Pontoon (card game)

Pontoon is a name shared by two distinct card games, both blackjack variants. For those in Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, pontoon is a card game similar to match play 21 or Spanish 21, while in the UK, a game of pontoon holds closer to the traditional blackjack rules, but can be quickly distinguished by the verbal usage of the terms "twist" and "stick".

The Malaysian version of pontoon is played in Australian, Malaysian, British, and Singaporean casinos. using multiple customized decks of cards. In the Treasury Casino, Brisbane, it is known as Treasury 21. In Jupiters Casino, Gold Coast, it is known as Jupiters 21, in the Reef Casino, Cairns, it is known as Paradise Pontoon, and in Tasmania, it is known as Federal Pontoon.

The British blackjack variant called pontoon is played in the UK and Commonwealth with single 52-card decks. British pontoon uses the terms "twist" (hit), "stick" (stand) and "buy" (double the bet, not to be confused with doubling down) and a different set of rules. The rules for buying in pontoon include allowing the player to buy on any hand of 2 to 4 cards, allowing the player to twist after he buys.

The remainder of this article refers to the Malaysian version of pontoon.

Pontoon is the British or domestic version of black jack, which in turn is the American version of vingt-et-un (French for twenty-one), a French gambling game popular at the court of Louis XV and later, much favoured by Napoleon, especially at St. Helena. In the twentieth century it became the most popular game of the armed forces of English-speaking nations. Pontoon, unlike casino Blackjack, has no official rules and varies widely from school to school.

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