Microgaming's Gold series would not be complete without the Spanish Blackjack release, designed according to Spanish 21 set of rules with a touch of golden glamour. Played with eight decks, gold version is a single-hand, hole card game with a bonus paytable for relevant hand combinations which include 6s, 7s and 8s in a mixed or same suit.
In this variant, the dealer gets two cards, peeks for Blackjack and hits on soft 17. Between the dealer's and the player's 21 total or Blackjack hand, the player always wins. First time players of this variant will be pleasantly surprised by the possibility to surrender after doubling, double down after a split, separate different face cards and even re-split Aces – moves that are usually rather restricted in a regular blackjack version.
Bonus payout odds are offered for combinations of 5 to 7 cards with the total of 21 as well as for the 6-7-8 and 7-7-7 combos – depending on their suit. The bonuses cannot be applied after doubling down. Also, the highest value combination of suited triple 7 with the dealer's face up 7 card is not considered valid if it comes after a split.
Regular paytable - 1:1, 2:1, and 3:2 – is used for payments in Microgaming's Spanish Blackjack Gold, together with the bonus payout ratio. Five cards with the total of 21 are paid according to 3:2 odds. Combination of six cards with the same total is paid 2:1, while seven and more cards with the same final value have 3:1 ratio. For 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 mixed suit hand, the player gets 3:2 bet turnover. The same combination in suit carries 2:1 payment, or 3:1 when it comes in spades. Suited triple 7 with the equal denomination upcard is paid 50:1, or $50 for every $1 stake. The game's RTP is 99.51% with $1 to $1,000 stake range.
Just as in any other blackjack variant, low total hands (such as 5 to 9) should be followed up with a hit, regardless of the dealer's upcard. The same goes for a hand of five cards with 10 or 11 total and 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 upcard. Totals of 15 or 16 with the dealer's smaller card can easily lead to a bust and the player should stand, unless the dealer has 7 to A card. All 2s, 3s, 6s and 7s need to be split when the dealer has 2 to 7 card; Aces and eights are to be split without any exceptions.
If you are a Spanish Blackjack newbie, Microgaming release is probably the best place to start, primarily due to great graphics, transparent table layout and low minimum bet. Not to mention a great opportunity to get some diversity and try a completely different and a lot less limiting game of blackjack.