RTG pontoon: ace/ten after AA split is a 2:1 pontoon - or is it?

**caruso** · 18th May 2005, 03:33 PM

This is a follow-up to my previous thread on the matter:

http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/...ead.php?t=7606

I looked at Michael Shakleford's "pontoon" section yesterday and noticed that the original, slightly ambiguous text regarding an ace/ace split...

"I have an uncomfirmed report that some RTG casinos do not treat a pontoon after splitting aces as a pontoon, but rather a soft 21. If this is the case the house edge is increased by 0.45% to 0.62%."

...had been changed to...

"The house edge is 0.62%. If you can find a game where a pontoon after splitting aces pays 2 to 1 then the house edge would be 0.17%. However this is no longer the case at Real Time Gaming casinos."

Since I had previous evidence that, at iNetbet at least, split ace pontoons were still 2:1 pontoons, I did a trial run. It took ages to get an example, but the hand I ended up with quashes all doubts - see the screenshot:

1) Pontoons pay 2:1 after ace splits.

2) You can resplit and draw additional cards.

In other words, the rules remain as they've always been.

However, RTG themselves state the following:

If a player splits two aces, he receives only one additional card for each hand. A hand totaling 21 after splitting aces is considered 21, not
Pontoon.

Maybe this was simply sloppily copied from the blackjack rules?

I notified Mr. S, who's updated his page according:

http://wizardofodds.com/pontoon

I hope this is simply a mistake in the rules, NOT an intended implementation into the game which has somehow been overlooked - it would be extremely disadvantageous to the player and wouldn't do the casinos any good, either.

In the unfortunate event RTG DO plan on something like this, I'd like to encourage them NOT to, for a handful of good reasons:

1) This is a player-popular game, because of both the variance and the low house edge.

2) It remains profitable to the casino: at ten hands per minute, the casino's hourly win rate works out to almost exactly the player's initial wager.

3) Cryptologic offer this game now, with the exact same rules as RTG. If RTG decide to downgrade the game into a house edge of 0.62%, they will lose customers to the Crypto game. As it stands, you can be sure the RTG game is tons more popular than the Crypto version. RTG should not shoot themselves in the foot ostensibly for a quick profit.

I'll now be testing this regularly at iNetbet. If and when the game is downgraded, I'll report on the fact.

**emily_hanson** · 18th May 2005, 04:19 PM

Hello to all,
A quick thank you to Caruso for bringing this to our attention.

As Caruso states above the payout ratio of (2-1) is correctly being delivered, however in the help section it is incorrectly stating that a Pontoon gained from Split Aces is regarded simply as 21 and therefore would only receive 1-1 payout.

Our CSR Alan has been in contact with Caruso and has confirmed that the help section will be amended and NOT the payout. We have also contacted RTG to have this rectified.

Thank you again Caruso, this is, as you say rather 'sloppy'.

Regards
Emily Hanson
iNetBet Manager

**GrandMaster** · 18th May 2005, 09:02 PM

For a moment I thought you were testing it betting $100 in real money, then I noticed that it was just fun balance.

**caruso** · 19th May 2005, 12:22 AM

Originally Posted by emily_hanson

Our CSR Alan has been in contact with Caruso and has confirmed that the help section will be amended and NOT the payout. We have also contacted RTG to have this rectified.

Thank you, Emily, glad to hear it.