KO Counter: Spanish 21 matchplay coupon - sucker bet?

[KO Counter]

I am casual blackjack counter. I know Spanish 21 is the worse game in the house. But I have a lot of $25 match play coupons for Spanish 21, which I print from the casino's website. Now the question is: if everytime I come to the casino and play only ONE hand with the match play coupon, in a long run, would I come out ahead? In other words, would I have a mathematical advantage over the house in the long run? Because after all, I get paid 2:1, which is better than a hand of blackjack in a blackjack game.

Another question if you would kindly address for me. The scenarios is: if I bring 50 units ($250) to a 6 decks game with 70% penet, dd on any 2 cards even after split, spread 1-8 and exit the table when I am up 20 units ($100); roughly, what is my risk of ruin?

Please indulge me, because here's my final question. Is better for me to spread to 2 hands (5 units each) if the count reaches a pivot point or should I stay with one hand of 8 units?

Thank guys

[Parker]

> I am casual blackjack counter. I know
> Spanish 21 is the worse game in the house.

Not even close. SuperFun 21 is worse and 6:5 single deck is much worse. Spanish 21 has an off-the-top house edge of around .83% (that's with h17), which makes it about like a conventional 8 deck shoe game with really bad rules.

> But I have a lot of $25 match play coupons
> for Spanish 21, which I print from the
> casino's website. Now the question is: if
> everytime I come to the casino and play only
> ONE hand with the match play coupon, in a
> long run, would I come out ahead? In other
> words, would I have a mathematical advantage
> over the house in the long run? Because
> after all, I get paid 2:1, which is better
> than a hand of blackjack in a blackjack
> game.

Absolutely -- you would have a large positive expectation. The trick is to only play with the matchplay coupons, avoiding the temptation to sit down and play a few more hands.

> Another question if you would kindly address
> for me. The scenarios is: if I bring 50
> units ($250) to a 6 decks game with 70%
> penet, dd on any 2 cards even after split,
> spread 1-8 and exit the table when I am up
> 20 units ($100); roughly, what is my risk of
> ruin?

I will leave it to the math gurus to crunch an exact number, but I would guess that with the conservative spread, lousy game (70% pen sucks), and the fact that you're only bringing 6 max bets to the table, it is going to be quite high.

> Please indulge me, because here's my final
> question. Is better for me to spread to 2
> hands (5 units each) if the count reaches a
> pivot point or should I stay with one hand
> of 8 units?

It is better to spread to two hands of 6 units, providing that there are other players at the table. There is a thread on this very topic elsewhere on the page, to which I have provided a link below.

multiple hands

[V-man]

There are some good SP21 games such as you can double after double, and S17 SP21 that brings the house edge down to something like .40+%. However, SP21 BS is hard to remember and you need special counting systems, and even with special counting systems, it's only worth wonging. But definitely with coupons, I would say it's worth a lot.
Where can you get the coupons?

[Bettie]

> There are some good SP21 games such as you
> can double after double, and S17 SP21 that
> brings the house edge down to something like
> .40+%.

I fondly remember playing a Spanish 21 game with S17 in the Midwest when it was first introduced, and the crap we got from the other players, who foolishly played it like it was blackjack, would sometimes be too much. Invariably, there would always be "words." Still, I loved the ego trip I got knowing that I was soooo much smarter than everyone else there! I would just get really annoyed (read: pissed) when these idiots kept winning!

The game was later switched to H17, at which point, we stopped playing. Venetian had S17 for awhile, too, but their customers were a little classier, though still played like it was blackjack.

Playing your matchplay on Spanish 21 is really no different than playing one on a CSM or SuperFun 21 table. You play it; you leave. The advantage is in the coupon, not in the rules, so the rules can take a backseat, if necessary.

Bettie