British Blackjack
Posted by Knowledge Guy in Games and Fun, tags: Ace, Beating The Dealer, Black Jack, Blackjack, Blackjack Dealer, Blackjack Games, Card Trick, Couple Rules, Decks, Drawing Hand, Duration, Games Guide, Insurance, Number Of Cards, Online Blackjack Game, Play Blackjack Online, Playing Blackjack, pontoon blackjack, Real Money, Stake, Ties, Two Hands, UK BlackjackWelcome to our next chapter of this Blackjack Games Guide where we’ll discuss a British version of Blackjack called Pontoon Blackjack.
Take the time to read this handy UK Blackjack article before playing Pontoon Blackjack for real money.
Pontoon Rules
British Blackjack borrows just a couple rules from the Traditional Blackjack like using eight decks of cards and the dealer must Hit on soft 17. But that’s where the similarities between Traditional Black jack and Pontoon Black jack end.
First of all, in British 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.
Secondly, the game starts with the dealer first checking for a Pontoon hand, that’s an Ace plus a Face or 10 card.
Another difference in the rules of British Black jack is that as opposed to Traditional Blackjack all ties (also known as Push) are won by the dealer.
Beating the Dealer’s Hand
Apart from a natural hand of Pontoon dealt to the dealer, there are two hands in this game that will beat a dealer’s 21: a 5 Card Trick and a Pontoon hand.
What’s a Pontoon hand you ask? This is when the player has a hand that totals 21 in value using an Ace and a Face or 10 card. A typical hand of natural Blackjack would return your stake at 3:2 but a Pontoon hand will payout 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 exceeding 21 regardless of the total hand value. Beating the dealer’s hand using a Five Card Trick will yield a 2:1 payout on your stake.
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Other Rules
Unlike most versions of blackjack, in British blackjack it’s not possible to buy Insurance; which isn’t a big deal if you take into consideration that the chances of the dealer drawing a natural Blackjack hand are just 4.82%. Luckily, there is no limitation on Doubling Down or the number of cards that the player can draw.
Pontoon blackjack allows the player 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 various other blackjack games, the playing rules and house edge of Pontoon may vary from casino to casino.
If we compare two of the most popular games developer companies Microgaming and Playtech, we will see that albeit a small difference, the house advantage changes from 0.39% to 0.38% respectively. Some other casinos can potentially increase this house advantage up to 0.73%.
One way in which you can effectively reduce the advantage that the house has over you and improve the odds of winning is to follow the basic blackjack strategy sheet.
Finally, it’s recommended that you check how many card decks are being used in British Blackjack before you play for real money. The reason is that the house edge will increase as the number of card decks are reduced. A variant of British Blackjack were only two decks are used will increase the casino’s edge by 0.47%, mainly because the lower the number of decks used, the lower the odds of creating Five-Card Tricks.
To conclude, Pontoon Blackjack is a thrilling alternative to Classic Blackjack which guarantees hours of entertainment and attractive gaming profits.
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