Pontoon
Pontoon is a popular variant of Blackjack. Sometimes it is confused with another Blackjack variant of the same name which is played mostly in the UK and commonwealth nations. Pontoon has no official rules, and the rules used vary from casino to casino.
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Rules of Pontoon
The table layout in Pontoon is same as that of Blackjack, even the basic structure of the game is pretty much similar to Blackjack. The main objective is to have the face value of cards sum up to 21, or greater than the sum of the dealer’s cards. If the sum is over 21, then you bust and lose. If the player has a hand of 21, having an ace and another card valued 10, then it is said to be a pontoon. A punter’s pontoon always beats a dealer’s pontoon.
For playing Pontoon, six or eight decks are used which do not have the ten hole cards. Cards from number 2 to 9 are valued as per their numbers. All the face cards hold a value of 10 and aces are valued at 1 or 11, whichever is better for the hand.
An ace in hand before doubling is always treated as one. So if a player has a sum of 18 with an ace and one card with a value of seven, and the player decides to double on this hand, then the player is basically doubling on a hand of 8. For this reason, it is not advisable to double on soft hands. Compared to Spanish 21, there is a limitation on the number of hands a player is allowed to split to. Certain casinos do not permit re-splitting. Most casinos do not allow you to re-split aces.
If you get a natural 21, then you win the bet irrespective of what the dealer gets. This is not possible in Traditional Blackjack or Spanish 21.The decisions about hitting, doubling, splitting, and standing are pretty much the same as in Blackjack. It is possible for you to lose multiple bets while splitting or doubling.
Splitting up on a pair of aces will lead you to get only one card per ace. You are allowed to surrender only if the dealer has an ace or a face card, and if the dealer draws a natural 21, then you end up losing your bet. If the dealer has a soft 17, which means if he has an ace in his sum of 17 then he can hit again.
Strategy
Even though a lot of additional rules in Pontoon work to the player’s disadvantage, the fact that there are no hole cards is profoundly in favor of the player. The strategy is pretty much similar to that when you are playing Spanish 21. But, the no hole-card rule introduces some crucial differences.
It is always recommended for a player to stand if they have a total of 15 or more because there are seven cards which will push the total over 21, but only 4 that will help the hand.
The 5-card trick is quite beneficial in Pontoon as it allows players to win over a 3 or a 4 card 21. Let us say that your total is 15 for four cards. So there are 7 cards which can bust you and 5 which will help you. Though the odds are slightly against you, it is advised that you always double if your 4 card sum is 16 or less and hit if it is 17. If it’s more than that, it would be a good idea to stand.
Doubling is a method which should be used carefully. It is a gambling game and you are bound to lose at times. But there will be times when you will get a strong hand and will be confident of winning. In such cases, make sure that you double your bets in order to get the biggest payout possible.
Variants
As the game is hugely popular in Australia and the rules vary from casino to casino, you will find a few different versions of Pontoon being played in different parts of Australia.
In Tasmania, the version of Pontoon played is called the Federal Pontoon, as both the casinos in Tasmania are owned by the Federal Group. In this version, 8 decks are used and cards are dealt from a shoe. Unlike in most other casinos, re-splitting is allowed up to 3 hands except for a pair of aces. BB+1 rule is followed which means that a player will lose only their original bet regardless of split hands.
Jupiters 21 is another version in which only 4 decks are dealt using a shuffling machine. No re-splits are allowed in this variant. Pontoon is called Treasury 21 in Brisbane, with the only difference being the number of decks used, which is 6.
Other variants of Blackjack include Double Attack Blackjack, Blackjack Switch, Double Exposure Blackjack, and Spanish 21