Specifically, players in Free Bet Blackjack can double-down on 2 card scores of 9, 10, or 11 at no additional cost. The bet will be covered by the house and winning hands will be paid back their original wager plus winnings equal to double that wager. All other results are the same as in regular blackjack.

Free Bet Blackjack Odds
Free Bet Blackjack Game
Free Bet Blackjack Vs Regular Blackjack Rules

Basic strategy simulations are running at a 0.64% house edge, vs. My calculated optimal strategy 0.625%. Ok, here’s why the game is crazy. The game is called “Free Bet” Blackjack, because you get free doubles on any hard 9, 10, or 11, and free splits on all pairs except 10’s and 4’s.
Feb 23, 2012 They only take the additional 0.25c when the bet loses. Also the bet will pay even money if a Blackjack comes up. Now I also have a good friend who works at the same casino and he was thinking of running the promotion with a slight variation. Any bets $5 and under require you to pay a 0.25c commisiion regardless if it wins or loses.

Spanish 21 is based on blackjack, but the rules are so different that it’s often considered a separate game. Unlike many older casino games, Spanish 21 is a trademarked game from a specific company—Masque Publishing Inc. Casinos which offer Spanish 21 pay royalties to Masque Publishing Inc. in exchange for being allowed to offer the game.

Spanish 21 also features favorable odds for players who are willing to learn the differences between it and standard blackjack games. This post examines the differences between “regular old” blackjack and Spanish 21. Once you’ve read this post, you’ll be able to make an educated decision about whether you’d prefer to stick with standard blackjack (which you’re probably more familiar with) or learn to play Spanish 21 (which usually offers better odds for the players.)

The Spanish Deck

The first and possibly most important difference between standard blackjack and Spanish 21 is the use of a “Spanish” deck of cards. This is just a standard 52 card deck with the 10s removed—not the face cards, which are also worth 10, but only the cards with the number 10 on them.

If you’ve read some of my previous posts about card counting, you probably know that a deck rich in aces and 10s is more likely to produce a blackjack. If you were counting cards using the Hi Lo System, which counts aces and 10s as -1, you’d be starting with a count of -4. As the Dude (from The Big Lebowski) would say, “That’s a bummer, man.”

The reason the 10s and aces are so important is because they make it more likely to be dealt a blackjack (or a “natural”). A blackjack is a 2-card hand with a total of 21. The only way to get a 2-card hand totaling 21 is to get an ace and a 10. Fewer 10s in the deck result in a lower probability of getting a natural.

Why is a natural so important?

That one’s easy—a natural (or blackjack) pays off at 3 to 2 instead of at even money. Most bets in blackjack pay off at even money if you win. For example, if you bet $100 and win, your winnings are in the amount of $100.

A 3 to 2 payoff on a $100 bet, though, is $150.

If the only difference between Spanish 21 and regular blackjack was the use of a Spanish deck, Spanish 21 would be a clearly inferior game.

Luckily, that’s not the only difference.

Favorable Player Rules

If you’ve read any of my other blackjack posts, you probably already realize that specific rules and game conditions in blackjack games result in better or worse odds for the player. For the most part, any game condition or house rule that allows the player more flexibility results in a lower house edge. (That’s a fancy word for the mathematical advantage the casino has over the player.)

For Example

In some blackjack games, you can split aces once, but if you get another ace afterward, you can’t re-split. In other games, you can re-split aces every time you get them. It doesn’t take a logic professor to realize that the 2nd option is better for the player.

In Spanish 21, a whole plethora of new rules compensates (and then some) for the Spanish deck. Of course, house rules vary from one casino to another.

For Example

In Spanish 21, the player has the option to surrender. (Many blackjack games allow surrender, but not all of them.) To surrender, you simply forfeit half your bet. It’s like folding in poker, because you give up any chance to continue in the hand. It’s impossible to win if you don’t play, but in some situations, the expected mathematical value of giving up half your bet is better than risking your entire bet.

In some rare blackjack games, “early surrender” is an option. This is not the case in Spanish 21. “Late surrender” is the order of the day. This means that you can decide to surrender only after the dealer has checked to see if she has a blackjack. If she does, you can’t surrender, because you automatically lose. (Yes, if you push—or tie—the dealer, you don’t automatically lose. But you’d never surrender if you had a total of 21 anyway, so the point is moot.)

Also, in Spanish 21, you’re allowed to double down after splitting. It’s easy to see why this rule is so favorable to the player. For example, if you’re dealt 2 aces, you’d want to split. Now you have 2 opportunities to get a blackjack and the corresponding 3 to 2 payoff. Naturally, you’d want the opportunity to double your bet and take one (and exactly one) card. And that’s the opportunity that being able to double down after splitting offers you.

In most blackjack games, doubling after splitting is NOT allowed.

You’re also allowed to re-split aces in Spanish 21. In most blackjack games, you can split aces, but you don’t get to re-split if you get another ace. It’s hard to overstate how important those aces are, by the way. That’s one of the 2 ranks you need to get that 3 to 2 payoff. And even though a Spanish deck only has 12 cards worth 10 points in it (instead of 16), there are still more cards worth 10 points than any other value.

Earlier, I mentioned tying the dealer if you have a total of 21. That’s actually only how it works in regular blackjack games, because in Spanish 21, ANY player total of 21 wins automatically—regardless of the dealer’s hand. This is a huge difference in favor of the player.

Also, in a standard blackjack game, a player natural versus a dealer natural results in a push (or a tie). But that’s not the case in Spanish 21. A player blackjack always beats a dealer blackjack in Spanish 21.

Note:

In most blackjack games, you’re only allowed to double down on your first 2 cards. In Spanish 21, you can double down on any number of cards.

It’s easy to see why this would be favorable to a player. Suppose you’re dealt a 3 and 4 for a total of 7 on your first 2 cards. You take a hit and get another 4—now you have a total of 11. Naturally, you’d want to double down on a total of 11, even if it was made up of 3 cards.

These situations where the favorable rules come into play, by the way, don’t have to be common situations. There are enough of these situations to make a major mathematical difference in the game’s odds.

Spanish 21 even offers a spectacularly rare option called “double down rescue.” Basically, this is the option of being able to surrender AFTER doubling down. Instead of forfeiting half your original bet, you forfeit your original bet only. (When you double down, you put up another bet equal to your first bet.)

Note:

Spanish 21 also offers a variety of bonus payouts for various hands.

A 5-card hand totaling 21 pays off at 3 to 2, just like a natural would. A 6-card hand totaling 21 pays off at 2 to 1. A 7-card hand totaling 21 is clearly rare, but it pays off at a whopping 3 to 1. (And yes, it’s possible to have a total of 21 with more than 7 cards in your hand. Such hands also pay off at 3 to 1.)

Those aren’t the only hands with bonus payouts, though. If you have a hand with a 6, 7, and 8, or a hand with 7, 7, 7, you get a 3 to 2 payoff. (Both those hands total 21, by the way.) If those hands are made suited, you get a 2 to 1 payoff instead. AND, if you get one of those hands in the suit of spades, you get a 3 to 1 payoff instead.

You even get a shot at some payoffs that are large enough to qualify as “jackpots” in my book. The trigger for this is a suited 7, 7, 7, but the big payoff only happens when the dealer also has a 7 showing face-up. But when it pays off, it pays off big. If you bet less than $25, the payoff is $1000 in this situation. If you bet

Free Bet Blackjack Vs Regular Blackjack