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Pontoon, a part of the Blackjack Gold Series, is an interesting and different variation of the game of blackjack that has been designed and developed by Microgaming, which by all accounts is one of the leading manufacturers of online casino software in the world.
In Pontoon, you can wager on multiple hands and most of it is familiar to blackjack fans with some notable exceptions. You'll find that some of the terminology and rules in Pontoon quite different. For example, when you have an Ace and a ten-value card, it is referred to as a "pontoon," rather than a "natural" or a "blackjack" - even after you have split.
Pontoon is played with eight regular decks of cards, and it takes place on a layout that has five spaces. If you want, you can use all of these spaces to make bets. Now here comes the terminology - after you are dealt your first two cards, you don't "hit," but instead "twist."
Also, you don't stand, but "stick," and there are restrictions to that. In fact, you cannot "stick" on any hand that is below 14. That makes things more difficult for you if you are employing Basic Strategy in Pontoon games.
You can also execute something called a "buy," where if you are especially confident that you can beat the dealer with your hand, you make a side bet, at any time while you are playing your hand, after which one more card is dealt. You can split pairs, and also ten-value cards that may not be of the same rank, and re-splitting is allowed once. The dealer must stick on all 17's in this game, but there is no upcard and consequently no insurance. The dealer will check the face-down cards for a "pontoon."
Standard wins in this game pay off at even money. A pontoon (the two-card 21) is a 2-to-1 payout, as is a five-card "trick," which amounts to five cards in your hand that remain under 21.
The objective in Pontoon, like most other blackjack games online that you might play, is to beat the dealer by coming closer to the total of 21, or stay under that total while the dealer busts.
Another attractive feature to most practitioners of Pontoon is that they can play five hands at once. In that way, it allows them to get more action across the table in a shorter period of time. You can also facilitate it by working with speed controls that come with the game. You can switch between Slow, Medium, Fast and Fastest. Microgaming offers other ways for the player to exercise convenience during the process of play. There are a number of sounds that the software produces (including game, Background and Win sounds), designed to enhance the atmosphere. You can control this atmosphere by turning some or all of them to the "off" position.
Having rich and realistic graphics are a "given" with any Microgaming product. Microgaming comes up very big when it comes to convenience for the player because there are very complete help files, not to mention Expert Mode, providing the opportunity for you to use AutoPlay, a feature that can make the decisions for you at the virtual table. With AutoPlay you can also avail yourself of a customizable blackjack strategy table, which offers a mathematically-sound blackjack strategy for Pontoon games and with the rules of Pontoon differences that might indeed come in handy.
Classic Gold Pontoon may be a little strange and unfamiliar to some at first, but can become a fun casino game to play as an alternative your standard blackjack games. To play Pontoon for free or real money, we recommend that you visit the Microgaming online casinos that have been reviewed and approved by Click Casino.
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Game Rating Details: 8.00 / 10
| Software | 8 |
| Easy to Understand | 8 |
| Graphics & Sounds | 8 |
| Game Speed | 8 |
| Theme and Concept | 8 |
| Game Features | 8 |
| Fun Factor | 8 |
| Betting Options | 8 |
| Jackpots | 8 |
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