Pontoon in the Philippines

[ramjack]

I am thinking of playing blackjack in the Philippines' casinos but i would like to hear what you have to say before i spend any more time in it:

Game: Pontoon Variation
Table Limit: Php300.00 - Php5,000.00 (or Php8,000.00)
Deck: 8
Burn card: 6 after each shuffle with the machine; dealers burns another one before dealing to players and another one before dealer hits himself.
Penetration: 60%
Blackjack/Pontoon pays 3:2
Dealer: hits soft 17
Players: can stay 16 below
Insurance 5:2
No Surrender
Sidebets: Pair, pays 10:1

Splits: Once any pair card
All Ties: Push
Double/Buy: atleast 3 for every hit
No 5 card charley, highest always beats lowest as long as it doesn't bust.
777: pays 3:1
678 (flush): pays 3:1

At one time, A73 (21) was paid immediately even when dealer has been found to have blackjack.

Players (and even spectators) can place bets on other players hands (everything from basic bets, double/buys, splits, pair, etc) as if playing multi-hand, but you will be at the mercy of that players play, unless you can convince that player to do what you want.

I tried playing with 10 units, using basic strategy, and with atleast 4 other players, and managed to survive up to 3 shuffles. I dont know if thats good.
I did make a few mistakes.

Games are very slow, especially with several players.

Can you give me an estimate of house advantage?
Can I use K0 strategy with these rules?
Or should i play online?

Any feedbacks are welcome. Thanks.

[KenSmith]

We haven't had too much discussion about Pontoon here, though a search might yield something here.
In the meantime, you'll probably want to check out what the Wizard has to say about the game:
http://wizardofodds.com/pontoon

[Sonny]

There is some good info on Snyder's site too:

http://www.blackjackforumonline.com/...icstrategy.htm

-Sonny-

[Mr. T]

No No both Ken and Sonny got it wrong.

Out here in Asia Pontoon is actually equivalent in the US as Spanish 21. It is a legacy of the European influence in this part of the world.

The wizard of odds is correct but Ken quoted the wrong link. This is the game in the Phillipines and Asia.

http://wizardofodds.com/spanish21

[ramjack]

Originally Posted by Mr. T

No No both Ken and Sonny got it wrong.

Out here in Asia Pontoon is actually equivalent in the US as Spanish 21. It is a legacy of the European influence in this part of the world.

The wizard of odds is correct but Ken quoted the wrong link. This is the game in the Phillipines and Asia.

http://wizardofodds.com/spanish21

Thanks Mr. T. because of the name Spanish 21, i did not bother looking into it, since the game here is being called Pontoon. I read the link you gave me,
except for minor variations, it is the game being played here. One of the main difference between Pontoon and Spanish 21, is that the dealer is dealt one card face up, which i forgot to mention in my initial post. Do you think any counting (particularly KO) will work with the scenario above? the dealer burns too many cards, or am i better off with the basic strategy provided on the link?

[Brock Windsor]

Originally Posted by ramjack

Thanks Mr. T. because of the name Spanish 21, i did not bother looking into it, since the game here is being called Pontoon. I read the link you gave me,
except for minor variations, it is the game being played here. One of the main difference between Pontoon and Spanish 21, is that the dealer is dealt one card face up, which i forgot to mention in my initial post. Do you think any counting (particularly KO) will work with the scenario above? the dealer burns too many cards, or am i better off with the basic strategy provided on the link?

It is countable using an unbalanced Hi-Lo though that pen is lousy and will kill most of your hourly rate. Buy Katrina Walkers book on Spanish 21 and Pontoon. You may need to come up with your own index for a 5:2 insurance bet, I've never seen that but if your RC starts at -32 then -1 would be a good point to take insurance if I had to guess. Her book has all the indicies and basic strategy for many versions of pontoon, though I'd hadn't heard of one that did not offer surrender, nor one with a 5:2 insurance.
BW

[Mr. T]

Originally Posted by ramjack

thanks mr. T. Because of the name spanish 21, i did not bother looking into it, since the game here is being called pontoon. I read the link you gave me,
except for minor variations, it is the game being played here. One of the main difference between pontoon and spanish 21, is that the dealer is dealt one card face up, which i forgot to mention in my initial post. Do you think any counting (particularly ko) will work with the scenario above? The dealer burns too many cards, or am i better off with the basic strategy provided on the link?

csm