Pontoon

Pontoon is a black jack game where both dealer cards are dealt face down. The game is played with 6 regular decks, shuffled before each game round.

Game rules

• Pontoon is a black jack game where both dealer cards are dealt face down.
• The game is played with 6 regular decks, shuffled before each game round.
• Number cards (2-10) count as face value, aces count as either 1 or 11, and kings, queens, and jacks count as 10.
• The dealer must draw to 16.
• The dealer must stick on a hard 17 and twist on a soft 17.
• A Soft hand is a hand with an ace that can be counted as either 1 or 11 without busting.
• A Hard hand is a hand without an ace, or a hand with an ace that can only have a value of 1.
• A hand wins if its value is closer to 21 than the dealer's hand.
• A hand automatically sticks when it is a Pontoon, hard 21, or has five cards without busting.
• The player can only stick on a hand greater than or equal to 15.
• Player hands of 22 or higher (busted) lose regardless of the dealer's hand.
• If the dealer has a higher hand (but not busted), the player loses.
• Pontoon always beats any other hand with a value of 21.
• The dealer wins on all ties.

Ranking of hands

• Pontoon - A hand where the first two cards (including split cards) are an ace and a card with a value of 10.
• 5 card trick or a 'Charlie' - A hand of five cards totalling 21 or less.
• A hand of three or four cards totalling 21 or less.

Splitting

• You can split the first two cards if they have the same value.
• Splitting doubles your initial bet, and you play both hands, one after the other.
• You can re-split once, up to a total of three hands, including aces.

Buying

• You can buy greater stakes in the hand if you have 4 cards or less.
• The buy bet is equal to the initial bet.
• After buying you can twist again.
• Only one buy per hand is allowed, including split hands.