Pontoon (banking game)

Pontoon

British version of Twenty-one
An ace and ten score twenty-one
Origin	United Kingdom
Alternative names	Vingt-Un (obsolete), Twenty-one
Type	Comparing
Players	usually 3–7
Skills	Probability
Cards	52
Deck	French
Play	Clockwise
Chance	High
Related games
Twenty-One

Pontoon, formerly called Vingt-Un, is a card game of the banking family for three to ten players and the "British domestic version of Twenty-One," a game first recorded in 17th-century Spain, but which spread to France, Germany and Britain in the late 18th century, and America during the early 19th century. It is neither a variant of nor derived from Blackjack. Both are descended from the early British version of Vingt-Un. In Britain, it first became known as Pontoon during the First World War, the name apparently being a soldier's corruption of its former French name. The game has no official rules and varies widely from place to place.^[1] It is a popular family game, but also widely played by children, students, and members of the armed forces.^[2] In 1981, Pontoon was the third most popular card game in Britain after Rummy and Whist.^[3] It has been described as "an amusing round game and one which anyone can learn in a few minutes."^[4]