In this next edition of our Blackjack Games Guide, we review the popular Pontoon Blackjack game, aka British Blackjack.

The Rules of Pontoon Blackjack Explained

British Blackjack borrows just a couple rules from the Classic Blackjack like using eight decks of cards and the dealer is required to Hit on soft 17. But that’s as far as the similarities go.

First of all, in Pontoon Blackjack the dealer will not show any of the two cards that are dealt and they will remain face-down for the duration of the game.

In Pontoon Blackjack the dealer will immediately check for Pontoon once the cards have been dealt.

Another difference in the rules of British Blackjack is that as opposed to Traditional Blackjack all ties (also known as Push) are won by the dealer.

Beating the Dealer’s 21

An attractive rule variation of Pontoon Black jack is that players can beat a dealer’s 21 with either a Pontoon hand or a Five Card Trick.

What’s a Pontoon hand you ask? This is when you have a hand that totals 21 in value using an Ace and a Face or 10 card. As opposed to Traditional Black jack, a Pontoon hand will return the stake at 2:1.

Another way to beat the dealer’s 21 is with a 5 Card Trick. This is when you draw 5 cards or more without going bust regardless of the total hand value.

Similar to a Pontoon hand, when you beat the dealer’s 21 using a 5 Card Trick the casino will payout stakes at 2:1.

Insurance, Split and Doubling Rules of Pontoon Blackjack

As opposed to most blackjack variant, there is not option to get Insurance against a dealer’s natural Twenty-One but in any case the basic rules for playing blackjack recommend that you should never buy Insurance in the first place.

Doubling, however, is possible and there is no limit as to how many cards players can draw.

The player may Split any pairs but note that you will only receive one more card after splitting Aces. A Pontoon hand, however, is possible after splitting pairs.

The Casino’s Advantage

As with various other blackjack games, the playing rules and house advantage of Pontoon may vary from site to site.

For instance, if you decide to play Pontoon Blackjack at any of the Microgaming online casinos, the casino edge over the players is 0.39% whereas if you were to play on a Playtech gaming site, the house will have a slightly lower edge of 0.38%. Other casinos may retain a higher advantage of up to 0.73%.

One way in which you can effectively reduce the advantage that the casino has over the players and improve the odds of winning is to use the basic blackjack strategy sheet.

Like in any other blackjack game the number of decks used in the game have a massive impact on the house edge over the players. If you were to play Pontoon Blackjack using only 2 decks of cards, the house advantage would increase by 0.47%, so always check this before playing for money.

In conclusion, British Blackjack is an entertaining card game that offers great action and attractive odds of winning. If you haven’t played this popular UK game yet, check out one of the top casinos that have this game on offer and enjoy playing online.

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