Double Double Down: A Popular Spanish 21 Rule

April 1, 2014 by

double-double-downIf you’re a fan of blackjack, then you’ve probably seen or played Spanish 21 at some point. Something that’s very interesting about the Double Double Down rule for this game is that you have the option to double, surrender or stand after doubling instead of being forced to stand. This isn’t something that most players ever really think about dealing with because it’s such an atypical rule, but there are some general strategies that you can use to play correctly most of the time.

Section-Based Double Double Down Strategies

The strategies you use after doubling in Spanish 21 will depend in your total and the dealer’s up card. In post-double situations, you’ll want to group your hard hands into two groups depending on whether you’re facing a weak dealer card of seven or less or if you’re facing a strong dealer card of eight or higher. Your default action against a weak card is to stand, and your default action against a strong card is to surrender. You will deviate from those default actions as follows.

If you have an 11 or lower against a weak card, then you’re always going to double again. On the other hand, you’ll only double against a strong card if you have a total of nine, ten or eleven. If you have a total of 17 or higher against a strong card, you will stand instead of surrendering. This covers most situations that you’ll see with hard hands.

Playing With Soft Hands

With soft hands, you’re going to always double again if you have 17 or less, and you’re always going to stand when you’re given 19 or higher. However, if you have 18, then it’s a bit more tricky because the particulars of your opponent’s hand matter more. In these scenarios with a soft 18 that you have already doubled, you should stand unless you have a dealer with a four, five or six up. If that is the case, then you’ll want to double instead because these are the three cards that give you a distinct advantage in this type of situation.

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