Pontoon Gambling
- Pontoon Hand Examples. In order to explain some of the points above, here are some examples: Let’s say you are dealt 3-4. You can now ‘buy’ as there is a 3 card in your hand. You can only ‘buy’ once per hand, so let’s say that gets you a 4, for a total of 11 points. You can and must ‘twist’ in hopes of a 10 to complete the.
- The best possible hand is called a “pontoon,” and consists of an ace and any ten point card. This can be made even after splitting your hands, so it is possible to get more than one on a single hand. The next best hand is a five-card trick, which is any five-card hand that hasn’t busted, regardless of value.
There are two completely different blackjack variants that carry the name Pontoon. The first one originated in UK and has quite similar rules to the regular blackjack. The second comes from Australia and has many unique rules and features (played without 10s, special payouts on various combinations on 21 and more).
Katarina Walker is the undisputed queen of Spanish 21 and Pontoon. I only had time to visit one casino during my trip to Australia in 2008, the Star City in Sydney. Kat's book and answers to my many e-mail were invaluable for knowing Pontoon rules in the rest of Australia. Pontoon boats can be ideal for casual recreation that includes lounge areas, stand up bars, sun pads, and even tables. Pontoon boats, like all other boats and even all other vehicles, can indeed come with their share of problems. In this article, we will go over the most common problems people experience with pontoon boats. Pontoon has a large number of fixed rules and conventions, but its prominence all over Australia has lead to a certain level of minor differences introduced by each state’s casinos, as detailed below: Federal Pontoon. Played in Tasmania in the Country Club Casino and Wrest Point Casino, the name is derived from the casino owners, the Federal.
Both versions can be played online: the British version kept the name Pontoon, while the Australian game called Spanish 21 or Match Play 21. Here we will focus on British Pontoon (If you were looking for the Aussie one, please check our Spanish 21 section).
Pontoon vs. Blackjack
Pontoon is thought to be the first form of Blackjack played. In today’s world, it is mainly played in Australian casinos and online. Obviously, it is a more popular game online since more people have access to it.
The game is played much the same as traditional Blackjack and the main target remains the same: to beat the dealer. However, there are some distinct rules that make it quite different.
Due to its unique set of rules and low house edge, this is one of the most popular variations of blackjack online and offline. It can be found at online casinos using RTG, MicroGaming, Cryptologic, Playtech and other major software companies. In terms of payouts, NetEnt offers the best winning odds with house edge of just 0.35%. US casino players can play real money Pontoon only in RTG casinos.
Free Pontoon Games
Reviews
Pontoon Rules
Boat Gambling In South Carolina
The goal remains the same, to beat the dealer, but the value of hands and the rules are a bit different.
- Pontoon is usually played with 6-8 regular decks of 52 cards.
- The best hand is Pontoon (blackjack), which means an Ace and 10 value card and it pays 2:1.
- Next inline, is a 5 card hand – referred as 5 Card Trick. Here the total value of your hand doesn’t matter as long as you didn’t bust (meaning 5 card hand of 15 beats dealers 20). Pays 2:1
- Last, all 2-4 card hands are ranked according to their regular value and pay 1:1.
- One big advantage of Pontoon vs Blackjack is that the player can twist (hit) after doubling.
- You can also double at any time, even when you already have 4 cards.
- To compensate for that, you cannot stand until you reached 15 or higher.
- Dealer wins all ties.
Game Comparison
Most of the games you can find online follow the common Pontoon rules, however there are some minor exceptions
- RTG (USA): RTG do not reveal the number of decks.
- Microgaming (British): Dealers stands on all 17s. Player cannot hit split Aces.
- BetSoft: Split only once, Sweet 16 side bet.
- NetEnt: Played with 6 decks. You can double only once per round.
- Games OS: Standard rules.
Odds
All Pontoon games online offer an expected return of 99.62%, except the NetEnt version, which stands above the rest with 99.65%. Notice that if you choose to use the Sweet 16 side bet that BetSoft offers, the odds there are lower than in the main game, 97.48%.
Actions
Player
The options you have are similar to regular blackjack, but they carry a different name: twist (hit), stick (stand) and buy (double).
Stand: One clear distinction between Pontoon and regular blackjack is that you can stand only if the total value of your cards is 15 or more (or if you have 5 cards).
Double: You can double at any point as long as you have 4 cards or less. You may only double once
Splitting: Any two cards of the same value may be split. You can split up to 2 times making for 3 total hands. A bet of equal amount to the original must be placed whenever a split is performed.
Aces may be split and doubling after splitting is Aces Is allowed.
Dealer
You will immediately notice some differences right from the start. In most Blackjack games, the dealers 2 cards are 1 up and one down. Here, both dealers’ cards are dealt face down. All players’ cards are dealt face up.
The dealer will peek at his cards to see if they have 21, or Pontoon. If the has, the hand is over and the dealer wins all bets. If not, the hand continues.
That’s the basics…Now you should now be proficient enough to start playing.
Blackjack Variations > Pontoon
In many cases, Pontoon is just another name for Spanish 21. In this case, we will only be referring to Pontoon, which originated from the UK.
Pontoon is played with standard 52-card decks, with anywhere from two to eight decks being used depending on the number of players involved. Its popularity has been increasing and been added to more and more offline and online casinos.
Before you continue, make sure you are familiar with the standard Blackjack rules in order to continue with the differences in here.
Pontoon Rules
Even though the ideal goal of the game is the same as that of standard Blackjack (reaching 21 worth in points, or beating the dealer in points value while not busting out) there are several additional rules to cover:
Some terminology is different, such as a “Hit” in Pontoon is called a “Twist” – “Stand” is called a “Stick” – “Double down” is called a “Buy” – and finally a “Blackjack” or a “21” is actually called a “Pontoon”, which are paid-out 2:1.
The dealer’s cards are both dealt face down – obviously taking away any advantage the players had in regards to odds.
The dealer waits for all players’ actions before even looking at his/her cards. So in the case that the player adds up to 21 against a natural 21 of the dealer, the player would actually beat it.
There is no “Push” in Pontoon; instead, players would lose any tied hands, except for the 21 situation mentioned in the above point.
If a player reaches up to a 5-card hand (5 cards in his/her position) without busting out, it would be considered an automatic win and paid-out 2:1.
Players can ‘buy’ on any 2, 3, 4 cards, and they may ‘twist’ after a ‘buy’. However, players can only ‘buy’ once per hand, and can only be ‘split’ up to 2 times.
Lastly, the dealer must ‘twist’ on 17 or lower, and players much ‘twist’ on 14 or lower.
How To Play Pontoon
As you can see, there is a good number of differences or additional rules to the game, but overall, it still has the same end goal.
Players make their bet, followed by the dealer dealing 2 cards per player (one by one to each) face-up and 2 cards for him/herself face down. The dealer does not look at his/her cards, not even to make sure there’s a ‘Pontoon’ there, instead, all players’ actions are taken care of first.
Once that is taken care of (any ‘splits’, ‘buys’ and ‘twists’), the dealer now looks at his/her cards to see if he/she should ‘twist’ or ‘stick’.
Whoever has a higher card, 21 or lower, wins – except in the case of a tie at 21, where it would be the only ties where players actually win the hand.
Pontoon Hand Examples
In order to explain some of the points above, here are some examples:
Let’s say you are dealt 3-4. You can now ‘buy’ as there is a 3 card in your hand. You can only ‘buy’ once per hand, so let’s say that gets you a 4, for a total of 11 points. You can and must ‘twist’ in hopes of a 10 to complete the ‘Pontoon.
Let’s say you are given 5-5, you can now ‘split’ it, meaning you bet the same amount and get 2 more cards for each 5. Let’s say you get the following 5-10 and a 5-5. The first hand of 5-10 you can either ‘twist’ in hopes to not bust out, or you can ‘stick’. The second hand you can ‘split’ one last time.
Pontoon Gambling Rules
Let’s say instead of getting the 5-5 you got a 5-9 (14 points) – you will automatically have to ‘twist’ as the rule specifies players must ‘twist’ on 14 or lower, just like dealers must ‘twist’ on anything 17 or lower.
The last hand example is getting a 3-4-2-4 (13 points so far) – seeing that you have to ‘twist’ and that you have now 4 cards in your possession, you simply need 1 more card without busting out to win automatically. Reaching 5 cards without going beyond 21 means an automatic win for you – unless the dealer ties (gets 5 cards dealt too regardless of the point value), in which case the player unfortunately loses.
All you need is some practice to get the hang of it, but once again, it is quite simple… just follow your blackjack background with some minor alterations.