Pontoon is a game that has been around much longer than American Blackjack and is generally considered to be the second oldest version of blackjack after vignt-eh-un, the French version of the game. There are many similarities between Pontoon and Blackjack and many differences as well.
Setup
There is no “house” to be spoken of in Pontoon, but rather the game is setup with two or more players in each hand and a rotating banker that effectively plays the position of the house in a single hand. Normally, one deck is used unless there are eight or more players playing, in which case two decks are used.
The Initial Deal
Players cut for the high card and the person that gets it ends up being the banker for the first hand. The banker then deals one card face down to each player, starting to their left and ending with them. Each player except for the banker is allowed to look at their card before making a bet against the banker’s hand.
Game Play
Once the bets have been put down, the banker will deal a second card to each player and look at their own cards for the first time as each player examines their second card. Any player that already has a point value of 21 in their hand (aces are 1 or 11, face cards are 10 and all other cards are their face value) is said to have a Pontoon and they therefore end up sitting out the rest of the hand. If the banker has a Pontoon, then everyone else automatically loses.
From this point in the game, play starts with the player immediately to the left of the banker and then proceeds in a normal blackjack form. Depending on the specific variant of blackjack being played, the options for the players and the banker might be different, but the basics of the game work like any other game of blackjack throughout the rest of the hand.
In a typical Pontoon game however, each player is given the chance to buy another card face down (requires an increase in bet amount) or to twist another card face up at no extra charge. Splitting is also allowed in Pontoon and of course any player that goes over 21 during the process of adding cards to their hand ends up busting and losing their bet regardless of what happens with the banker’s hand.
End of Hand
Once each player has gone through their particular turn, the banker turns up their own cards (without affecting any cards from the players that might be face down) and goes through their own turn. Once the banker is satisfied, all remaining hands are compared with ties being won by the banker. All of the used cards are then placed at the bottom of the deck without shuffling and a new banker is selected by some mutually agreed upon method (i.e. a rotation around the table or the best win in a specific hand with high card tiebreaking).
| Posted in: Blackjack |