Spanish 21 Considerations

gronbog

gronbog

Top Member
I've been thinking about Spanish 21 this week because I'll be playing an event this weekend. Here is a link to the discussion of the actual event: https://www.blackjacktournaments.co...blue-heron-charity-port-perry-on-canada.8400/

I'm also wondering about the general skill level of spanish 21 tournament players. This is because I have found the general skill level of my opponents in the non-blackjack events I've played (baccarat, roulette) to be significantly lower than for the blackjack tournaments I've played. With Spanish 21 being a blackjack variant driven by the bonus payouts, I'm wondering if the same will be true?

Specifically, I'd be interested in any real-world experience with the following:
  1. Do most sp21 players know the modified basic strategy or do they just play the ploppy version of the normal blackjack strategy?
  2. Is the general skill level at sp21 tournaments as good as it is in blackjack tournaments? A little worse? significantly worse?
  3. Any other sp21-specific insights?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.
 
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This is the only Spanish 21 tournament I have heard of. I have a feeling that there is not a lot of them and the skill level playing them would be low. I had to go to the wizard just to see how to play the game and I see it has a number of odd ball things compared to BJ and it is highly unlikely that people in general would play a sophisticated system.

You might search the Wizard of Vegas http://wizardofvegas.com/ forums for comments by people. I looked at a little of it and it appears that people playing the wizard's strategy were definitely in the minority and aggravated the other players at the table with some of their actions. Kind of like sitting at a BJ table and hitting a soft 18 against 9/10 or hitting a hard 12 against 2/3 or even 4 on a negative count and catching a 10 that would have busted dealer.
 
Yeah, the basic strategy is a bit complex due to the 5, 6 and 7+ card 21 bonuses. Those bonuses occur so infrequently, however, that I will be ignoring them. For the purposes of tournament play, I won't even be factoring in the possibility, since only the 7 card one pays more than 2/1 and I will already be considering the possibility of double downs. As for the super bonus, (777 suited vs 7), it won't even be on my radar. I've used my strategy generator to develop strategies for "must win", "must not lose" and "must win 2". Otherwise, I plan on using the wizard's strategy without the 4+ card adjustments.

As for question 2, this casino also hosts regular blackjack tournaments and I'm wondering how many of those players will enter the spanish tournament or if it will just be the folks who normally play the game anyway.

I think you're right, that these events are rare. Still, I hope that anyone who has played one will add their 2 cents.
 
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Never played a spanish bjk tournament. But I would bet you are likely to see the vast majority of regular blackjack tournament players in it.
 
While thinking about spanish rules due to an issue raised in another thread, I thought about the following, which could be a way to buy a strategic surrender during tournament play, and could also affect the basic strategy, and generate some additional EV, during normal table play. It all has to do with whether double for less is allowed and, if so, how double-down-rescue (i.e. surrender after doubling) is handled. I can think of at least 3 possible ways to handle it.
  1. You lose your original bet
    If you read the rules on The Wizard of Odds (http://wizardofodds.com/games/spanish-21/), then they imply that this is what would happen: "Player may surrender after doubling, known as "double down rescue." The player forfeits an amount equal to his original bet." This is probably never a good option, since a double for less is generally made for as little as possible when called for both in tournament and normal table play.

  2. You lose the doubled portion of your bet
    Probably not a useful option for the same reason as above.

  3. You lose half of your total bet
    This option could be useful for virtually buying a surrender after taking a card. One could double for as little as possible and then surrender the resulting hand if it was strategically advantageous. It could also be used to buy a surrender during normal table play in situations where you would take only one card anyway. Once again you would double for as little as possible and then surrender when advantageous.
Does anyone have experience with double for less with double down rescure either in tournaments or normal table play? What's commonly allowed?
 
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When you rescue a double down you are supposed to get the double amount back and lose your original wager. Some dealers don't do it right and give you half the total bet in error but you are supposed to lose your original wager and rescue the amount of your double. Dealers do all kinds of things wrong when dealing spanish. Make sure you know when a bonus is due you because most of the time you need to remind the dealer to get paid the extra.
 
My comment on multi-card bonuses. The most important not to ignore is if you are considering doubling an 11. You are thinking about taking 1 card and risking twice the amount for twice the payoff. If you have a multicard bonus draw you are already getting 3:2, 2:1 or 3:1 if you draw a face card without risking any additional money. In the casino game you never double in this scenario but in a tournament you must consider your goals. In addition to not risking more for a higher payout if the dealer has an 8 or higher up you don't need to rescue and can take another card if the dealer has a 7 or higher. Doubling a 10 is in the same boat to a lesser degree. The other multicard deviation worth mentioning is 17vA. With no tens in the deck you are practically playing for a push if you stand. The dealer just isn't likely to bust. BS says to surrender or hit depending on whether it is your initial 2 cards. Many just can't bring themselves to hit though. If you have a multicard bonus draw you should definitely hit. 2/3rds of the time you bust your loser matchup. 1/12th of the time you hit the bonus and 1/4 of the time you improve your hand so you aren't just playing for a push. These all have their merits when playing in a tournament and can figure heavily into strategy if they come in play at the end of the tournament. Your options for the endplay become more diverse if you consider all these aspects of the bonus plays.
 
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I would like to add in Spanish 21 end play, if you need a multicard bonus to move on, once you miss that 1st draw you are continuing to draw for a larger bonus with each additional card until you reach 3:1 bonus or bust. It doesn't matter what your total is you will have the same shot at hitting the bonus, 1/12. So if you need that bonus payout keep drawing for it.
 
Good thing to remember for those emergency situations. It could be worth a study in order to determine when it's best to go for a 2:1 bonus vs doubling (I suspect that doubling would be better in virtually every case) or a 3:1 bonus vs splitting and doubling (once again, I suspect that the latter would be better almost all of the time).

I almost balked at the /12 in your post, but then remembered about the spanish deck!
If you have a total of 11, then you have a 3/12 or 1/4 chance of hitting the bonus on your next card.
Otherwise for totals of 10 and 12 through 20, you have a 1/12 chance of hitting it on the next card.
The chances of hitting it in general from these totals will be slightly higher, since one could hit more than once in order to make it.
 
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