Cryptologic’s Single Player Pontoon is a game that is similar to Blackjack. In this game, an ace and a ten are called Pontoon and is an automatic winner. If there is no Pontoon, then the winner is the UK bingo player who comes closest to twenty-one or the player who has twenty-one in five cards or less. The payout for Pontoon or twenty-one is two to one.  According to the rules, all draws are won by the dealer. If the player is showing a hard fourteen, he is required to draw a card. Eight decks of cards are used to play this Pontoon game with the cards being shuffled after each hand. The dealer receives both of his cards face-down.

There are also rules for Splits and Double Downs. Any pair can be split and re-split.  If aces are the pair being split and the draw is a ten value card, the player’s hand counts as Pontoon and the free bingo player is paid two to one. The player can Double Down on any combination of the first two cards with a bet equal to his initial bet. A Double Down is allowed after a split. There is no insurance option in the game.

There is enough deviation from traditional internet casino Blackjack in this game to make traditional Blackjack strategy inoperative. The player has to learn Pontoon strategy in order to lower the house advantage. This game has enough variation from Blackjack to make it interesting.  It is available at Crptologic online casinos.