Australian Pontoon is a variant of Spanish 21. This is also knows as the Australian version of Blackjack. The Australian Pontoon is the blackjack variant of Pontoon; however, with the rules used to play these games in the Australian casinos.

Australian Pontoon will be played with eight 52-card decks. Almost all the cards will be having a value similar to blackjack. The hand rankings in Australian Pontoon are as follows in the order of high to low:

  • A pontoon is an ace and any 10-point card, inclusive of post splitting total.
  • A five-card trick is any 5-card hand which did not bust. Five-card tricks are valued the same and their points does not matter.
  • A hand which has not busted (non-busted hand) with a total of 21 points or less where there are 4 or less cards will be ranked based on total points
  • A busted hand which has 21 points or more.

Pontoon > Five Card Trick > Non-busted > Busted

SEQUENCE OF THE GAME

Dealing:

  • Each player is dealt two cards face up.
  • The dealer gets two cards face down.

Dealer Assess His Cards:

  • The dealer will look in to his cards for the pontoon.
  • If the dealer has a pontoon he will instantly turn over his cards and he will get all the wagers and cards of other players. Player Reaction If the Dealer does not have a Pontoon
  • The player will stand for any total which is greater or equal to 15, or for any 5-card hand.
  • The player can hit at any point.
  • The player can hit even after doubling.
  • The player is permitted to double on 2 to 4 cards; but only once per hand. In cases where the hand is split, the option will consist of doubling after splitting, and only once for each split hand.
  • The player can split two cards which have an equal rank.
  • The player can also re-split once, for up to a total of three hands, inclusive of aces.
  • If the has splits, the first card dealt to each hand will occur automatically.
  • The player will be able to draw and double after he splits the aces.
  • The 2-card 21 after splitting aces will be counted as a pontoon.
  • If the player busts he will instantly lose his total wager and cards.
  • After the players have played their hands, the dealer will expose his two cards. After this, the dealer will continue to draw cards until he reaches a total of 17 points or more, and the dealer shall hit a soft 17. Also, the dealer will stop with any five-card hand.
  • The dealer will in the end compare his hand to the hands of other player.
  • The winning player’s pontoon or five-card hand will pay 2 to 1. All other winnings will be 1 to 1 per house rules.
  • If there is a tie, they lose.