Play chips
Not money. Nothing here can be won or cashed out.
Your decisions
matched basic strategy
Cost of mistakes
average cost of plays that differ from the chart
Session
"Expected" is the house edge for these rules times the amount bet. A result above it is the short-run spread; the average keeps going down.
Basic strategy for this table
The cell for your current decision is outlined while you play.
Rules of this table
Spanish 21 rules vary by casino. These are the rules used for the game and every number on this page; tables that drop some of them (for example doubling on two cards only, or no bonuses) have a higher house edge.
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| No 10-spot cards | Each deck has 48 cards: the four 10s are removed. Jacks, queens and kings stay, so there are fewer ten-value cards. |
| Player 21 always wins | Your 21 beats the dealer's 21, and your blackjack beats a dealer blackjack (paid 3:2). |
| Double on any number of cards | You can double after hitting, and after splitting. |
| Splits | Up to 4 hands, aces included, and you can hit and double split aces. |
| Late surrender | Give up half the bet after the dealer checks for blackjack. |
| 21 bonuses | Five-card 21 pays 3:2, six-card 21 pays 2:1, seven or more cards pays 3:1; 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 pays 3:2 mixed suits, 2:1 same suit, 3:1 in spades. Not on doubled hands, not after a split. |
How the strategy changes
- With fewer tens, doubling is weaker: the chart doubles less often than in classic blackjack.
- Some plays depend on how many cards you hold, because a five-card 21 pays a bonus. In the chart below a cell like D/H4 means double with two or three cards, hit with four or more.
- Surrender is used less often than in classic blackjack: with these rules only against an ace (hard 16, hard 17 and a pair of 8s).
How the numbers are worked out
An exact calculation over the cards in the shoe including the 21 bonuses, checked by an independent simulator of our own over 4 billion rounds (within its margin of error). Split hands are treated as independent.
Keys: H hit, S stand, D double, P split, R surrender, Enter deal, F full screen.