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Pontoon

Pontoon is sometimes said to be an early version of Blackjack. In Pontoon any five-card hand and a pontoon (same thing as a blackjack) pay 2 to 1, including after splitting. However there is no dealer up card and the dealer wins on ties. There are several other rule changes from blackjack so read carefully before playing.

Objective

The goal of the game for a player is to beat the Dealer’s hand by either getting a better hand without exceeding 21 or by the Dealer’s hand going bust (going over 21).

Cards

8 decks are used, 52 cards each. Cards are shuffled after each game.

The value of a hand is simply the sum of points of each card in the hand. In Pontoon, cards are valued in the following way:

• The cards from 2 through 9 have their face values.
• 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at 10.
• An Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11. An Ace always has the value that makes the best hand. Suppose you have (Ace, 7). The value of this hand can be either 8 or 18. If you stop here, it will be 18. But let’s assume you’ve drawn one more card. The hand contains (Ace, 7, 8). Its total value is 16.
• Pontoon is an initial two-card combination consisting of an ace and a ten-value card. Remember the two-card 21 after splitting Aces or any 10-valued cards counts as a pontoon. Pontoon is the highest hand in the game.
• The second highest hand in the game is a five-card trick, which is defined as any 5-card hand that has not busted. All five-card tricks are of the same value, the point total does not matter.

Betting Tips

Betting Limits

• Min/Max sign indicates minimum and maximum amount that can be placed on each betting field.
• Move your pointer over the Min/Max sign to view the paytable when in the game.

Play

You are allowed to bet on up to three hands, placing bets on central, right and left boxes, correspondingly.

Click DEAL to start dealing cards. You are dealt two cards face-up, while the Dealer is dealt two cards face-down. If you play multiple hands, several hands will be dealt to you. For each hand, two cards are dealt face up. In this case each hand will be treated separately.

Once two cards are dealt, the Dealer checks for Pontoon:

• If the Dealer has a pontoon, his cards open. Your and the dealer’s hands are compared.
• If the Dealer doesn’t have а Pontoon, then your hand is treated and the game proceeds as usual – with Stick, Twistand Buy options offered.

• Stick – You can stick on any total greater or equal to 15, or on any 5-card hand. Click STICK button to stop drawing cards to your hand. Once you click STICK you either move to playing the next hand or – if it is the only or the last of your hands – the Dealer’s hand starts being played.
• Twist - Click TWIST button to draw an additional card to a hand. You can draw as many cards as required. If the total reaches 21, your hand automatically stops. If your hand busts (its total exceeds 21), your hand loses. You can twist at any point, including after buying.
• Buy - Click BUY to double your original bet amount and get one more card to your hand. You can buy on 2 to 4 cards, but only once per hand. You can double after splitting.
• Split – If first two cards are of the same value (two Aces, two Sevens, or two 10-valued cards like King, Jack or Queen), you can split them into two separate hands by clicking SPLIT and placing a bet equal to your original bet. You can re-split the split hand once, up to a total of three hands, including Aces. You can twist and buy after splitting.

Note: In case of splitting a pair of Aces, you are allowed to draw only one card to each Ace. Then, if you draw a ten-valued card on one of the split Aces, your hand is considered a pontoon.

Dealer’s Rule

The Dealer starts playing his hand once all the player’s hands are completed. Dealer sticks if the sum of his cards is less than 17 or is a Soft 17 (a hand that includes an Ace valued as "11," for example a hand consisting of Ace+6, or Ace+2+4). Dealer must stand if the sum of his cards is hard 17 or more.

Game Outcomes

After a player stands with a hand (stops to draw cards) and after the Dealer completes his hand, the player’s and the Dealer’s hands are compared. The winning hand is considered the one, which total is greater.

• If your hand total is higher than the dealer’s without busting, you win
• If you have a pontoon while the dealer does not, you win
• If you have a 5-card trick while dealer does not, you win
• You lose in case of tie hands, in case your hand busts or dealer’s hand is of higher value than yours.

RTP (Return to player) is 99.62%

Malfunction voids all plays and pays!

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