Pontoon BlackJack

Pontoon BJ is the British version of Blackjack that is based on the French game of 'Vingt et un' that in French simply means twenty one.

The game was made popular during the 18th century and since then has only grown in popularity and became one of the most popular and best known casino games.

Pontoon in Britain is different than the American Pontoon but both have the objective in both is the same and that is to reach a hand value of 21 without going over it.

The best possible winning hand is called Pontoon and has the value of 21 using only two cards. It is the same as a 'Natural Blackjack' consisting of an Ace and Ten-card or any Face Card. It pays 2 to 1 which is better than the payout for a 'natural blackjack' or 3 to 2.

The second best hand is called a 'Five Card Trick' and that is a hand that is totaling in value 21 or less and is reached by accumulating the value of 5 cards dealt. This hand will beat a hand with a higher value that is made out of less than 5 cards.

After the Pontoon hand and 'Five Card Trick' hand, any hand that is made of three or four cards with a total value of 21 or less would win. These hands rank in order of points value and the closest to 21 point value would win the hand.

In case of a tie or push the dealer will always win.

The game begins by everybody is dealt one face down card. The players are allowed to look at their card but the dealer is prohibited from doing so.

After a round of initial betting, the dealer deals the second card to each player face down and deals themselves a second card face down.

Now the dealer needs to look at their cards and expose them in case they hit a Pontoon hand. In case they did all players loose double their staked amount and the hand is finished.

In case the dealer has not hit a Pontoon hand then play moves on to the player with the following play options:

A player can declare they have a Pontoon hand and win the game. Otherwise a player can 'Twist' which is the same as asking to be 'Hit' in blackjack and will give the player a third, fourth and fifth card without making any adjustments to their hand.

A player that has a hand value total of 15 or more can 'Stick' and refuses any other cards. Hand value less of 15 requires the player to Twist or Buy a card.

Players can also 'Split' their hand up to twice if choose so. Essentially a player can end up with three hands in play after two Splits. The additional cards are dealt face down and each split hand is played separately with its own wager.

Another option is buying a card by adding a stake that is at least as high as your initial wager and no higher than double your initial wager. After the first buy you may buy and forth and fifth card by adding any amount between your initial wager and the wager you made when buying the third card.

Players have the option of making a buy and then 'twisting' for additional cards, but not the other way around.