Spanish 21 looks like blackjack with extra rules tacked on. It's really a different game.
The headline change: all four 10s are removed from each deck. A "Spanish deck" has 48 cards (no 10s — just J, Q, K as the value-10 cards). That's a player-hurting change worth about 2% of .
The game compensates with player-friendly rules: late , double after , redouble, hit/double aces, and a stack of bonus payouts for specific 21s. Net with optimal play: about 0.4% — actually lower than 6-deck H17 blackjack.
Spanish 21 is what blackjack would look like if the casino tried to sell more excitement and the math still worked out.
Key points
✓Spanish deck: 48 cards, no 10s (J/Q/K remain)
✓Removing 10s alone costs the player ~2% edge
✓Player-friendly rules + bonus payouts recover that and then some
✓Optimal-play house edge: ~0.4% — beats standard blackjack
✓Strategy chart is different — you'll hit harder than in regular blackjack