Welcome to our second chapter of this Blackjack Games Guide where we’ll discuss a British version of Blackjack called Pontoon Blackjack.
British Blackjack Rules Overview
British Blackjack borrows just a couple rules from the Traditional Blackjack like using 8 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 Black jack 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.
Due to the unique rules of British Blackjack, the dealer will first need to check if he’s got a Pontoon hand soon after the cards have been dealt.
Another chance in the rules of British Blackjack is that as opposed to Traditional Black jack all ties (also known as Push) are won by the dealer.
Beating the Dealer’s 21
There are two ways in which you can beat the dealer’s 21 in Pontoon Blackjack: getting a Pontoon hand or creating a Five Card Trick.
A Pontoon hand is effectively a Blackjack hand using an Ace and any of the Face or 10-value cards. A typical hand of natural Blackjack would return your bet at 3:2 but a Pontoon hand will payout at 2:1.
A Five Card Trick that adds up to any value will also beat a dealer’s 21 hand. To have a 5 Card Trick hand you would need to draw at least 5 cards from the shoe without bust.
Much like a Pontoon hand, a winning Five Card Trick hand will return your stake at 2:1.
Other Rules
Unlike most versions of blackjack, in British blackjack it’s impossible to buy Insurance; which isn’t a big deal if you bear in mind that the probability of the dealer drawing a natural Twenty-one hand are just 4.82%.
As for Doubling and drawing cards from the shoe, there is not limitation in this game.
Pontoon blackjack allows you to split any two pairs including a pair of Aces and Pontoons are possible after splitting. The only limitation is that if you split a pair of Aces you’re only entitled to receive one more card.
The House’s Advantage
As with many blackjack games, the playing rules and house edge of Pontoon can vary from one casino to another.
For example, if you choose to play British Blackjack at any of the Microgaming Online Casinos, the house edge over the players is 0.39% whereas if you were to play on a Playtech gaming site, The Casino will have a slightly lower edge of 0.38%. Other casinos may retain a higher edge of up to 0.73%.
One way in which you can effectively lower the edge that the casino has over players and increase the chances of winning is to use the basic blackjack strategy sheet.
And lastly, you should always pay attention to the number of card decks used in Pontoon Blackjack because the higher the number of card decks used, the lower the casino edge will be. This is due to the increased odds of building 5 Card Tricks.
To conclude, British Blackjack is a thrilling alternative to Classic Blackjack which guarantees hours of entertainment and nice gaming profits.
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