.: Pontoon Casino Game Review

Pontoon is another low house blackjack game which can be found at most online casinos and some popular land based ones. Pontoon is a little more complex than your average blackjack game but beginners can still pick this one up very easy. Pontoon offers a 4-1 payout when you double your bet on any hand that ends up being a five card hand.

How to Play Pontoon
Once you have placed your initial wager you will receive two cards face up and the dealer will receive his two cards face down. The dealer will first check his hand for a Pontoon (blackjack) and if he has one you will lose your wager and start a new hand. If he doesn’t than the game will proceed as normal. You must hit up to 5 cards totalling 15 points even after doubling down. In Pontoon “hit” is known as “twist”. If you choose to double down you can do so on any 2,3,4 card hand but only once in that hand. After all players have completed their hands the dealer will have his chance to beat you. The dealer must draw to all hands up to 17 unless he has a soft 17 just like regular blackjack.

A few interesting notes about Pontoon

• All dealer unbusted 5 card hands will have the same value as a player’s 5 card hand meaning a push.
• None of the dealer cards are visible until the hand is complete.
• A 2-card 21 after splitting aces is treated as a pontoon (blackjack).

Splitting Hands
When you decide to split your hands in Pontoon you are able to split twice making three hands total. This option is only allowed on cards of equal rank. Pontoon also enables you to be able to double on your split hands. When splitting Aces a Pontoon pays out 2:1, and doubling and splitting are allowed.

Pontoon Hand Ranks
Pontoon hands are ranked slightly different than your standard variation.

• A blackjack is called a Pontoon
• All 5 card non busted hands hold the same value and is the highest ranked hand in the game
• Following the 5 card rule, a 21 point hand becomes second highest in value

The House Edge
The house advantage of Pontoon Blackjack is .38% when used with an optimal Pontoon strategy chart. Applying the same theories and practises found in these strategy charts can decrease the house advantage significantly. The standard difference per hand of Pontoon is ~1.6. This is significantly higher than conventional blackjack due to the increased rate of doubles and 2:1 payouts. Due to this you may want to place a smaller wager than you would normally. Pontoon is available at most of today’s top casinos and is one of the easier games of blackjack for beginners to learn.

Blackjack Strategy and Rules