Spanish 21 (SP21) is popular in the Pacific Northwest, arguably more so than the standard mediocre blackjack offerings in the same card rooms/mini-casinos. I find myself wondering why and then thinking about the other blackjack variants being introduced and their potential. I view SP21 as a successful blackjack variant as it has stood the test of time and it is not at all unusual to find more players at SP21 than the real thing at the adjacent table. Why? Interestingly, I think part of it has nothing whatsoever to so with SP21. I believe a big part of its appeal is the silly Match the Dealer side bet! Many ploppies seem more interested in the side bet than their SP21 hand! I believe that even though the house advantage ("house edge") for SP21 is lower than that for blackjack, the typical ploppy probably plays at a bigger disadvantage at SP21 than they do at blackjack simply because basic strategy is much more complicated. Yet they play anyway, presumably for the side bet.