Spanish Blackjack Strategy Card

March 20th, 2025

The biggest difference between regular (Vegas) blackjack and Spanish Blackjack is that the 10's are removed from the game. There are still Queens, Kings, and Jacks in the deck but all of the natural 10's are removed from the deck.

You might be thinking that removing all of the 10's from the deck would be a good thing for you and that it is easier to win than it would be in a game of blackjack, but this is not the case. The game is not quite that clear cut, if it was, everyone would be playing!

When you remove all of the 10's from the deck the house gains the advantage even more so. In fact, the advantage is increased by about 25%. Of course, additional modifications to the game bring the house advantage down to a more reasonable level. One of the best rules to take advantage of in the game of Pontoon blackjack is that the players 21 will always beat dealers 21.

In this game there is something known as a super bonus. This bonus can be received when the player holds three suited 7's and the dealer draws a 7 in any suit. Bets from $5 to $24 pay a super bonus of $1000 and bets from $25 and up pay a Super Bonus of $5000.

There is also something known as a bonus 21. This occurs when your cards equal 21. The payout will be dependent upon the cards that you used to create the 21. Payouts will range from 2:1 to 3:1.

As you can see, while the game limits you in terms of natural 10's there are some major bonuses. Of course, to get these bonuses you have to get lucky, but that is all part of the fun. The game is very fast paced so you will need to be able to think quickly to cash in.

Spanish Blackjack Strategy

You can see the strategy card for Spanish Blackjack to the left. In addition to the instructions that are listed, there are a couple other things that you need to be aware of:

1. If late surrender is allowed, you should Surrender if you have 16 or 17 and the dealer is showing an Ace.

2. Always Hit if you have: A possible 6-7-8 – including suited or spaded 6-7-8

3. 5-card 21 pays out 3 to 2; 6-card 21 pays out 2 to 1; 7-card 21 pays out 3 to 1. This means that there are some situations where you should Hit instead of Stand.

match-play-21-rules 3a. Hit if you already have 4 cards:
Player Hand 13 and Dealer shows 6
Player Hand 14 and Dealer shows 4
Player Hand 15 and Dealer shows 2
Player Has Soft 18 and Dealer shows 2, 3 or 8

3b. Hit if you already have 5 cards:
Player Hand 14 and Dealer shows 5
Player Hand 15 and Dealer shows 3

3c. Hit if you already have 6 cards:
Player Hand 14 and Dealer shows 6
Player Hand 15 and Dealer shows 4 or 5
Player Hand 16 and Dealer shows 2, 3 or 4
Player Hand 17 and Dealer shows 8, 9 or 10
Player Has Soft 18 and Dealer shows 7
Player Has Soft 19 and Dealer shows 10 or Ace