Spanish blackjack (also called Spanish 21) is played with eight decks of cards — but not the standard deck of cards. In Spanish blackjack the 10s are removed, so the deck becomes a 48-card deck of cards. If you are accustomed to the standard 52-card deck, as most of us are, you will find Spanish 21 to be one of the more unusual games in the online casino.

Most of the rules of Spanish blackjack are similar to the regular blackjack rules. In Spanish blackjack, the dealer must hit on a soft 17. Blackjack (a two-card 21) beats a dealer 21 (of more than two cards) and, more uniquely, a player's 21 beats the dealer's 21 (that's beats, not pushes, an important Spanish blackjack rule). A blackjack pays 3 to 2. In Spanish blackjack, the player can double down, split and re-split; surrendering is also an option in Spanish blackjack. Spanish blackjack is considered an American hole card game in that the dealer can peek at his down card if his up card is a face card.

In theory, Spanish blackjack benefits the dealer, due to the 10s being taken out of the deck. But the game comes with built in bonuses for the player, which evens things out. In fact, the odds in Spanish blackjack are considered even better than in regular blackjack. There are special blackjack strategies that can help a Spanish blackjack player stay at the table even longer — many Spanish blackjack strategy charts can be found online in various Internet blackjack sites.

So what are some of these special payouts that help make Spanish blackjack particularly advantageous for the player? First of all a five-card 21 pays 3:2; a six-card 21 pays 2:1; and a seven-card 21 pays out 3:1.

Also unique is that an unsuited 6, 7, and 8, or a hand with three unsuited 7s, pays out 3:2. A "suited" version of those combinations pay out 2:1, and those combos in spades will pay out 3:1. In other words, Spanish blackjack — the game without the 10s — is a form of blackjack that always offers something special.