Rules and strategies
different for each game
12 October 2004
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
Can you enlighten me as to whether the game
Spanish 21 is the same game as Pontoon, which is
available next to the blackjack tables here in
Sydney, Australia. Cliff B.
Dear Mark,
Isn't Spanish 21 just a hybrid of Blackjack, and
if so, wouldn't the basic strategy be the same
for both games? Howard G.
Believed to be an early form of blackjack,
Pontoon has many similarities to both Spanish 21
and blackjack, but all three games mentioned
have plenty of rule variations, and each would
use different basic strategies to bring the
house edge to less than 1%.
Beginning with Cliff's question, Pontoon is
played with eight 52-card decks with all cards
having the same value as in blackjack. With
Pontoon, any five-card hand, or a pontoon (a
blackjack), pays 2 to 1, even after splitting.
However, there is no dealer up-card and the
dealer wins all ties. A five-card trick is any
5-card hand that has not busted. Stateside,
Cliff, we call it a five-card Charlie, but you
are not paid for them here. All five-card tricks
are of the same value; the point total does not
matter.
There are plenty of other differences between
Pontoon, Spanish 21 and blackjack, so possibly a
second column on additional dissimilarities
might be in the offing if my mailbag shows any
more interest in this game.
Regarding the more popular game, Spanish 21,
there are two notable exceptions when comparing
it to a regular blackjack game. In Spanish 21,
all the 10s (not the Jacks, Queens, Kings) are
removed from the deck. In addition, the player
is paid for a hand total of 21, or the standard
three-to-two payoff for a blackjack, even if the
dealer's hand is a natural blackjack. Additional
player friendly rules are; doubling down on two
or more cards, pair splitting and double downs
up to four times after splits, bonus payoffs for
different combination 21s, and a super bonus
that pays out $1,000 for a suited 7-7-7 when the
dealer's up card is a seven.
So, guys, is Pontoon or Spanish 21, a decent
play from the player's side of the table? Yes,
definitely, if you utilize perfect basic
strategy specific to each game. By employing
Spanish 21 basic strategy--which obviously
differs from normal blackjack strategy--you can
reduce the house edge down to .8 percent. As for
Pontoon, the house edge can be as low as 0.17%,
so long as you follow correct play.
Dear Mark,
Your blackjack strategy card shows hitting a
pair of sevens against a 10 when on a multiple
deck game, but standing with them on a single
deck. I don't quite understand why. Can you
explain? Justin M.
The reason for the difference, Justin, is that
once any card is withdrawn from the deck, it
will have an impact on the distribution of the
remaining cards.
Single deck basic strategy calls for standing
pat with a pair of sevens against a ten. On a
multiple deck game, most strategy cards advise
that you hit them. The reason being, Justin, is
that with a one deck game the probability of
drawing a third seven on the third card is only
2/49, or 4.08%. With six decks, the likelihood
is 22/309, or 7.1%. Since the probability of
catching that third seven on a single deck is
lower, that is why it is best to stand versus
hitting.
Gambling quote of the week: "I suspect that the
spouses of gamblers have heard "I broke even"
more than any other lie." Stephen Dunn, Gaming
author
|
