Spanish Blackjack, Spanish 21 or Pontoon?

Just for clarification; the game discussed in this article is known as Spanish Blackjack or Spanish 21. This is the name used in the United States. The same game is played in Australia and Malaysia but there this blackjack variation is known as Pontoon. Since the U.S also has a game known as Pontoon which is played quite differently, this has occasionally led to some slight confusion.

The Spanish Blackjack Deck

Spanish blackjack is played with a Spanish deck. The Spanish deck consists of 48 cards. Basically, the four 10s are left out of the deck. Since this reduces the player's chances of winning in blackjack considerably, the player is awarded with all sorts of perks which serve to compensate for this disadvantage. The perks include rules which favor the player very much, special wins for special hands (like triple 7s or a 6-7-8) and even awards for all players participating when a certain hand turns up (known as an "envy bonus"). These rules increase the Spanish blackjack player's odds so much that this game is the equivalent of regular blackjack and on certain occasions might even be considered better for the player than the classic blackjack game.

How to Play Spanish Blackjack

The following are some of the beneficial rules often seen in Spanish Blackjack:

A player 21 always wins.
A blackjack tie (player versus dealer) is settled in favor of the player.
A suited set of three 7s when the dealer has a 7 face up awards a big prize and all participants also get an envy bonus (the award usually is dependant on the bet size, but sums of 1000$ for a 5$ bet are quite standard).
Doubling is allowed at any number of cards (although doubling might forfeit certain other possible wins - like the envy bonus).
Players can surrender after doubling (they forfeit the original amount). This move is often known as "double down rescue".

Double Exposure Blackjack