WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BLACKJACK AND SPANISH 21?

Spanish 21 is the most popular variation of blackjack, and it is widely played in almost all casinos around the world. The difference between this variation of blackjack and the standard backjack can be a bit complicated, but it influences the winning odds to a very large extent.

To an average person or casino player, Spanish 21 and blackjack may appear to be the same game with different names. However, each game offers its own set of advantages and disadvantages and sets of rules.

HOW DO YOU PLAY SPANISH 21?

The Spanish 21 blackjack is played with a shoe of six decks. Players are dealt two cards, and are expected to keep receiving cards until the decide to stop/stand without going over 21 in the process. Once a player places his bet, he receives his cards and hit or stand. The dealer will follow. The highest hand wins.

In the Spanish 21 variant of blackjack, the players are provided with the option to either split their paired cards and continue betting with two hands. A resplit is also possible if the player is then dealt another pair. A winning hand pays 1/1.

THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EUROPEAN BLACKJACKA ND SPANISH 21

The main difference between Spanish 21 and the normal blackjack is the missing 10s. In Spanish 21, all the 10 cards are removed from the deck. This implies that players’ hands are more often than not made up with lots of low cards.

In the European blackjack, the side bet potential is minimal. Players can take an insurance bet against the dealer hitting a natural blackjack. That bet pays2/1.

Spanish 21 also has a much wider range of side bets when compare with the standard blackjack. There is also the availability of insurance bets, and this also pays 2/1. There are also other additional payouts that a player can get. They include:

5-card hand: 3/2

6-card hand: 2/1

7-card hand: 3/1

21 with any three sevens: 3/2

21 with 6-7-8: 3/2

21 with three sevens of same suit: 2/1

21 with three sevens, dealer has fourth seven: 50/1

In Spanish 21, a player 21 always wins, and a player blackjack will always beat the dealer blackjack. Hitting a blackjack is much harder in Spanish 21 because there are no 10 cards.

In the standard European blackjack, a player will hit on 16 and stand on 17. But in Spanish 21 games, the dealer may hit a soft 17 (a 17 with an ace). This increases the house edge slightly though.

Also, in standard European blackjack, a blackjack can end in a tie. But in Spanish 21, this is not so, as blackjack never ends in a tie. In Spanish 21, if both the player and the dealer have a blackjack, the player is given the win.

With all these rules, blackjack still remains among one of the most popular games available with several variants. The house edge in blackjack can be as low as 0.5%. the Spanish 21 variant of the blackjack offers a much greater excitement for players.