Pontoon is basically a variation of the well-known ‘Twenty One’ or ‘Blackjack’. It is available in most brick-and-mortar casinos as well as in online casinos powered with Cryptologic, Playtech, Microgaming and Realtime Gaming software. However, as far as you certainly know from our previous articles none of the first three software providers allow US gamblers on their sites, therefore Pontoon in US online casinos powered by RTG is picked to illustrate the rules and interface of this exciting card game.
Pontoon has much in common with blackjack. However, the main difference between these table games is that in Pontoon you can’t see any cards of a dealer. It makes the whole betting process much more complicated, as you should base your decision on your hand only. To compensate such a disadvantage for gamblers, casino operators introduced some other rules that make Pontoon so unique and skill-based. Once you launch the game from the lobby of US online casinos powered by RTG ( like Rushmore Casino, Pure Vegas, Slots Oasis and some others), you will see a green table with areas for your bets and cards. In the very beginning you are required to place an ante bet that can range from $1 to $250. After that you will be dealt two cards. Numeric value in Pontoon is absolutely the same as in blackjack, however even if you don’t know all of them, there are no reasons to worry. RTG software shows you the total of your hand.
Pontoon table game is always played with 8 decks of cards.The main objective in Pontoon is the same as in blackjack- to collect a total of 21 points. The highest combination in Pontoon is an Ace plus any other card that values 10 points. It is called Pontoon ( instead of blackjack and pays 2:1). The second highest hand you may have is a hand consisting of 5 cards that is not ‘busted’. Such a hand is called ‘a five card trick and pays the same as Pontoon. It beats all other hands except for Pontoon. Another drastic difference between Pontoon and Blackjack lies in the rule that a gambler may double anytime he/she wants even after hitting.
As for the hitting rules, player must always hit when his hand values 14 or less, while a dealer must hit on soft total of 17. Player is allowed to split up his cards two times only. When player’s and dealer’s hands make a tie, dealer wins a bet. And by the way, dealer’s Five card trick beats player’s Five card trick.
All above rules make Pontoon an exciting skill-based game with high variance. Some players even prefer it over blackjack in US online casinos. As for the house edge of Pontoon, it’s basically the same as in blackjack- 0.038% in Realtime Gaming and all other software except for Microgaming ( that offers slightly different rules and 0.39% house edge). However, such a nice house edge is possible, provided that you are aware of the optimum strategy of Pontoon in online casinos. It’s based on which cards you have in your initial hand and how many times you hit. We strongly recommend you to have an optimum strategy table of Pontoon in front of you while gambling, otherwise you can get confused easily.
These are the basic rules of Pontoon that you should know to enjoy this card game in US online casinos powered by Realtime Gaming.
