18+For entertainment onlyNo real money playNo prizes of monetary valueNo in-app purchases
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10sparks
Choose a stake to begin.
Pontoon, the British way
Twist & Stick follows the version of pontoon played on trains and at kitchen tables across Britain. You face a house hand whose cards stay face down until you stick, so there is no up-card to read. You twist to take another card, stick when you are happy, and must hold at least 15 before you are allowed to stick.
Two hands beat ordinary totals. A pontoon is an ace with a ten, jack, queen or king as your first two cards. A five-card trick is five cards that stay at 21 or under, and it beats any total, even 21 made in three cards. Both return your stake plus one and a half times it. A higher total than the house returns double the stake; an equal total hands the stake back.
Playing it sensibly
The house draws until it reaches 17, and if your total passes 21 you lose straight away, even if the house would have gone bust too. That is where its edge comes from. A simple approach works well: twist below 15 because you must, stick on 17 or more with a hard hand, and think about twisting on soft totals such as an ace and a six. With four cards and a low total, the trick is often worth the risk.
How to play Twist & Stick
Pick a stake and press Deal. You and the house get two cards each; both house cards stay face down.
Twist to take another card or Stick to stand. You must have 15 or more to stick, and you can hold up to five cards.
An ace and a ten-value card is a pontoon. Five cards totalling 21 or less is a five-card trick.
When you stick, the house turns its cards and draws until it reaches 17. A total past 21 is bust.
Pontoon beats everything and returns your stake plus 1.5 times it. A trick beats any total and also returns plus 1.5. A higher total returns double the stake. Equal totals hand the stake back. Bust loses, even if the house busts later.
Pay table
These are the exact numbers the game uses. Every round is drawn fresh by your browser’s random number generator: nothing that happened before changes what happens next, and there is no pattern to find.
What comes back at the end of a hand
Hand
Back
Pontoon (ace + ten-value card)
stake + 1.5 × stake
Five-card trick
stake + 1.5 × stake
Higher total than the house, or house bust
stake + 1 × stake
Same total as the house
stake back
Lower total, house pontoon, or you go bust
nothing back
Four decks, shuffled before every hand. You need 15 or more to stick; the house draws to 17.
