Basic Rules of Spanish 21

Spanish 21 is the fast-paced variation of the regular blackjack which is extremely popular with the players at the land based casinos. This game is played at the regular blackjack table and using the standard decks with one exception: all 10s are removed from the deck or several decks used at the game.

All the cards used at the game have the standard values (Aces are valued as 1 or 11, Face cards are valued as 10 and the 2-9 cards are valued as indicated).

These are the basic rules of Spanish 21:

Spanish 21 is usually played using two, four, six or eight decks with all 10s removed. This removal gives about 2% advantage to the dealer.
All the players are dealt two face up cards while one of the dealer’s cards is a hole card.
Blackjack pays 3 to 2 as at the regular blackjack games.
Player’s blackjack always beats the dealer’s blackjack.
Insurance pays 2 to 1.
The rules of Hitting, Standing and Splitting are similar to the regular blackjack rules. Moreover, Double Down option is always permitted after Split and the player is allowed to draw as many cards as he needs after splitting the Aces.
The player can Split up to three times (creating 4 hands).
Late Surrender option is applied at the game.
The players are allowed to Surrender after Double Down.
In case the dealer’s face up card is an Ace or any Face card he must check for blackjack and in case he does hold blackjack all the players at the table lose automatically.
The player is allowed to Double Down at any point even after Hitting.
At some casinos the players can Double Down up to two times after the initial doubling.
Many casinos that feature Spanish 21 allow to Double Down for less than the original bet but in this case the player loses the chance to redouble.
The player who holds 21 always wins even if the dealer also has 21 (there is NO Push).

As it has been already mentioned, Spanish 21 rules may vary from casino to casino that is why each time you want to play this blackjack variation check up the rules at the casino you choose to play at.