Pontoon Blackjack

Pontoon is an early British blackjack variation, currently this game, especially its online variant, is getting accepted by the target group of blackjack fans. In spite of the resemblance with the traditional blackjack (regarding some rules), there are some distinguishing features in Pontoon which make this game very exciting and challenging.

The number of players in Pontoon can vary from at least two to eight max. With the minimal number of players just one card deck is used, with the maximum number of players two decks are used. The card values in Pontoon coincide with the ones of traditional blackjack. An Ace is equal to 1 or to 11, a Queen is equal to 10 and etc. We can easily recognize the features of regular blackjack. Here we see the same objectives and the same goal – to get the total of 21, but not more than that. The dealer still has an incontestable privilege – he wins the ties. Besides, he can sell his sit.

The hands value in a descending line:
Pontoon – it is a total of 21, reached by 2 cards: an Ace + a K\Q\J\10;
Five Card Trick – a 21 or less, made of 5 cards, for example, 8-3-4-2-1/ 5-2-3-4-7;
Three cards making total of 21 – can beat all the hands, except the above mentioned ones;
Less than 21 – the hands consisting of less than 5 cards;
Bust – hands exceeding a total of 21;

First of all the cards are dealt faced-down by the dealer, each player receives a card. The player sitting to the left of the dealer receives the card first. The cards are dealt in a clockwise order, all the participants of the game can view their first card except the dealer. The dealer gets his card (which is faced down) in the last turn, right after all the players have received their cards. Having bet, each player receives the second card, as well as the dealer himself. Having got the Pontoon the dealer immediately declares it and the game is over, then the dealer is collecting double from the stakes of the players, otherwise it's again the players' turn.

The players can split 2 similar cards (5-5 or 8-8). Besides, any player can buy the cards, not more than three. For that he says: "I'll buy one" and in the first card purchase he raises the stakes by the double (and no more) of the initial bet. In the second card purchase (the fourth card) the sum raised by the player cannot exceed the sum of the last bet and be less than the sum of the initial bet. With the next purchase (the fifth card) the procedure is the same.

For instance: Your first bet is $10, the maximum of the table is $20, then the third card can be bought with $10-$20. A $17-bet gives you right to buy the 4th and the 5th cards with $10-$17. By the way, these cards stay faced down. But if you are short of money then the option “twist” is available to you, means, you are able to get the 3rd/4th/5th cards for free, these cards are faced up with the words "twist me one". With the cards value of no less than 15, you don't need to buy any cards, just stick to your own cards.

Having bought the cards you can twist afterwards, but not vice versa: you can't buy after twist. If your total exceeds 15 or is less than 21, you can stick at any time. A twist, a split, a bust or a pontoon give you the chance to reveal your cards.

A total exceeding 21 means you should throw your cards, then the dealer takes your stakes. The dealer's cards get turned up after each player makes his moves. The dealer can take up 5 cards maximum, all the cards are faced up, then he gets satisfied and can stay or be busted.

Having Five Card Trick the dealer should pay double just to those players who have Pontoons, the rest lose. A hand with less than Five Card Trick at the dealer means he should pay equal to the higher hands (for example, 18 with 4 cards), and double Five Card Tricks and Pontoons. Having been busted the dealer should pay to each player that hasn't been busted.

At the end of the round all the cards get collected and shuffled and if anybody (the players or the dealer) had Pontoon the next round begins. Otherwise (if nobody had a Pontoon) the cards are not shuffled. A player with Pontoon (if the dealer doesn't have Pontoon) should become the new dealer. If there are several players with Pontoons and there is a tie, then that one becomes a dealer, who is sitting next to the dealer's left.