Each player's basic aim is to form a hand whose total value is as near as possible to 21, without going above 21. ... Next best after a Pontoon is a Five Card Trick, which is a hand of five cards totaling 21 or less. A hand of three or four cards worth 21 points beats everything else except a Pontoon or Five Card Trick.

Does 5 cards Beat 21 in blackjack?

While it's always nice to get two good starting cards in blackjack or to take one card and get closer to 21, sometimes you get dealt another low card and then another. ... In 5-Card Charlie, getting five cards wins the hand, even if you have something poor like 15. It gives you an extra incentive to take another card.

What does a 5 Card Trick beat in blackjack?

The other way is to get what is called a five card trick. This is where you get five cards without going over 21 points. A pontoon is better than a five card trick will beat any 21 with less than five cards, regardless if the five card trick is 21 or less.