Pontoon is a version of blackjack that uses a series of Spanish decks that have 48 cards each with the 10 cards removed. Four to eight decks are typically used in a game.
The game is similar in a way to Spanish 21, another popular blackjack variant. However, there are many points in this game that make it slightly different. The key here is that the player can match a natural 21 on this game and still end up winning.
Drawing Rules
In Pontoon, the player has to get to 21 without going over. The cards are worth the same as they are in blackjack but again, the 10 cards are always removed.
The dealer’s hole card is not shown. Therefore, it is harder for a player to predict what will happen on the dealer’s side of things.
The most noteworthy part of pontoon is that a player can still win even if the dealer gets a natural 21. This can work if the player is able to get exactly 21 points on a hand. This adds to the possibly chances for a player to win on this game.
The ace is typically seen at the start as worth 1 instead of 11. In addition, the player must make a particular move on one’s hand before the dealer can reveal one’s first card.
As this happens, the player can choose to surrender provided that the dealer’s card is an ace or a face card. However, that causes the player to forfeit one’s chances to get a 21.
Players can choose to split their cards. However, if the player splits two aces, that player cannot draw on them. However, the player can draw on other cards that are split.
The names of the moves in Pontoon may be different depending on where the player is. A hit can be called a Twist while standing can be called Sticking.
The doubling feature is referred to as a Buy. The player can get at least the same amount of money bet on one hand added as a new card is added. The player can choose to add a little extra provided that bonus total is not worth twice the total of the original bet.
