Once the initial two-card hands are dealt, if the dealer is showing an Ace or face card, he peeks underneath the hole card to check for a blackjack, before playing actually commences.

This is because the player is allowed to double down for less than the original bet. The dealer takes the original bet, and the player retains the double portion of the bet.

Players can surrender after doubling (sometimes called forfeit, double-down rescue, or concede).

This type of surrender is known as a 'late surrender' (LS).

In most venues, if the dealer does not have blackjack, players may surrender, and get half their bet back in exchange for relinquishing the right to play on.

Players can split to a maximum of four hands, even on aces.Doubling after splitting (DAS) is always permitted, and, in most venues, players are allowed to draw as many cards as they wish after splitting aces, or may double down after receiving second or subsequent cards. Hitting, standing, and splitting all follow similar rules to blackjack.The house edge on the insurance is 24.7%, one of the worst of any wager in a casino. Therefore, for insurance to be an even bet, it would have to pay 3:1, not 2:1. As 3 cards in 12 are worth ten, the chance of the dealer getting a blackjack when showing an Ace is only 25%. Insurance is paid 2:1, just like in blackjack, despite the fact that there are four fewer ten-valued cards per deck.Blackjack (a natural total of 21 on the first two cards) always wins, and is always paid 3:2 regardless of whether or not the dealer has a blackjack.Hitting soft 17 (S17) negatively impacts the player that rule increased the house edge by 0.40%. In some venues, the dealer hits on a soft 17 (abbreviated as S17), though most venues have the dealer stand on soft 17 (S17). Like traditional blackjack, the dealer hits on 16 and stands on 17.All cards have the same values as in blackjack. Spanish 21 is played with 48-card Spanish decks, although standard French suited 52-card decks are used with the 4 ten-spot cards removed. The game is played with six or eight decks dealt from a shoe, or from a continuous shuffling machine (CSM).Spanish 21 is played on a blackjack table with a custom layout and uses the following rules: In Australia and Malaysia, an unlicensed version of the game, with no dealer hole card and significant rule differences, is played in casinos under the name ' Pontoon'. Unlicensed, but equivalent, versions may be called Spanish blackjack. Spanish 21 is a blackjack variant owned by Masque Publishing Inc., a gaming publishing company based in Colorado.

Blackjack no surrender odds