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Pontoon, a hand consisting of an ace and a card worth 10 points

Pontoon is a name shared by two distinct card games, both relatives of blackjack and, like the latter, descendants of Twenty-One. For those in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, pontoon is a card game similar to match play 21 or Spanish 21, while in the UK, a game of pontoon holds closer to the traditional Twenty-One rules, but can be quickly distinguished by the verbal usage of the terms 'twist' and 'stick'.

The Malaysian version of pontoon is played in Australian, Malaysian, British, and Singaporean casinos.[1] using multiple customized decks of cards. In the Treasury Casino, Brisbane, it is known as Treasury 21. In Jupiters Casino, Gold Coast, it is known as Jupiters 21, in the Reef Casino, Cairns, it is known as Paradise Pontoon, and in Tasmania, it is known as Federal Pontoon.[2]

The British variant of Twenty-One called pontoon is played in the UK and Commonwealth with single 52-card decks. British pontoon uses the terms 'twist' (hit), 'stick' (stand) and 'buy' (double the bet, not to be confused with doubling down) and a different set of rules. The rules for buying in pontoon include allowing the player to buy on any hand of 2 to 4 cards, allowing the player to twist after he buys.[3]

The remainder of this article refers to the Malaysian version of pontoon.

  • 3Rules
  • 6Variations

History[edit]

Pontoon is the British or domestic version of Twenty-One which was originally Vingt-Un (French for twenty-one), a French gambling game popular at the court of Louis XV and later, much favoured by Napoleon, especially at St. Helena.[4] In the twentieth century it became the most popular game of the armed forces of English-speaking nations.[4] Pontoon, unlike casino Blackjack, has no official rules and varies widely from school to school. Its name may be a corruption of the name of the similar French game.

Object[edit]

Pontoon is an arithmetical game played on a table with the same layout as blackjack. In each deal, the player's aim is to receive cards totalling more in face value than the banker's, but not exceeding 21, otherwise he/she is 'bust' and loses. A 21 consisting of an ace and a card worth 10 is a pontoon, and pays extra. A player's 21 or pontoon always beats a dealer 21 or pontoon. Like Spanish 21, it is played from either a shoe or a 4-deck continuous shuffling machine (CSM). The shoe games use six or eight Spanish[5] decks, which are regular 52-card decks, minus the ten-spot cards. Cards Two to Nine count 2 to 9 respectively, courts 10 each, Aces 1 or 11, depending on what is better for the hand.

Rules[edit]

Pontoon has similar rules to Spanish 21, with some notable differences, listed below.

  1. Just like in Australian, Asian, and European blackjack, the dealer has no hole card (NHC). This means that the players do not know whether or not the dealer has a natural (a.k.a. blackjack, an ace and a 10-valued card) until the end of the round, when the dealer draws his second card. Therefore, it is possible to draw to '21' and win against a dealer natural, which is player advantageous and not possible in either Spanish 21 or blackjack.
  2. Because the dealer has no hole card, it is possible to double and/or split and lose multiple bets to a dealer natural. All casinos, except for Adelaide Casino,[6] offer either BB+1 or OBBO to compensate.
  3. An Ace in a pre-double hand is always counted as 1, rather than 1 or 11. For example, if the player doubles on soft 18 (an Ace plus one or more cards totaling 7), he/she is essentially doubling on 8. This rule makes doubling on soft hands highly inadvisable.
  4. Players are not allowed to draw on split Aces (NDSA), which means that if the player splits Aces, he/she is given one card only on each Ace.
  5. Compared with Spanish 21, which allows splitting to four hands (SPL3), there are limitations on how many hands players are allowed to split to. Casinos in Queensland and New South Wales do not permit resplitting (SPL1). In most venues, players cannot resplit aces (SPA1), apart from Burswood Casino, Perth, and Casino de Genting, Malaysia, where it is allowed to resplit once (SPL2).
  6. Players can only surrender against a dealer ace or face (a.k.a., picture) card.[2] If the dealer ends up with a natural, the player will still lose the entire bet; moreover, he/she missed out on the opportunity to draw to '21' and win unconditionally. This is why surrendering is a less valuable play in Pontoon than in Spanish 21.
  7. In Adelaide Casino and Casino de Genting, Malaysia, it is allowed to double only on two-card hands. Elsewhere, players can double on any number of cards, which is called 'not last chance' (NLC) doubling.
  8. The dealer always hits on soft 17, abbreviated as H17.
  9. Pontoon has the same super bonus payouts are Spanish 21, with the exception of Casino de Genting, Malaysia, which has a super bonus payout of RM1,000 on bets of RM10 to RM99, and RM5,000 on bets of RM100 or above.

Despite the player disadvantage of rules 2–9, on average, the house edges for Pontoon are lower than for Spanish 21, because rule 1 is so profoundly player advantageous. The rule differences mean that there are several significant strategy differences between Spanish 21 and Pontoon.

OBBO and BB+1[edit]

  • BB+1 (Busted Bets plus one): After removing from the table all busted bets, all winnings and original bets from hands totaling 21, and all original bets from forfeited hands, the player loses just one bet, even if he has multiple split hands in the one box.
  • OBBO (Original Bets and Busted Only): After removing from the table all busted bets, all winnings and original bets from hands totaling 21, and all original bets from forfeited hands, the player loses just one bet from each split hand remaining. If he has not split, he loses just one bet.

In summary, BB+1 is a loss of one bet per box, and OBBO is a loss of one bet per hand, given that busted bets, winnings, and original bets from forfeits and winning hands have been removed from the table. BB+1 is the more common of the two rules; the only casinos that have OBBO are Burswood Casino in Perth, and Casino de Genting, Malaysia.

Basic strategy for pontoon[edit]

Because pontoon has an element of player choice, players can reduce the casino advantage to less than 0.5% (with the exception of Adelaide, with house edge 0.62%), by playing optimally. The complete set of optimal plays is known as basic strategy, and is highly dependent on the rules. The computer-generated Pontoon basic strategy and house edge tables below are reproduced from The Pro's Guide to Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon, with permission of the author, Katarina Walker. Pontoon strategy is far more difficult than Blackjack, however, casinos do not generally object to people using strategy charts at the table.

Point

Pontoon strategy is very similar to Spanish 21 strategy, but there are some crucial differences, mainly due to the no-hole-card rule, and the limitations on soft doubling.

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Pontoon does, on average, have a lower house edge than its American counterparts because of the no-hole-card rule, which means that you are paid out immediately for your winnings on any total of 21, regardless of whether the dealer ends up with a natural (a Blackjack). It is too late for the dealer—he has already paid you out. In the US, a dealer Blackjack terminates the game, forgoing the opportunity for you to draw to 21 and win. You lose all your bets unless you also have a natural, in which you get paid 3 to 2.

Moreover, the VIP rooms in Australian casinos offer far better pontoon table conditions than the Spanish 21 games in American casinos. Pontoon in Australia was comparable in popularity to Blackjack, so there are more Pontoon tables available in Australian casinos than Spanish 21 tables in American casinos. Unfortunately, in response to the release of the book The Pro's Guide To Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon by Katarina Walker, Burswood Casino in Perth has withdrawn the game from the main floor and Crown Casino, Melbourne, have withdrawn the game from their VIP Mahogany Room and introduced continuous shuffling machines to some of the pontoon games in the main hall. Any hand-shuffled or automatically shuffled pontoon games at Crown Casino have penetrations below 75%, rendering the game far less profitable than in the past. There are still opportunities to get high win rates in the Endeavour VIP Room in Star City, Sydney, and the main floor at the Hobart casino. Lasseter's Alice Springs and Country Club Casino in Launceston offer the game on the weekends, but the table limits are very low, ranging from $5 to $200 or $250 per box. Adelaide offers pontoon in the main hall, but the Adelaide rules give the highest house edge of any Pontoon game in Australia at over 0.5%. Nevertheless, it is still lower than the Blackjack house edge, which exceeds 0.7%, offered on the main floor of the Adelaide casino. A Blackjack game, hand-shuffled, with slightly more player-advantageous rules in offered in the Adelaide VIP room, with table limits conducive to serious betting. Cairns offers a six-deck pontoon game with a competitive house edge on the main floor but it gets crowded and has a $400 or $500 table limit, so it does not reap a profitable game. At the end of the day, the best pontoon house edge in the world is of no use if the table limit is too small for your bankroll, and the table is crowded, especially with slow players. If playing solitary on the table by gives a pro player almost 200 hands an hour, you will be earning five times as much per hour as on a packed table, where you can expect no more than 40 hands an hour, more if you can nab more than one box.

Darwin casino in the Northern Territory does not offer pontoon at all, and Jupiter's on the Gold Coast only offers pontoon with continuous shuffling machines, which is a pointless activity. Treasury Casino, Brisbane, offers a 6-deck hand-shuffled or automatically shuffled pontoon game in the VIP room, but the penetration can get as low as 67%, the heat is high, and camouflage is a must, which is costly to your win rate. The comps at Brisbane are not particularly competitive either. It is owned by Tabcorp who 'sweat the money', as the saying goes. They do not take the risks that the Packer-owned Crown and Burswood Casinos are willing to take, risks that pay off to the casino shareholders,as well as the highly skilled pro player, providing the casino has the cash reserves to cover freak windfalls. Canberra used to offer the best pontoon game in the country, a 4-deck game with a tiny house edge of less than 0.3% and great penetration, but they took away their $25 table, then added continuous shuffling machines to their $10 pontoon table, so Canberra is no longer the pontoon mecca of Australia, and is not worth a visit by the discerning professional card counter.

Your handDealer's face-up card
2345678910A
Hard totals
18–21SSSSSSSSSS
17SSSSSSS6S6S6H
16S6S6S6SSHHHHH
15S4.S5:S6S6SHHHHH
14HHS4.S5:S6;HHHHH
13HHHHS4.HHHHH
12HHHHHHHHHH
11D4D5D5D5D5D4D4D4D4D4
10D5D5DDDD4D3HHH
9HHHHDHHHHH
5–8HHHHHHHHHH
Soft totals
2345678910A
A,9SSSSSSSSSS
A,8SSSSSSSSS5S5
A,7S4S4S4S4S4S6S4HHH
A,2 – A,6HHHHHHHHHH
Pairs
2345678910A
A,APPPPPPPPPH
10,10SSSSSSSSSS
9,9SPPPPSPPSS
8,8PPPPPPPPPH
7,7PPPPPP:HHHH
6,6HHPPPHHHHH
5,5DDDDDDDHHH
4,4HHHHHHHHHH
3,3PPPPPPPHHH
2,2PPPPPPPHHH
Forfeit strategy
2345678910A
12–16SSSSSSFFFF
17SSSSSSSSSF
18–20SSSSSSSSSS

The above is a basic strategy table for all Pontoon rule variations, with a few exceptions: if no OBBO/BB+1, hit 11 vs X and A; if no OBBO/BB+1 and no Ace re-splits, hit A-A vs X; if last chance doubling, split 4-4 vs 6.

Key:

H = Hit
P = Split
F = Forfeit after doubling
S = Stand (or play on after doubling)
S4 = Stand, but hit if 4 or more cards
S5 = Stand, but hit if 5 or more cards
S6 = Stand, but hit if 6 or more cards
. = Hit if 6-7-8 possible
: = Hit if suited 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 possible
; = Hit if spaded 6-7-8 possible
D = Double
D3 = Double, but hit if 3 or more cards
D4 = Double, but hit if 4 or more cards
D5 = Double, but hit if 5 or more cards

House Edge[edit]

The following table lists the Pontoon house edges for all known rule sets. The house edge is equivalent to the house advantage over a player who is following the basic strategy tabulated above. (The figures were obtained from 10-billion hand simulations and have a standard error of 0.001%. The super bonus is averaged out to a 100:1 payout.).[2] (SPL3 = can split three times to form four hands, SPL2 = can split twice to form three hands, SPL1 = can split once only, SPA1 = no Ace resplits, NLC = not last chance doubling, D9 = doubling on 9–11 only)

Pontoon RulesDecksHouse Edge
OBBO, SPL2, NLC80.34%
BB+1, SPL3, SPA1, NLC40.31%
BB+1, SPL1, NLC60.41%
BB+1, SPL1, NLC80.38%
BB+1, SPL2, SPA1, NLC80.40%
SPL2, SPA1, D980.62%
OBBO, SPL2, SPA180.50%

As all Australian casino Blackjack games have house edges greater than 0.5%, Pontoon is the superior of the two games. In general, casino staff and Blackjack players erroneously believe that Pontoon has a higher house edge than Blackjack, because the removal of the ten-spot cards creates a 2% disadvantage for the player. In Pontoon, the player can draw to '21' and win against a dealer Blackjack; this combined with 'not-last-chance' doubling, forfeit, player '21' always wins, player Blackjacks always get paid at 3:2, and bonuses on certain hands, actually overcompensates for the 2% disadvantage. The result is that Pontoon, on average, has about two-thirds the house edge of Australian Blackjack, which due to no surrender, hole card, and limitations on soft doubling, has some of the highest house edges for regular Blackjack in the world.

Variations[edit]

Federal Pontoon[edit]

Federal Pontoon is a version of the Australian casino game Pontoon played in Tasmania, Australia. Both casinos in Tasmania, Country Club Casino, Launceston, and Wrest Point Casino, Hobart, are owned by the Federal Group.

Rules specific to Federal Pontoon are:

  • 8 decks, dealt from a shoe.
  • Re-splitting to 3 hands is permitted, except for Aces.
  • BB+1.

In Wrest Point Casino, Federal Pontoon is played in the public area only and is not available in the VIP room.

Jupiters 21[edit]

Jupiters 21 is a version of the Australian casino game Pontoon played in Jupiters Casino, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Rules specific to Jupiters 21 are:

  • 4 decks dealt from a continuous shuffling machine (CSM).
  • No re-splits are allowed.
  • BB+1.

Jupiters 21 is played in the public area of Jupiters Casino only, and not available in the VIP room, Club Conrad. All Pontoon games played in Queensland casinos have the same rules.

Treasury 21[edit]

Treasury 21 is a version of the Australian casino game Pontoon played in Treasury Casino, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Rules specific to Treasury 21 are:

  • In the public area of Treasury Casino, 6 decks are dealt from a continuous shuffling machine (CSM).
  • In the VIP room, 6 decks are dealt from a shoe.
  • No resplits are allowed.
  • BB+1.

All Pontoon games played in Queensland casinos have the same rules.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^The Wizard of Odds Spanish 21
  2. ^ abcKatarina walker The Pro's Guide to Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon pg. 10-11-44 Lulu.com (2008) ISBN1-4357-1065-7
  3. ^'Pontoon Blackjack Rules'. CasinoObserver.com. Retrieved 2012-09-26.
  4. ^ abDavid Parlett, Oxford Dictionary of Card Games, pg. 218 Oxford University Press (1996) ISBN0-19-869173-4
  5. ^'Wizardofodds.com Games Site'. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  6. ^Sky City Adelaide PontoonArchived 2007-08-29 at the Wayback Machine Rules of Pontoon Games

External links[edit]

  • Rules of Card Games: Pontoon at Pagat.com
  • Pontoon Strategy at Gamblerspro.com
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pontoon_(card_game)&oldid=910096188'

Sat, Apr 13, 4:22am by Charlotte Lee

Last Updated Tue, Oct 8, 12:36am


Country Club Casino in Tasmania is one of two large casino gambling properties on the island state. Tasmania was the first Australian territory to allow casino gambling; the first casino on the island (Wrest Point) opened in 1973, well before most gambling venues on the mainland. The Tasmanian government wanted to legalize gaming on the island as a way to increase tourism to the territory.

Generally favourable economic conditions throughout Australia, combined with improved access to the territory via airplane and ferry and the lower cost of these methods of travel, have played a big part in the larger number of tourists visiting Tasmania. Two traditional casino gambling venues exist in Tasmanian. Outside of these two sites, hotels and bars on the island are allowed to offer pokies and other electronic gambling titles, and the Tasmanian Gaming Commission reports a large number of the state’s citizens participating in online casino gambling as well.

That group, the Tasmanian Gaming Commission, exercises a lot of control over the island’s gambling sites. The TGC regulates all forms of betting in Tasmania, basing their regulations on those of Australia as a whole and their own set of state laws. All gambling machines and table games in Tasmania are heavily regulated and controlled by existing laws; this includes specifics about how long a gambling floor can be open, the number of clocks that must be visible (based on the number of table games on a casino floor), and other aspects of the gaming business.

Why does Tasmania have just two major casinos? The island’s small size – the population hovers around 500,000 – and a desire on the part of the state government to exercise a large amount of control are the two major factors.

Tasmania’s government is strict about certain gambling regulations – the Gaming Commission sets a specific limit on the number of machine games each casino can offer, handles all the training and licensing needs of the state’s gambling staff, and even dictates a daily limit on how much and how often casino customers can cash in their chips. Make sure you understand the casino’s specific rules before you start to play.

Casino Details

A few minutes from the central business district of Launceston, to the south of the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, is Country Club Casino and Resort. All gaming at Country Club is split into two rooms – one section holds the casino’s electronic gaming machines and the other is set aside for table games.

In the hall where gambling machines are set up, around 500 pokies, video poker games, slots, and other skill games are available. While other Australian casinos have electronic game collections that number around 1,000, banks of 500 or so pokies and other machines is still considered a large selection in the country, especially on the small island state of Tasmania. The betting range on the casino’s pokies and other electronic machines varies from AUD $0.01 per spin up to $1 per spin.

Gamblers who prefer to play table games can pick from a collection of seventeen traditional and unique offerings, some identical to standard casino games around the world, others based on Australia’s own favourites. Gamblers can pick from a large section of electronic and table-based keno games, three versions of blackjack (Pontoon and Spanish 21 among them), multiple rule variations of roulette, casino-style poker games such as Caribbean Stud and Casino War, and a collection of electronic and traditional money wheel games. Minimum bets on table games start as low as AUD $2.50, with many games requiring a wager of AUD $5 and up.

Poker fans aren’t left out at Country Club in Launceston – the casino’s website is light on details about the game schedule, but they do host live head-to-head Texas Hold ‘Em games at the site, with tables maxed out at 10 players.

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Country Club’s casino is not the biggest in Australia or even in Tasmania; that honour goes to Wrest Point in Hobart. What sets Country Club Casino apart is the natural setting combined with hundreds of pokies and more than two dozen table games on offer. Launceston is the largest city in the territory outside the capital of Hobart, a popular destination for tourists who want to see a more authentic side of this interesting Australian federal territory.

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Guests take note – all gaming areas and indoor sections of Country Club Casino Resort are non-smoking.

Resort Details

Country Club Resort is located on the edge of Prospect Vale, a ten minute drive from the airport in Launceston, the largest city in Tasmania outside Hobart. The hotel complex attached to the casino offers 100 guest rooms, including luxury-style villas, large VIP suites, and other setups for special guests and big spenders. Country Club offers a fully-featured business and convention centre for conferences and banquets, an 18-hole golf course set in the bushland surroundings of Launceston, and five restaurants ranging from a pizzeria all the way up to gourmet dining at the signature Terrace Restaurant.

As for nightlife, the casino and hotel complex is home to four different bars, including a wine bar and bottle shop and one bar open to casino gamblers only. The complex is home to multiple small stage clubs where live entertainment is scheduled most nights of the week.

Guests at Country Club who want to s kip casino gambling for other entertainment can take advantage of the attached sauna, pool, and spa. Guided trail rides and fishing expeditions (in a nearby lake stocked with trout and other native species) let guests get out into the bushland and experience Tasmania in their own way.

Every visitor to the hotel earns free valet parking, while people headed to the airports in Launceston or Hobart can pick up free transfers from the front desk. Guests to the hotel can check in or out any time of day or night for their convenience.

Tourism in Tasmania is fast becoming a major industry, a big source of income all over the island state, and while regulations limiting gambling on the island are loosening up, especially in casino-hotel resorts like Country Club, it’s important for guests to honour existing restrictions and make sure they take note of opening hours, limits on betting, and the Country Club’s own rules and regulations before they sit at a table or pokie machine.

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See also: Wrest Point Casino