Pontoon Single-Hand Blackjack Gold

Just like Blackjack, there are different versions of Pontoon from all over the world. Pontoon Gold by Microgaming gives its single-hand experience a little different flair by using 8 standard decks (#10s included) and actions like “twist”, “stick”, and “buy”. It’s a great take on an age-old game.

The first thing you’ll notice once the cards are dealt is that you are completely blind to the Dealer’s cards.

No use waiting for them to be flipped over before you start to make your game decisions-that doesn’t happen until after you’ve made your move.

The only think you can do is Twist (aka “Hit”) and/or Stick (aka “Stand”) and get your total as close to that blessed “21” number as possible, and then hope for the best.

As you can imagine with already so many subtle differences, the rules offer even more to learn:

• Similar to Blackjack, any ten-value card and an Ace is the highest winner possible, paying 2 to 1 odds. This hand is called a “Pontoon”, and it will play and pay that way even after a split (unlike blackjack, which typically demotes an “unnatural” pairing to total only).
• The next best thing to a Pontoon is a 5-card trick (5 cards with a total value of 21 or below). It also pays 2 to 1 after a split. A Pontoon will beat a 5-card trick, so watch that pesky Dealer.
• The player has to Twist on all totals under 15 (unless it’s a 5-card trick). The Dealer, as he tends to do in Microgaming blackjack, must Stick on all 17s.
• Dealer checks for Pontoon upon receipt of cards.
• You can Buy (aka “Double Down”) after a split, but only once on each hand.
• You may split a hand twice (3 hands total).
• One card will be given to each split Ace.

Pontoon Gold has a maximum bet of 200 credits. It is also available in a multi-hand version. Play it at the fine casinos mentioned below.