- Spanish 21 Odds and Probability & House Edge. Buying blackjack insurance in Spanish 21 should be avoided, as the lack of 10-cards reduces the chances of a dealer blackjack when showing an ace to just 25%. This gives the house an edge of 24.7% on insurance, which is.
- In any case, what make Spanish 21 so unique and thrilling are the many bonuses. This blackjack variation awards five-card 21 with a 3:2 payout, a six-card 21 with a 2:1 payout and a 7+ card 21 with a 3:1 payout. If the player gets a combination of unsuited 6-7-8 or 7-7-7, a 3:2 bonus payout is granted to him.
- Spanish 21, or as our friends down under like to call it – Pontoon; is a version of Blackjack that is not only fun to play, but one of the best bets in a casino. If you are lucky enough to find the game that is. Spanish Blackjack isn’t spread as often as other Blackjack games due to the low house edge. As a rule of thumb, if you have the option to play Spanish 21, play it!
Blackjack Variations > Spanish 21
Spanish 21 Blackjack is a tougher, more intense game, especially since the House’s advantage and edge increases by 2%. However, this is thankfully offset by several extra bonuses and some higher payouts in the game.
Spanish 21 Payout Sheet
In any case, what make Spanish 21 so unique and thrilling are the many bonuses. This blackjack variation awards five-card 21 with a 3:2 payout, a six-card 21 with a 2:1 payout and a 7+ card 21 with a 3:1 payout. If the player gets a combination of unsuited 6-7-8 or 7-7-7, a 3:2 bonus payout is granted to him.
It is a game that has grown in popularity, and currently found in every offline casino, but not so much so for online casinos yet.
Spanish 21 Rules
As all other blackjack game variations, it follows some similar characteristics of blackjack, such as the point value, the goals, and terminology, but like all variations, it has its little differences and extra twists:
The first difference and most noticeable one is the fact that 10’s are not used, which is what gives the House the extra advantage. You still have the Jacks, Queens, and Kings, but no 10’s.
Doubling down is only allowed after getting a hit and/or a split – with any card and hand. If the player doubles down, however, he/she must double the same bet amount originally made at the beginning. Players can also split up to 4 hands
Players can surrender on any hand against the dealer, except if the dealer gets blackjack or 21. By surrendering, they will get half their bet amount back.
Players can also surrender after doubling-down, which will give them back the double down bet, but they will lose the initial bet.
Players will always win with a 21 – regardless of the dealer’s hand. Insurance can be purchased too, and it pays out 2:1.
Lastly, you can do two side bets: a Super Bonus bet where if you get three 7’s, and the dealer’s face-up card is also a 7, then you’ll get $1,000 on $5-$24 bets and $5,000 on $25 bets. The other side bet consists of betting that your hand will outrank that of the dealers, in which payouts could go up to 40:1.
How to Play Spanish 21
Clearly, Spanish 21 is quite similar to regular blackjack… all you have to remember is that you have ‘rescue’ or ‘surrender’ options. You also will have no 10’s, so remember the advantage on the House, and last major difference is the addition of bonuses and higher payouts, but let the dealers worry about that since they remember all those payouts – unless you wish to learn them by heart -.
Make your initial bets and side bets if desired. Get your cards, and either surrender, split, double, hit, or stand. Once you compare with the dealer’s hand, you’ll be able to see if you have lost, pushed, or won the hand. The dealer should let you know about the bonuses and payouts if you can’t remember.
Spanish 21 Hand Examples
The most important hand examples to remember would be the bonus hands, which are the only extra payouts compared to regular blackjack:
* Blackjack pays 3:2
* Insurance as seen above, pays 2:1
* 5-card 21 (getting up to 21 with a combination of 5 cards dealt) pays 3:2
* 6-card 21 pays 2:1
* 7 or more card 21 pays 3:1
* Insurance as seen above, pays 2:1
* 5-card 21 (getting up to 21 with a combination of 5 cards dealt) pays 3:2
* 6-card 21 pays 2:1
* 7 or more card 21 pays 3:1
* 21 made-out of a 6, 7, and 8 suited pays 2:1
* 21 made-out of a 6, 7, and 8 mixed-suit pays 3:2
* 21 made-out of a 6, 7, and 8 spades pays 3:1
* 21 made out of three 7’s mixed suit pays 3:2
* 21 made out of three 7’s suited pays 2:1
* 21 made out of three 7’s spades pays 3:1
* 21 made-out of a 6, 7, and 8 mixed-suit pays 3:2
* 21 made-out of a 6, 7, and 8 spades pays 3:1
* 21 made out of three 7’s mixed suit pays 3:2
* 21 made out of three 7’s suited pays 2:1
* 21 made out of three 7’s spades pays 3:1
If however, the player doubles down, then he/she will not be eligible for the bonus.
Video Tutorial
External Links
Related News
May 2018
May 2011
Pirate 21 Blackjack is basically a Spanish 21 game with a different title, although it does differ from similar versions developed by Microgaming and Games OS. The biggest difference is the presence of match the dealer side bet, whereas it is also important to note that the BetSoft game is played with six decks of 48 cards, as opposed to eight decks used by the two aforementioned variants.
Spanish 21 Payouts
Pirate 21 is also the only Spanish 21 where the dealer must stand on all 17’s, while there is no Insurance or Surrender available. More experienced players will enjoy the courtesy of playing up to three hands at once, with bet limits also good enough to satisfy their needs.
Free Pirate 21 Blackjack
Pirate 21 Blackjack Rules
BetSoft’s take on the Spanish 21 version of Blackjack is quite interesting, with numerous changes to the standard set of rules definitely adding to the excitement. And while the absence of 10 cards does go against the player, numerous perks and benefits are in place to balance things out.
The player is allowed to double down on any number of cards, whereas aces can be resplit and both hit and double down can be performed as normal after splitting aces, which is rarely the case in most variants of online Blackjack.
A side bet needs to be placed alongside the standard wager if you want to have the chance to land attractive match the dealer payouts, with dealer always given one card face up that can later be used to determine said bonus payouts.
Pirate 21 Payouts
The 3:2 and even money payouts on blackjack and other winning hands are nothing new, but player’s blackjack and 21 always beat dealer’s blackjack and 21, further lowering the house edge.
Provided you have placed match the dealer side bet, you will receive a 4 to 1 payout if any of your first two cards matches the dealer’s face card regardless of the suit, with suited match paying 9 to 1.
All bonus payouts are identical to the corresponding payouts in Spanish 21 Microgaming and Games OS, apart from the hand when you receive suited 7-7-7 and dealer’s face card is 7. Said hand awards $1,000 and $5,000 fixed payout on $5-$24 and $25+ bets respectively. Naturally, $25 bets will give you the best possible odds. If you are not into high stakes blackjack, we recommended to go with $5 bets, to increase your odds.
According to these rules, the house edge of Pirate 21 blackjack is 0.70%.
![Spanish 21 payouts Spanish 21 payouts](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVpcAKUhfFGkCivBCwMEwpdNPoDeFF3YCUXLL17KH3SL5/flat%2C800x800%2C075%2Cf.u1.jpg)
Limits & User Interface
Pirate 21 allows bets between $1 and $100 per hand, with maximum match the dealer side wager standing at $25. Therefore, you can stake up to $375 per single round. BetSoft’s user interface is pretty good and even allows gamers to choose between three gameplay speeds. However, while the visuals are quite appealing, standard controls are far from impressive.