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Pontoon

Pontoon is to blackjack what one less green slot is to the roulette wheel. The British version of the casino favourite - pontoon is just as popular and as easy to play as its American cousin.

What's the difference?

Pontoon and blackjack are the same in almost every way but there are a few differences between the two games. In our guides the differences are written in bold so you know exactly where you stand and can choose which one you prefer.

Choose your game

Your first decision to make is how many hands you wish to play against the dealer (you can either play one hand, three hands or five hands). Playing multiple hands or 'boxes' is a lot of fun - it gives you more chances of beating the dealer and is a tactic commonly used by high rollers when they play.

How to play

In pontoon, both the player and the dealer receive two cards in the opening deal. Both player cards are dealt face up but none of the dealer's cards will be showing (unlike blackjack where you can see one of the dealer’s cards).

Following the opening deal, you can choose to 'hit', 'double' or 'stand' as long as your hand is 15 or more. If you hit, you'll get dealt another card to try and get closer to 21 (remember though, going over 21 means you bust and lose regardless of the dealer's hand). You can keep hitting as many times as you want, and once you're happy with your hand you can stand.

Once you stand, it's the dealer's turn to try to beat you by getting closer to 21. At the PKRCasino the dealer must keep hitting until his hand is worth 'soft' 17 or higher and he must stand when his hand is 'hard' 17 or more. A 'soft' hand is one which includes an ace that can still be worth both 1 and 11. A 'hard' hand is one where the ace can only be worth one value or the other, but not both. If the dealer busts, then you win the bet and are paid an amount equal to your stake.

If the player and the dealer both have a hand worth the same value, it is a 'push' and the dealer wins (unlike in blackjack games where the stake money is returned).

Getting dealt an ace and a 10 value card is 'Pontoon', and pays out 2-1 (so you'd win $20 on a $10 bet for Pontoon). Pontoon always wins unless it comes up against another Pontoon (in which case it's a tie). Pontoon is impossible when splitting Aces (see below). Exclusive to pontoon is the 'Five Card Trick' - any five cards, as long as the total is not over 21 - beats any other hand except 'Pontoon'. A 'Five Card Trick' also pays out 2-1.

Splitting

If you're dealt two cards of the same value (for the purpose of splitting, 10s, jacks, queens and kings are all worth the same) you may elect to 'split' and make two hands from your two cards. For example, if you were dealt queen-jack, you split, and each hand would receive another card so that you now have two hands. You can keep taking cards until you are happy with your hands and then stand. When you split aces you can also hit as many times as you want to make your hand - this is one of the main differences between pontoon and its cousin blackjack (In blackjack you can only receive one more card for each hand after splitting aces).

Splitting cards requires you to make another bet so that each hand has the same amount riding on it. For example, if you bet $10 and split, you must bet another $10 making a total bet of $20.

Doubling

You may 'double' at any time at the PKRCasino. (This is different to blackjack where you can only double when you have your two starting cards). Doubling is pretty much as you’d expect….

Unlike blackjack, there is no Insurance bet in pontoon - whether this is good or not is up to you to decide!

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