Pontoon Blackjack

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1. Pontoon Blackjack Crossword Clue
2. Pontoon Blackjack
3. What Is Pontoon Blackjack

Pontoon has many features in common with a traditional American blackjack though it can show you some specific rules and conditions to gamble it of course: today Pontoon can be easily found in all online casinos, and the object of this blackjack variation stays the same: to beat a dealer without exceeding 21 points. Blackjack, formerly also Black Jack and Vingt-Un, is the American member of a global family of banking games known as Twenty-One, whose relatives include the British game of Pontoon and the European game, Vingt-et-Un. It is a comparing card game between one or more players and a dealer, where each player in turn competes against the dealer. Instead of “blackjack”, in British pontoon, the natural 21 is referred to as “pontoon”. A five-card trick is an important hand in the game. The trick is a five-card hand which doesn’t bust, and this hand pays out at 21, making it an exciting proposition any time you have 4 cards and haven’t busted.

For those of you who think a pontoon is nothing more than a haphazardly constructed party boat that has a better than average chance of resulting in the revelers suffering third degree burns as a result of an electrical fire, think again, it is also a variation of the game of Blackjack!

Pontoon is almost different enough from Blackjack that it could rightfully be considered its own game, however, I will defer to the majority of websites out there that consider it a Blackjack variation. In fact, Pontoon itself comes with quite a few rule changes and variations about which we may do a page in the future, but for the time being, we will take a look at the version of Pontoon that is powered by Microgaming software as well as by many other online casino software companies.

The first rule variation that is a major enticement to players is that any five-card hand or a pontoon (which is the same as a Natural) pays 2:1, with that being the case even if the player splits. In standard Blackjack, as most people know, a Natural pays 3:2, but if the player splits aces or tens and catches the opposite, then that is no longer considered a Natural and only counts as a twenty-one total.

The catch is that there is no dealer upcard, which leaves players essentially, ‘Playing in the dark,’ and moreover, the dealer wins on ties. The rules become increasingly complicated from there:

First of all, the player may stand on any total that is fifteen or more, or alternatively, on any hand which has a total of five cards regardless of the sum of the values. The player may also choose to double, however, the player may only make this decision once per hand, or alternatively, after splitting for each split hand. If the player decides to double, then the player may hit afterwards and is in fact required to if the sum of the hand is less than fifteen and the player does not yet have five cards.

After this has been completed, the dealer will reveal both of his or her cards and will continue to hit until he or she has a hand total of seventeen, or more, while hitting on soft seventeens. Alternatively, the dealer may stop hitting when he or she ends up with a total of five cards. The dealer’s hand is compared to the player’s hand, and the player loses all ties, moreover, a player who busts, of course, automatically loses. In addition to the Pontoon, a player who wins with a five-card hand will also be paid 2:1 while all other wins will be paid even money.

While Blackjack can rightfully be considered a somewhat, ‘Mechanical,’ game given that a player plays according to an Optimal Strategy based on what he or she may have against the dealer’s upcard, it can rightfully be said that Pontoon is even more mechanical because there is no dealer upcard against which a player makes his or her decisions. To wit, in the game of Pontoon, a player simply plays according to the cards that were dealt to him or her.

However, Pontoon can definitely be a fun variation on Blackjack for those who have never played it before, and one has got to love the low house edge, (particularly on the Playtech version) but with that being said, it can quickly become somewhat tedious for many people due to how mechanical in nature the game can become.

Furthermore, due to the low variance as well as the low house edge, Pontoon is often excluded from counting towards the Wagering Requirements when playing a casino bonus, or alternatively, the playthrough requirements might be similar to those on Blackjack games available at an online casino.

With all of that said, for a player who has never played Pontoon before, it is definitely a variation that we would encourage all players who enjoy Blackjack to try at least once, as it is possibly one of the most unique variations out there.

Software Providers that have Pontoon

Other Online Blackjack Variations

Two entirely different blackjack variants are known as Pontoon and this can be confusing for players. One can be played at Internet casinos on a number of software including Realtime Gaming, Playtech, Microgaming, Cryptologic and Galewind Software. The other, following the initial rise of its popularity being in England, derives it names from being a British version of the common Blackjack card game.

Instead of “blackjack”, in British pontoon, the natural 21 is referred to as “pontoon”. A five-card trick is an important hand in the game. The trick is a five-card hand which doesn’t bust, and this hand pays out at 21, making it an exciting proposition any time you have 4 cards and haven’t busted.

Pontoon Blackjack Crossword Clue

OBJECTIVES

The fundamental goal for each player is to form a hand with a total value that is close to 21 or 21, without going above 21. One player is selected as the banker in a home game. At the casino, the dealer or banker is a well-qualified member of staff. The banker has an advantage, so the first banker is chosen by picking whoever cuts the highest card. In each hand, each of the other players bets on having a better hand than the banker.
• A Pontoon is the best hand of all. It refers to two cards with a total value of 21 – this can only consist of ace plus a picture card or ten.
• A Five Card Trick comes second to a Pontoon. It is a hand of five cards totaling 21 or less.
• At third place, is a hand of three or four cards worth 21 points. It beats everything else except a Pontoon or Five Card Trick.
• Hands with 20 or fewer points and fewer than five cards rank in order of their point value – the nearer to 21 the better.
• Holding a hand with more than 21 points is termed a bust and automatically loses the bet.

If the banker and a player have equally valued hands, then the banker wins.

SHOOT PONTOON

Shoot Pontoon refers to Pontoon that is modified by integrating the betting system of Shoot to the regular Pontoon betting. The popularity of Shoot and Shoot Pontoon can be traced back to the mid-1950s in Britain.

The dealer forms a kitty at the beginning of the game by putting in any amount of money. This amount should be within the agreed minimum and maximum limits. First, all the players bet on their first card. After that, beginning again with the player to dealer’s left, each gets a turn to make a shoot bet.

Shoot bets are separated from the regular bets placed by the players. They are placed between the player and the kitty. No player is ever forced to make a shoot bet. However, in the event that you do, the wager can be any amount you choose. Nonetheless, the total of all the shoot bets should not exceed what is in the kitty. Therefore, if the first player shoots half the kitty, the second player can shoot any amount up to half the kitty. Similarly, in the event the first player decides to shoot the whole kitty, the remaining players cannot place any shoot bets at all, for the time being.

Pontoon Blackjack

Following the placement of shoot bets, the every player is dealt a second card face down. If the dealer holds a Pontoon, it is required that all the shoot bets be added to the pot and the players each pay double their stake to the dealer. Here, the options accorded to each player are similar to normal Pontoon, but with some extra betting opportunities.

HINTS AND TIPS

What Is Pontoon Blackjack

The current popularity of Pontoon is linked to the fact that it offers big rewards at any point in the hand. A player can win the standard payout for a 21, but if that does not hit, an even bigger payout is offered. Learning basic strategy requires learning how to play three-card and four-card hands. This is because the incentive of the pontoon payout often leads novice players to take marginal hits. It is important to read and memorize a basic strategy chart before betting on this game. You could even take a printable chart with you to the casino.