Spanish 21

Hello, I've got a question regarding Spanish 21. I've played it before, and had a lot of fun. It wasn't till I read the rules for it that I found out that all the tens had been removed. Is this game beatable?

I use HI-LO. I was wondering if I observed a shoe from the start and began counting with an RC of -32 (assuming 8 decks), would this be a good game to enter when the RC reaches zero?

It seems to offer so many benefits over a regular BJ game. Blackjacks are immediately payed at 3-2. You can double on any amount of cards, and they offer "double-rescue". You can surrender any time. Lastly, you are automatically paid if you hit 21 (no matter how many cards). It doesn't matter what the dealer gets or has from the beginning.

Seriously, if the RC reached 0, would this not be the same as sitting at a VERY good multi-deck BJ table?

I'd appreciate any comments.

STP.

It is better to play regular blackjack, from what I've read. Frank Scoblete claims that using his strategies you can cut the house edge to less than 1%. Jerry Patterson is against it, claiming the house edge is 3%. Henry Tamburin states that the house edge is higher than at regular blackjack.

According to our host, Stanford Wong, the house edge of the variant of Spanish 21 most commonly found in Las Vegas (with the dealer hitting soft 17) is .83%, making even an 8 deck shoe with bad rules a better game.

Like Superfun 21, there are a bunch of juicy favorable rules, coupled with one killer, in this case the 10's being removed. One is effectively starting out with a true count of -4 (Hi-lo).

As with lotteries, most of the players at this game are math-impaired. This provides us with the only rationale for playing: the pit is of course also aware that this is a sucker game. It is often possible to play and use large spreads relatively heat-free.

Also, one occasionally finds a game in which the dealer stands on soft 17, which reduces the house edge considerably.

Still, one is usually better off to concentrate on traditional blackjack games.

... cause I may be loco, but I'm not bind-a-ho. G

is that you must have a K,Q,J or 10 to form a blackjack, so removing all the 10's removes 25% of the cards you need for a blackjack.

I occasionally play Sp21 as a diversion, and also as a form of cover. Of course, I would not do so without a winning strategy. Although I primarily KO count in blackjack, I find that I can easily switch to HiLo, since it is simply a matter of "switching off the sevens." Given this, it is easy to employ HiLo as an unbalanced count in Sp21, very similar to using KO in BJ. One difference is that while I start ramping up my bet at the equivalent of TC+2 in BJ, I wait until TC+2.5 or 3 in Sp21. Below are the strategy charts I use, which are tailored for the 6-deck game that I play. They are slightly simplified for ease of memorization, but this simplification only gives up about .02% in performance. Having said all that, Sp21 is a very, very difficult game to beat. Imagine the frustration of BJ times 5. I recommend sticking with blackjack.

Basic Strategy
Never take insurance
Rescue double down with 16 or less vs. 8-Ace, 17 or less vs. Ace

Hard Hands
17 Surrender vs. Ace, otherwise Stand
16 Surrender vs. Ace, Hit vs. 7-10, otherwise Stand
15 Hit vs. 7-Ace, otherwise Stand
14 Stand vs. 4-6, otherwise Hit
13 Always Hit
12 Always Hit
11 Hit vs. 7-Ace if 4+ cards, otherwise Double
10 Double vs. 2-6, Double vs. 7-8 if <4 cards, otherwise Hit
9 Double vs. 6, otherwise Hit

Soft Hands
A8 Always Stand
A7 Double vs. 4-6, otherwise Hit
A6 Double vs. 5-6, otherwise Hit
A5 Double vs. 6, otherwise Hit
A4 Always Hit

Pairs
AA Always Split
TT Always Stand
99 Split vs. 2-6,8-9
88 Surrender vs. Ace, otherwise Split
77 Split vs. 2-7
66 Split vs. 3-6
55 Treat as hard 10
44 Split vs. 6
33 Split vs. 2-8
22 Split vs. 2-8

Counting System
Use Hi-Lo tags, and treat as an unbalanced count. Use an IRC of 0.

Betting
Increase bet at RC 18 during first 3 decks, RC 21 thereafter.
Place max bet at RC 27.
Use whatever spread you are comfortable with, but keep in mind that variance is much greater than in BJ.

Strategy Variations at RC 21
Surrender: 16 vs. 9-Ace, 15 vs. 10-Ace
Stand: 17 vs. Ace, 14 vs. 2-6, 13 vs. 4-5
Double: 10 vs. 2-Ace, 9 vs. 4-6, A8 vs. 5-6, A7 vs. 3

Strategy Variations at RC 30
Surrender: 15 vs. 9-Ace
Stand: 13 vs. 3-5, 12 vs. 6
Double: A6 vs. 3
Split: 44 vs. 5-6