Blackjack Variations

Spanish 21

Spanish 21 is generally played on a blackjack table with a custom layout and uses the following rules:

The game is played with four, six or eight decks dealt from a shoe, or from a continuous shuffling machine (CSM). Spanish 21 is played with 48-card Spanish decks, which are standard 52-card decks with the 4 ten-spot cards removed. All cards have the same values as in blackjack.
Like traditional blackjack, the dealer hits on 16 and stands on 17. It is the casino's choice if the dealer hits a soft 17 or stands on a soft 17.
Blackjack always wins, and is always paid 3:2 regardless of whether or not the dealer has a blackjack.
A total of 21 always wins for the player. The wager is paid instantly. It never pushes against the dealer's 21.
Insurance is paid 2:1, just like in Blackjack, despite the fact that there are four fewer ten-valued cards per deck. As 3 cards in 12 are worth ten, the chance of the dealer getting a Blackjack when showing an Ace is only 25%. Therefore, for insurance to be an even bet, it would have to pay 4:1, not 2:1. The house edge on the insurance is 24.7%, one of the worst of any wager in a casino.
Hitting, standing, and splitting all follow similar rules to Blackjack. Doubling after splitting (DAS) is always permitted, and, in most casinos, players are allowed to draw as many cards as they wish after splitting Aces, or may double down after receiving second or subsequent cards.
Players can split to a maximum of four hands, even on aces.
In most casinos, if the dealer doesn't have blackjack, players may surrender, and get half their bet back in exchange for relinquishing the right to play on. This type of surrender is known as a "late surrender" (LS).
Players can surrender after doubling (called double-down rescue). The dealer takes the original bet, and the player retains the double portion of the bet.
Once the initial two-card hands are dealt, if the dealer is showing an Ace or face card, he peeks underneath the hole card to check for a blackjack, before playing actually commences. If he has blackjack, all players automatically lose, unless they also have a blackjack (which, as mentioned above, automatically win 3:2).
The player may double down on any total AND on any number of cards.
In some casinos, players may double double down, or redouble up to two times after doubling down. For example: The player bets one unit and is dealt 2-3, giving a hand total of 5; the dealer is showing a 6. The player doubles the first time and draws a 3. The hand total is now 8 and the total amount wagered is two units. The player doubles a second time and draws a 3. The hand total is now 11 and the total amount wagered is four units. When the player doubles a third time on 11, the total amount wagered will be eight units. Redoubling is a profoundly player-advantageous rule, when optimally executed.
A five-card 21 pays 3:2, a six-card 21 pays 2:1, and a 21 with seven or more cards pays 3:1.
A 21 composed of 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 of mixed suits pays 3:2, of the same suit pays 2:1, and of spades pays 3:1. These bonus payouts apply even if the hand was the result of a split. However, these bonus payouts do not apply if the hand was split or doubled down.
A "super bonus" of $1000 for bets under $25, and $5000 for bets of $25 and over, is paid on a suited 7-7-7 against any dealer 7. All other players at the table receive a $50 "envy bonus". Like other bonus 21 pays, splitting and doubling down negate this bonus.

The removal of the four tens in each deck gives roughly a 2% advantage to the dealer. The liberal rules of Spanish 21, though, do compensate for this. With optimal play, the house edge of a Spanish 21 table is lower than that of a blackjack table with the same rules on hitting or standing on soft 17.

The game also offers an optional "Match the Dealer" side bet, which compares a player's cards with the dealer's upcard.

Matching the rank of the dealer's card pays 4:1 on a six-deck game, and 3:1 on an eight-deck game, while a "perfect match" of rank and suit pays 9:1 on six decks and 12:1 on eight decks. A player may win on both cards; (e.g. if a player has 8s 8c and the dealer has 8c as an upcard, the player will receive 3:1 on the rank match and 12:1 on the perfect match, paying out a total of 15:1.)

While this side bet has a house edge of approximately 3%, significantly higher than the edge of the main game, it is one of the lowest house edges of any blackjack side bet.

Masque Publishing, the owners of this game, maintains a list of venues that offer S17 or redoubling rules.

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Blackjack Switch

Blackjack Switch is a variant of blackjack in which a player is dealt two hands face up and is allowed to swap the top two cards between hands.

For example, if the player is dealt 10-5 and 6-10, then the player may swap the top two cards of each hand to make hands of 10-10 and 6-5.
Natural blackjacks are paid 1:1 instead of the standard 3:2, and a dealer hard 22 pushes all player hands except a natural blackjack.

The player must place identical initial bets on each of the two hands, although during playing out they may be doubled and split independently. The player's two final hands are evaluated separately against the dealer's final hand.

The switch decision
The decision of whether to switch or not will sometimes be obvious, particularly in those cases where it yields the most advantage.
The fully correct strategy for switching is extremely complex and impossible to summarize. An often-quoted rule of thumb is to choose the option that allows the best single hand to be formed. However, there are many cases where the player loses by trying to form the best hand. Sometimes it is even correct to break up a natural by switching, for instance in the case AT + T[3-8] vs. dealer 7, 8 or 9. The correct switching choice depends on the dealer card in a significant minority of cases.

Basic strategy after the switch decision
Basic strategy for playing out blackjack switch hands, after the switching decision has been made, is tabulated below. Compared to traditional blackjack, in blackjack switch there are fewer occasions where doubling or splitting is rewarding, and more occasions where it is correct to hit at the risk of going bust. The differences originate from the push-on-dealer-22 rule.

Player's hand	Dealer's face-up card
Player's hand	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
Hard totals
17-20	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
14-16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	H	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
12	H	H	H	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H
9	H	H	H	H	D	H	H	H	H	H
5-8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
Soft totals
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,8, A,9	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
A,7	S	S	S	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A,6	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,5	H	H	H	H	D	H	H	H	H	H
A,2-A,4	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
Pairs
	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
A,A	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP
10,10	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
9,9	S	S	SP	SP	SP	S	SP	SP	S	S
8,8	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H
7,7	S	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
6,6	H	H	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H	H
5,5	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H	H
4,4	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
2,2 3,3	H	H	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H	H

Key:

S = Stand

H = Hit

D = Double

SP = Split

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