MG Pontoon

[vinylweatherman]

I just had a look on the Wizard's site and it seems the edge is either 0.17% or 0.62% if a ten on split Aces is NOT a Pontoon.

MG rules say that Ace and 10 after split IS Pontoon, and also, unlike the rules on the Wizard's page, the dealer STICKS on a soft 17.

I'm thinking, "What's the catch", it seems even better than 0.17% House Edge due to the dealer sticking on all 17 hands, AND it has Autoplay!!!!

Has another nasty rule been sneaked in that makes the game less favourable? Could it be that the rules posted are in error, and Ace/10 after split is NOT Pontoon after all.

[The Watchdog]

In Playtech's Pontoon ace-ten (face card) after split is not Pontoon..

Let me check a couple of sites

[The Watchdog]

Dealer must hit on soft 17

When Splitting and receiving a 10/face card and an Ace ITS PONTOON.

If the customer holds 5 cards not going over 21, automatic win regardless what the dealer is holding. It pays 2 to 1 just as Pontoon.

***Info taken from XXL Club Casino Online - The one and only 5 star online casino ... by the way this place gets nicer every day!!

[KravdraaYvoorg]

[vinylweatherman]

I find it hard to believe MG have screwed up, so I am certain there is something else that knocks the house edge back from 0.17% if not split Aces and 10's.

I wonder if it is implemented in EZBonus properly?
Classic Blackjack, which has a similar HE to "proper" pontoon is weighted at 2%, and has NO Autoplay.
If this pontoon has the 0.17% HE, and has autoplay, there could be a few burnt fingers in Casinoland (I don't mean players either ).

[The Watchdog]

Probably Pontoon rules change between MGs Casinos...

I've seen several Playtech ones where in Black Jack the house stands in all 17s and in others they hit on soft 17.

Its all a matter of management calls regarding configuration.

Some Casinos may use 8 decks for multihand black jack, others will use 6...

[handkey]

I tried the microgaming pontoon some days ago without knowing its rules.

And I decide never play it again because I will lost when I have the same (17,18,19,20)with dealer.

[vinylweatherman]

I tried the microgaming pontoon some days ago without knowing its rules.

And I decide never play it again because I will lost when I have the same (17,18,19,20)with dealer.

The ties lose rule IS in "proper" pontoon with HE of 0.17%, the player gains from the 2:1 payout for Pontoon, better than 3:2 payout in regular Blackjack. As there is no dealer up card, strategy is a lot simpler too!

My volunteer for casino "burnt fingers" may well be Jackpot Factory, who seem to be offering DOUBLE points (I'll have to check the rules).
If the game really is as good as 0.17% I can see it being quickly excluded from comp points due to it having Autoplay, and being weighted at 2% or even 1% in EZBonus.
Roxy Palace have "Pontoon Gold" on double points, but they only award one point per $25 on non-slots.

I have just checked Loyalty Rules and Jackpot Factory have only put the new slots up for double points, HOWEVER, the invitation only VIP Lounge casino has Pontoon GOLD under the standard rule of double points all the time, at 2 points per $10 wagered. On the face of it, this seems to give a player edge overall of 0.03%, tiny, but worth investigating further.
Pity the Wizard does not explain the calculation for Pontoon, as he presumes dealer hit on soft 17, whereas MG Pontoon has dealer stand on ALL 17!

[happygobrokey]

it was suggested in my other thread on mg pontoon gold that they also don't allow any draw after splitting aces. that's got to increase ha a lot since i would say that splitting aces lead to a lot of 5-card-tricks.

edit: since we're discussing HA here, perhaps we should petition michael shackleford or some other mathemetician to calculate HAs factoring in all the possible rules that would affect it. the factors i can think of are:

splitting aces (ten is pontoon?)
splitting aces (only one card allowed?)
double after splitting?
dealer hit/stick soft 17?
re-splits?
# of decks?
theoretical (as in they would never do such a thing): if player and dealer both have pontoon it pays even money/pushes

[thelawnet]

it was suggested in my other thread on mg pontoon gold that they also don't allow any draw after splitting aces. that's got to increase ha a lot since i would say that splitting aces lead to a lot of 5-card-tricks.

Indeed. Player can draw to split aces is +.19% on normal BJ. And that's with no 5-card trick possibility. Obviously with an ace, you're somewhat more likely to get a 5 card trick, so not being able to draw to split aces has got to be more than +.19%, say 0.4%.

And the hitting soft 17 on normal bj is -0.22%.

So if they don't let you draw to split aces, that would hurt you more than the stand on soft 17 helps.