The Rules of Spanish 21:
- Spanish 21 can be played with six or eight standard poker decks dealt from a shoe. Tens (but not face cards) are removed from each deck, and the rest of the cards have the same values as in regular Blackjack
- Drawing to split aces and re-splitting are allowed. The rest of the actions, such as hitting, splitting and standing follow standard Blackjack rules.
- As in American Blackjack, in Spanish 21 the dealer checks for blackjack with a face card showing before continuing the play.
- Blackjack in Spanish 21 pays 3:2.
- The player can surrender after doubling down or on the first two cards.
- Even after taking hit cards, the player may double down on any total.
- Some casinos allow redoubling after doubling down.
- A players 21 never pushes against the dealers 21, but always wins for the player.
- 6-7-8 of spades pays 3:1, of the same other suit pays 2:1, and of mixed suits 3:2.
- If the 21 was not the result of doubling, it pays 3:2 if it consists of five cards, 2:1 for six cards, and 3:1 for a seven or more 21cards.
- If splitting was not performed, suited 7-7-7 combination against a dealer 7 pays a large bonus of 1,000 dollars for 5-24 dollars bets and 5,000 for 25 dollars and higher. Other players at the table receive envy bonus of 50 dollars.
- Most casinos allow dealers to hit a soft 17.
- Some casinos enable a side bet if one or both of the players first cards match the dealers up-card. A non-suited match pays 4:1 in a six-deck game and 3:1 in an eight-deck game. A suited match pays 9:1 in a six-deck and 12:1 in an eight-deck game.
The soft 17 hitting and the removal of 10s favor the dealer. The rest of the rules are favorable for the player, which makes the Spanish 21 hose edge lower than in traditional blackjack. A house edge of Spanish 21 is 3.06 percent for a six-deck game and 2.99 percent for an eight-deck game. Under various common rules the house edge changes to 0.40 percent if dealer stands on soft 17, to 0.38 percent if dealer hits on soft 17 and rebounding is allowed, and to 0.76 percent if rebounding is not allowed.