Spanish 21 vs BJ

On this site it states that Spanish 21 has a house advantage .40 %, the best BJ game I can find has a .59 % house advantage. Everything I have read, says stay away from Spanish, but w/ a lower house edge could it be a better game ?

Quote: DonPedro

On this site it states that Spanish 21 has a house advantage .40 %, the best BJ game I can find has a .59 % house advantage. Everything I have read, says stay away from Spanish, but w/ a lower house edge could it be a better game ?

If you play it like regular blackjack, you'll get killed, but if you take the time to learn the proper Basic Strategy for Spanish 21, it can be a very good game to play.

Quote: DonPedro

Everything I have read, says stay away from Spanish, but w/ a lower house edge could it be a better game ?

The advice to Stay Away From Spanish-21 is a simplistic rule aimed at the half-snockered tourist who barely knows how to play 21 and doesn't know anything about how to play Spanish-21.

If you take the time and effort to learn the rules of Spanish-21 and learn the Basic Strategy that is unique to Spanish-21, then you should indeed be fine with it. The casinos probably prefer the half drunk and slightly ignorant tourists as players.

This site lists several BJ games with advantages lower than .59%. Only the very best version of spanish 21 has a .40% house advantage. If you're basing the BJ advantage on what you can actually find to play, then you should do the same with the spanish 21 game - make sure your casino allows redoubling, otherwise the advantage on spanish 21 jumps to about .8%.

I think many BJ and BJ-variant players adopt limitations. I know I play a simplified Basic Strategy because it is easy to remember. Its entirely possible that many casinos offer better games than I play, but why should I search for the best game that relies on Splits and DoubleDowns and Early Surrenders and other things that I neither understand properly nor can correctly remember.

It may just be that a good many tourists who encounter a casino game have similarly limited views. I realize its not rocket science but for me it might as well be rocket science. And counting cards? 52 per deck, 8 decks .... I'll let you know tomorrow what that works out to.

Now for those sharp enough to know all this house-edge stuff and able to play in the High Limit rooms where the best tables are often located, the ultimate lowest house edge in town is a reasonable goal.

S21 is a fun game however really learn the rules well. I don't play as much as I used to but often you will find dealers are not sure of the rules and you can get short paid on hands.