How to play Spanish 21

Blackjack is a casino card game played against the dealer, in which you try to finish closer to 21 than the dealer without going over, here with virtual chips.

Spanish decks with no tens, bonus 21s and double down rescue.

About Spanish 21

Each deck has 48 cards: the tens are removed, but jacks, queens and kings stay. The dealer hits soft 17. Your 21 always wins, and your blackjack beats even a dealer blackjack. Double on any number of cards; after doubling, Rescue gives up the hand for half the doubled bet back. Surrender, hitting split aces and resplitting aces are allowed.

Winning 21s earn bonuses: five cards pay 3 to 2, six 2 to 1, seven or more 3 to 1. A 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 pays 3 to 2 mixed, 2 to 1 suited and 3 to 1 in spades. Suited 7-7-7 against a dealer 7, not after a split, earns an extra 1000 chips, or 5000 on a bet of 25 or more. Doubled hands earn no bonus.

Only 12 of every 48 cards are worth ten here, against 16 of 52 in a standard deck, so a double on 10 or 11 reaches 20 or 21 less often than at the other tables. A doubled hand also loses every bonus, so when a hand could still become a bonus 21, hitting can be worth more than doubling. Rescue cuts the loss when a double draws badly.

The goal of Blackjack

Beat the dealer by finishing closer to 21 without going over. Number cards count their face value, jacks, queens and kings 10, and an ace 11, or 1 if 11 would take the hand past 21. An ace and a ten-value card as your first two cards is a blackjack.

How to set up Blackjack

You start with 1000 chips. Bet 5 to 500 chips, then deal: you get two cards face up, the dealer one. Except in European, the dealer also takes a face-down card and checks it for blackjack at once, ending the round before you act if it has one.

When the dealer shows an ace, you are offered insurance for half your bet. It pays 2 to 1 if the dealer has blackjack and is lost otherwise.

Blackjack rules

Hit to take another card, or Stand to keep your total. Double doubles your bet and gives you exactly one more card. Split turns a pair into two hands, each with its own bet and a new second card. Going over 21 is a bust and loses that bet.

When your hands are finished, the dealer completes its hand, drawing until it reaches 17 or more. Whether it also draws on a soft 17, a 17 with an ace counted as 11, depends on the variant.

The full Blackjack guide, with strategy tips and common questions