Lesser Known Casino Games: Spanish 21
The game of Spanish 21 is another card game of skill and chance that is popular in the casinos. Spanish 21 is also known as Match Play 21 or Pontoon in some locations, and is one of the many variations of Blackjack.
The object of Spanish 21 is simple: The player must come as close to 21 as they possibly can without “Busting”, yet must also have a higher hand value than the Dealer’s. Players must start out the game by placing a wager. Once they do that, the cards are dealt out. In this case, it is two cards for both the player and the Dealer. If the player gets closer to 21, then they get paid as much as what was wagered out. If the Dealer “busts”, the player wins as well. Sound familiar? It should. These are standard Blackjack rules, and they most certainly apply here.
Well then, what is the difference between Spanish 21 and regular Blackjack? A few differences, actually. For starters, all of the “10” cards have been removed from the deck. Cards are also reshuffled once each hand has been played. The game also plays with either four, five, six or eight decks during play.
The game also tends to favor the player over the Dealer in a variety of different ways. For example, the Dealer is given a “hole” card, and hits a soft “17” during a hand. When it comes to the end results of the hand, here is where the player is more favored. Let us say that the player and the dealer both hit “Blackjack”, or “21”. In this scenario, the Player wins regardless of the Dealer’s hand.
Players can also double down on any number of cards, but can only do this once, receiving only one card in the process. Past that double down, the player has the option to surrender that portion of their wager.
Of course, there is also the House Edge to contend with, and the possibility of a player being able to count cards. While the setup of Spanish 21 may seem unlikely to be able to card count, there are certain vulnerabilities that can be found and exploited.
In addition, there are payout bonuses for certain hands – get a suited 7-7-7 against a dealer 7, and you might be raking in big dollars (and everyone at the table may get a little “envy bonus”… really!)
Spanish 21, is a fun and enjoyable game to play once a player gets the hang of the rules. If you like Blackjack, we urge you to check it out, at least for a while.
