Spanish 21's chart is its own document — about a dozen plays differ from standard 6-deck blackjack . Five of them you'll see every session.
The big shifts:
1. Hit 16 vs dealer 7+. Standard blackjack stands on 16 vs 7-A as a defensive move. Spanish 21 has late for free, so use it instead. If isn't available: hit, because fewer 10s mean lower bust risk and the bonus 21s reward you for extra cards.
2. Don't double 11 vs Ace. In regular 6-deck blackjack the call is borderline; in Spanish 21 the missing 10s drop your draw-to-21 probability enough that doubling becomes negative-EV. Just hit.
3. 8-8 even more aggressively. The redouble-after- rule and the bonus 21s make 8-8 splits more valuable than in standard blackjack. against any dealer card.
4. Hit soft 18 vs 9, 10, or A. Same as standard, but the threshold for what counts as a "good enough" shifts because draw cards are less likely to over-shoot.
5. Always take late on hard 14-16 vs dealer 10 or A. With free and bust rates higher on these hands, it's the cheapest play.
The full Spanish 21 chart lives in /reference once it ships; until then, practice in /train/spanish-21 and observe the trainer's "correct play" feedback.