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Pontoon - If Blackjack Is Your Cup of Tea
If you are a fan of Blackjack, then you will probably enjoy playing Pontoon. Though similar to Blackjack, Pontoon offers many exciting and challenging variations to what has become one of the world's most popular casino card games. Pontoon is available at many of the top real money blackjack casinos, and it is definitely worth looking into.
What is Real Money Pontoon?
Blackjack was originally an early eighteenth century French game called vingt-et-un (twenty-one). The game eventually made its way to America, and then returned to Europe, where the English developed their own version of the game. Though the game is recognizably real money Blackjack, there are many Pontoon variations.
How to Play Pontoon
Like Blackjack, Pontoon is usually played with eight 52-card decks. The players and dealer are dealt two cards, and the object of the game is to have your hand reach as close to 21 by asking to 'stand' (keep your hand) or 'hit' (request more cards). A player automatically loses if the hand exceeds 21. Each card's value is the same as its number (a 2 has a value of two, a 3 has the value of three). An Ace is valued at either one or eleven, whichever is to the player's advantage, and the Jacks, Queens, and Kings are each valued at ten.
The highest-ranking hand is Pontoon, the game's equivalent to Blackjack. Pontoon is a hand with a 10-point card and an Ace.
How Does Pontoon Differ from Blackjack?
Pontoon is not Blackjack, and there are more differences between the two games. In real money Pontoon there is another winning hand, called a 5-card trick. A 5-card trick beats any hand other than Pontoon, including three or four cards with a total value of 21. Don't underestimate the fun of trying to get a 5-card Pontoon trick, because once you try it, it's hard to go back to playing regular Blackjack.
Both of the dealer's cards remain face down until all the players stand or 'bust' (go over 21). The dealer's cards being face down makes it harder to establish a strategy. In Blackjack, the value of the dealer's face-up card helps players decide whether to stand or to hit.
If the cards the player holds have a total value less than 15, the player must take another card. Before the player can request a hit, the dealer looks at his own cards to see if the house holds Pontoon. If the dealer has Pontoon the house automatically wins the money, even if one of the players also has Pontoon. Because the house wins automatically if the dealer holds pontoon, there is no opportunity to buy insurance like in Blackjack.
In real money Blackjack, if there is a tie with the dealer, the player pushes, (you get your bet back). In Pontoon, any time there is a tie with the dealer, the house wins the bet.
In Pontoon, you can buy (double your bet for the next hit). In Blackjack when you double down, you double your bet and then receive only one hit. In Pontoon, you can receive more cards after you buy. Another option in Pontoon, similar to blackjack, is the ability to split two identical valued cards into two separate hands. Unlike in some games of Blackjack, you can also split two Aces.
The differences between Pontoon and Blackjack require players to find a different Pontoon strategy to deal with the house's advantage. On the other hand, the variations in Pontoon give the house a stronger advantage, which makes the blackjack game more challenging and fun.
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