, should proceed as follows: He should start by keeping track of the running count corresponding to the adjusted-count; denote this running count by AC. Then, he should keep track, separately, of the running count corresponding to the count defined by:
denote this running count by TA. When he must make a playing decision he should use the running index corresponding to AC and the strategy tables given at the end of this chapter. When he must make a betting decision he should, first, add AC and TA; then, he should compute AC+TA/ number of unseen cards (6).
