First card of hand revealed at Spanish 21

I was sitting at first base playing Spanish 21 when the dealer hit on a Soft 17 (she is supposed to stay at our casino). She pulled an 8 before the players stopped her. Supervisor called over, who told her to put the 8 back (tucked under the shoe).

I was a little surprised... I now knew I was going to get an 8. I asked her if I was going to get the 8, she seemed surprised that I would ask, and mentioned something about "not changing the order of the cards".

So i thought for a bit and increased my bet a little (count was slightly positive). This may have been a mistake, but I ended up pushing.

Do we know the value of the initial cards in Spanish21? I know the 8 is slightly negative in BJ, and thoughts on the effects S21 have on initial cards?

You're correct that being dealt an 8 in BJ is negative (not slightly though—almost -10%), but why would it then be positive in Spanish?

You should have decreased your bet. If you get a 9 or 10 with your 8 you have a below average blackjack hand, if not you are either hoping for a bust or drawing again. If you get a 2 or 3 against a good card you can double, but this certainly is a negative expectation situation. If I saw a 10 or A completely different story, I'd shove in the stack.

For some reason when I was on the spot, I thought the 8 was not as bad as it turns out to be. I too would have bet it all on a 10 or A, although the table max was really low ($100 or $200?)