Spanish 21

Ok so I admit that I am a gambler but I am somewhat in control of my habit. I mean you have to have money to gamble right? Or maybe not. I have heard of people who have gambled away their possessions or their paychecks and that is something that I just cannot see myself doing, I am a mom after all and my kids come first no matter what.  As a gambler I enjoy going to casinos all the lights, the noise, the cash and chips being passed around.  Casinos are exciting. My game of choice used to be Blackjack I had so much fun playing.  That was until I was introduced to Spanish 21 and now I don’t think I could ever go back to Blackjack.  I mean why would I?

I remember constantly passing the Spanish 21 table not knowing how to play and thinking that the game was somewhat foreign and difficult to learn.  I had no concept of what the game was about.  That was until one day when my husband was at the casino with me and told me that I should try Spanish 21.  I went hesitantly thinking that I was getting in over my head.  There were only a few people at the table and the dealer was more than willing to help me learn the ins and outs of the game.  I caught on quickly to the concept of the game with her help and pointers.
My first bet was $5 for the base bet and $5 on the match the dealer bet.  I was dealt two Kings of Spades and the dealer had a King of Spade showing so I was immediately paid $120.00 on my match the dealer bet.  So like a drug addict I was hooked from the beginning.  I had turned my $10 into over $100 not a bad start at all.

So it did not take me long after that win to begin to understand the basic rules of Spanish 21.  

The rules for Spanish 21 are truly simple.  Spanish 21 is like Blackjack with a few differences.

1. The deck has all the 10s taken out.  The deck has all the cards Ace to nine and the face cards but no 10s.
2. You can bet to match the dealer.  Anytime your cards match the dealer’s up card and you place a bet on the “match the dealer” spot you can win.  The bet is whether either one or both of your cards matches the dealers up card.  The side bet for a six deck game is 4-1 for non suited match and 9-1 for a suited match for an eight deck game its 3-1 for non suited match and 12-1 for a suited match.  So on my first win I had two suited matches and I was playing an eight deck game each match was 12-1 or 24-1 total. I had a placed a bet of $5 and came out with $120.00 not bad for a first time.
3. A player can surrender their bet.  A player can surrender even after a player has doubled down. 
4. A player’s blackjack always beats a dealer’s blackjack.  Because the player gets paid first for their match bet and second for blackjack, blackjack always wins for the player.
5. There is a bonus if the player has three suited 7’s when the dealer has a 7 face up. A bet of $5 - $24 pays $1,000 and bets $25 and over pays $5,000.  In addition an envy bonus of $50 is given to all players at the table.   

I enjoy playing Spanish 21 because not only can you win with your normal blackjack bet but you can also win with the match the dealer bet and if you get a few dealer matches it can really add up quickly.

So the next time you are at the casino and are looking for something a little different to play take a chance and try Spanish 21.