Blackjack Spanish 21 and Blackjack Games in Preference Order

Card counting or not, everything being equal, these are my Spanish 21 and Blackjack games in the preference order:

1. S17 Spanish 21
2. S17 Blackjack
3. H17 Blackjack
4. H17 Spanish 21

What's your? Would you share?

 

I don't play Spanish 21, so I will answer as to regular blackjack. Obviously all things being equal, as you stated, meaning same rules, same number of decks, same penetration, it is a no brainer that S17 is the better game, lopping .21 off the house advantage. (it is actually more than that for a card counter when figuring win rate, because there is a whole shift, requiring more hands played at the poorer counts to get to the break even and +EV hands, which will be fewer, but let's forget that for a minute.

What I really wanted to comment on is that at some casinos, the "best" game, is the one they hawk or watch closely. Often this involves a double deck game being hawked closely (notorious here in Vegas) while a pretty decent 6 deck game right at the next table you can spread wildly with little consequence. For me, everything considered, including heat and backoffs, the 6 deck game would be superior opportunity.

I have even seen one where it is the 6 deck game, with very mediocre 75% penetration being watched closely, while the 8 deck game at the next table, with only 1 deck cut off, you can do as you please.

And probably the most extreme case is 6:5 blackjack. I used to play one casino that would back players off spreading 1-4 or 1-5 at a 6 decks 3:2 game, but the 6:5 game a couple tables down, you could spread table minimum to table max ($1000), with absolutely no heat. I guess the thought process was no one can beat 6:5, when of course you can. It takes a great deal of discipline, is an incredibly slow grind with a mountain of variance, but if you have the bankroll, it is really all about the hourly EV, which in the long run will turn into win rate.

 

I know you ply your card counting trade in Las Vegas, where Spanish 21 is hard to find. But if you come to the East Coast, S17 Spanish 21 could be the only playable/countable game left for card counters who want decent deck penetrations, treasure the unhindered freedom to vary bets at whim, and find hawking by the pit bosses annoying.

 

It cracks me up that so many people label me nothing but a Las Vegas card counter. From mid March until last week I have done nothing but travel. California, Arizona, Colorado. 3 Gulf Coast states, 4 Midwest states and 4 states back east including 2 separate trips to Pennsylvania. In fairness, most of that was a specific, very lucrative electronic BJ play that my brother and I were working on until it ended, but I did get in some table (felt blackjack) play in in several Gulf Coast states and all the East Coast states, including many days at PA casinos.

So I am not the one trick pony you think and am well aware of Spanish 21 opportunities. One of my AP friends plays mostly Spanish 21 and has for more than a decade.

It is just I am primarily, not exclusively, but primarily a regular blackjack card counter. That is what I do and have successfully done for 20 years.

So seriously, enjoy your spanish 21, if that is your game. Nothing wrong with that. Win money. That is the name if the game

 

Yawn. Idiot.

 

Sorry, since you have 20 years of Blackjack card counting career behind you already, you might have considered any notion that S 17 Spanish 21 is a better game as a personal insult. Be assure, you are not alone. After all, ONE-TRICK BLACJKACK CARD COUNTING PONIES have overstayed in Las Vegas, Gulf Coast, East Coast, Atlantic City, the middle America and the internet space.

 

On the contrary, if you just got started as a newbie in casino, and looking to have a 20 years of fun card counting career ahead of you, DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY in learning from passé card counting gurus about a not-so-good game called Blackjack. Take it from Moraine -- a Blackjack dropout -- S17 Spanish 21 is the game of INTELLIGENT choice.

 

I don't know what your definition of newbie or just getting started is, but my younger brother started his AP blackjack card counting career about 8 years ago, just after graduating college. He also lives and plays primarily, not exclusively, but primarily Las Vegas and is doing quite well.

Again, I say to you, if Spanish 21 is your game...great. I sincerely wish you well and hope you kill the casinos as I do most people. But the notion that card counting regular blackjack is dead is just a fallacy. It is the same as it has been for quite a while. Conditions deteriorate a bit and improve occasionally as well. Here in Las Vegas that improvement has been less CSM over the past few years (I would say post covid). But basically it is the same game, same math as 15 years ago. It is just now with so many more AP options, there are very few players interested in grinding to a 1% advantage with fairly high variance. And that is absolutely fine. More for me.

 

Spanish 21 is a good game for any card counters to learn -- not only for newbies, also for veterans as well -- you and your brother are included. But all must realize that Spanish 21 is more intricated than Blackjack.
Just by comparing the basic strategy for Spanish 21 and the basic strategy for blackjack, you can tell that playing Spanish 21 requires a higher level intelligence than that for playing blackjack.
But this is your reward for learning Spanish 21 Basic Strategy: Once you have learned the Basic Strategy, card counting Spanish 21 actually is much easier than card counting blackjack from then on. How so? Like to know?

 

I read Katrina Walker's Guide to Spanish 21 so I have a good understanding of counting Spanish 21.

I am just not looking to expand my advantage play to another table game. I am trying to expand into other areas both inside and out of a casino away from table games and those interactions with pit personal.

 

Katrina Walker's book on Spanish 21 contains a wealth of information. It is a very good book for theoretically oriented readers. But unfortunately, Katrina targeted on the readers who used Hi-Lo card counting system for blackjack already, which in my view is inherently incompatible with Spanish 21, and makes card counting Spanish 21 unnecessarily difficult.

 

If you have any doubt regarding the correctness of the statement that Hi-Lo and Spanish 21 are inherently incompatible, just consider the following facts:
1. Hi-Lo assigns point values 0, 0, and 0, respectively, to the three middle cards 7, 8, and 9 for card counting H17 Spanish 21.
2. The EOR (Effect of Removal) for card 7, 8 and 9, however, is +0.4, -0.21 and -0.17 -- NOT 0, 0 and 0.
3. +0.4 -0.21 - 0.17 = -0.34, WHICH IS TOO BIG TO BE IGNORED.
Conclusion: Hi-LO suitability for card counting Spanish 21 highly questionable.

 

Additionally, Hi-Lo in blackjack is a "Balanced Card Counting System", which means the running count starts with 0, and ends with 0.
But when Hi-lo is used for counting Spanish 21, it becomes an UNBALANCED system that counters start out with -4 x the number of decks used to start a Spanish 21 shoe -- -32 for 8-deck and -24 for 6-deck shoe.
What an unneeded hassle!

 

Games Smart People Play in Casino
In casino, as a rule, the easier the game, the bigger the casino advantage. If you had asked me some 20 years back, what should a smart player play in casinos, I would have answered without a doubt: blackjack. But that answer is no longer correct. The correct answer today should be Spanish 21. The reason is simple: Spanish 21 is harder and requires more skill than blackjack.

 

One simple example showing Spanish 21 is a better game than blackjack:
A-A vs. Dealer's A.
You may habitually the split the aces since the book tell you so.
Moraine would say: watch out for double troubles in blackjack when the count is negative. But when you are playing Spanish 21, getting A-A is always good against any hand, dealer's Ace included!!!
What do you think?