How to Host and Play Blackjack at Home

Some of the classic card games to play at home are often Poker, Rummy and Bridge. But Blackjack is growing in popularity and becoming the perfect game to play in the comfort of your home.

What’s great about playing Blackjack at home is that players can work on their card-counting or general skills before heading to the casino, you can adjust betting to any denomination you want, and you only need to play Blackjack with two players.

Perhaps the greatest appeal to playing Blackjack is in its simple rules. The game is fast-paced with new hands being dealt frequently, it’s fairly easy to learn and to teach others.

There isn’t much needed regarding setting up a blackjack table at home and it doesn’t matter how many fellow players you have either.

How to play Blackjack with 2 players is no different than having 6 players at a table and a dealer in control of the deck of cards.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Can You Play Blackjack at Home?

Of course! This game isn’t just for the casinos or online gaming. To make it fun and a bit fancy, you only need to gather a few supplies to set up a Blackjack table in your own home. A basic Blackjack game requires:

• Decks of Cards: You’ll want to have a standard 52-card deck if you want to play a single deck hand of Blackjack. This is ideal if it’s just 2-3 players in total. For more players, or if you want to have longer play between shuffling, you’ll want at least two decks in action. For best practices, make sure your decks are the same color/brands.

• Poker Chips: These add to the casino vibe, but any type of chip, coin or multi-colored sticky notes will work.

• Blackjack Table: This could be as simple as a dining room table as long as it’s a flat surface. It should also be spacious enough that a dealer can sit on one side and deal to the players on the opposite side. You’ll want to make sure there is plenty of room to deal cards to yourself and other players as well as a spot for players to place bets. The dealer will manage all the chips so it’s important to have a holding spot for excess chips/coins.

How Do You Play Basic Blackjack?

Before hosting a Blackjack game at your home, make sure you familiarize with the basic rules of Blackjack. Because there will be a non-professional dealer, you (or whoever is the dealer) will need to know what rules to follow and the expectations of playing as the dealer versus a player betting against the house.

The Cards

First off, don’t forget to remove the Joker cards from the deck before shuffling. As for the 52 cards in the deck, the number cards (2-10) are worth their face value, face cards (Jack, Queen and King) are worth 10 and the Ace card is either worth 1 or 11 – the player can change this value at any time.

Because 10s, Jacks, Queens and Kings are all worth 10, this means that 10 is the most likely card value to appear – this will come into play when you consider Blackjack strategy.

The Player

Blackjack is also known as 21 because the player’s goal is to get the value of their hand as close to 21 as possible without going over. If either the player or the dealer exceeds 21 it’s called a bust.

To play, each player must place at least the minimum determined bet at the beginning of each game. For instance, if you want each person to bet $1 or more to play, that’s the minimum betting limits.

The dealer than deals two cards to each player including themselves. Both of the players’ cards are dealt face up and the dealer’s cards have one card face up (called the dealer’s upcard) and the other face down (called the hole card)

Starting with the first player to the left of the dealer, the player has options based on the cards they were dealt and decide whether they would like to hit or stand.

• Hit = receive a card

• Stand = stay with your hand

Players can hit until they choose to stand or bust.

After each player has their turn, then its time to reveal the dealer’s face-down card (also known as the hole card) and show the value of their hand.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

The Dealer

The dealer is the one playing as “the house,” a term used for a casino or the one’s the players are playing against. They are beholden to certain rules regarding hitting and staying so when it’s their turn, they don’t have as much freedom as the players to make decisions.

When it’s the dealer’s turn, they flip over their face-down card and reveal to the table the worth of their hand. The dealer must draw cards until their hand totals 17 or more.

Unless otherwise stated, if the dealer has a “soft” 17, which is an Ace and 6 (11+6), they will have to hit – if the dealer draws an extra card higher than 4, the Ace becomes a value of 1 and they don’t bust. So, if they dealer deals themselves a 10 on a soft 17, they have 1+6+10, not 11+6+10.

If the dealer busts, then the remaining players all win. If the player has already busted, they still lose.

The dealer is the only person to pay out if the player wins or take the money if they lose.

Blackjack Strategies for Home Play

Whether you play Blackjack at home or in a casino, the basic rules and strategies apply. If you’re a beginner, here are the basic strategies for playing Blackjack.

Whether the player decides to hit or stand will be based on the cards they’re dealt and the dealer’s face-up card.

Basic Strategy Tips

• Always Hit on hands that are worth 11 or less.

• Always Stand when your hand is worth 17 or more.

• When the dealer has a face-up card of 2-6, it’s best practice to Stand if your hand’s value exceeds 12. The argument is that card with a value of 10 is the most likely to be the face-down card and the one most likely to be dealt. This means that there is a good chance the dealer will bust.

• If your card values land between 12–16 and the dealer is showing a 7 or higher, it’s best practice to Hit. This is because the dealer likely has at least a 17, in which they would have to stand. If you stand under 17, then you’re likely to lose.

There are also ways to increase your chance of winning more money during a Blackjack game and enhancing the gameplay. They include:

Double Down

This wager allows players to double their bets before their first hit. However, if a player doubles down, they receive only one card and cannot hit again. This strategy is used when a player’s two cards are worth 11 and a player is betting they’ll receive a high card.

However, there are some risks, such as when a dealer shows a ten-value card, then there’s a high chance they have a hand worth 20. Players will also double down on 9 or 10, especially if the dealer has a 2-6 card showing.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Splitting Cards

Players can split their cards if they are dealt matching value cards (for example, 2 x 8s or 2 x Aces). The player must match their original bet in order to split so if they initially wagered $10, they must play another $10.

From there, the two cards are split and each card is played separately as if they are the start of two different hands. Players can hit, stand, double down and bust just like at any other time during play.

The 5-Card Rule

This is a way to add excitement to your Blackjack home game. With this rule in place, players who draw five cards without busting automatically win. This isn’t a standard rule in many casinos so players at your home game might be unfamiliar with it.

Setting Up Your Home Blackjack Game

Once you’re ready to host a Blackjack game with friends or family, you’ll want to establish certain rules for gameplay and even consider creating a casino-type atmosphere.

For poker games, all players bring a certain amount of money and receive chips to play with. Whoever has the most chips at the end of the night will win the money – or it can be separated into first, second or third place.

Blackjack games can use a similar model. For instance, every player brings $20 and receives a certain number of chips. At the end of the evening, whoever holds the most chips wins the pot of money.

Here are some ways to make the most out of your game and how to play Blackjack at home:

Scoring and Winning

Make sure that you establish the rules of Blackjack so that the players understand what to expect regarding wins, losses and payouts. Keep it relatively simple, there’s no need to add things like the insurance bet into a home game.

Wins

• Win without busting. If the player’s hand is higher than the dealer’s hand and they didn’t bust, then this is a win. This will pay 1:1 on the bet.

• Win with a bust. If the dealer busts and the player has not busted, then the player wins. This will pay 1:1 on the bet.

• Blackjack! A Blackjack is when a player receives an Ace and an additional card with a value of 10 (10, Jack, Queen or King). In a casino, a Blackjack pays 3:2, or 1.5 times the bet. For example, a $10 bet wins $15. The Blackjack payout amount can vary though.

Losses

• Loss without busting. If the dealer’s hand is higher than the player’s hand, then the player losses their bet.

• Loss with a bust. If the player busts, they lose their bet.

• Dealer Blackjack. If the dealer gets a Blackjack, the player automatically loses. In some circumstances, when the dealer shows an Ace, the player can buy insurance (a side bet that allows players to wager half their original bet and win 2:1 if the dealer has Blackjack).

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Push in Blackjack

A blackjack push occurs when both the player and the dealer have cards that equal the same value. For example, if the player has a 10,7 and the dealer has a 6,8,3 then both have 17 and it’s a tie. The player keeps their wager.

If the player has a Blackjack and the dealer gets a Blackjack, this is often considered a push as well.

Dealer Rotation

If you play Poker at home, the dealer changes with every hand. Blackjack at home can follow a similar style of play in which the dealer rotates clockwise after each round. Payouts are made by whoever is the dealer and are beholden to the house rules.

The Casino Vibe

One way to add some fun into a Blackjack game at home is to create a casino-like atmosphere. You can play Vegas-inspired music to make the environment livelier as well as use casino chips that are separated into colors and values so that players feel like they’re playing in your own version of the Tropicana.

Also, you can host a Blackjack night with decorations inspired by casinos or have your guests dress up for a casino themed party.

The End of the Night

Have a plan for ending the Blackjack game night. Whether it’s a specific time or when one person has all the chips, make sure there is a way to have a clear winner, or winners, at the end of the night.

When many people host a poker game, money is collected from each player and in return they receive a stack of chips. The player with the most chips (or sometimes the only chips) at the end of the night, wins the money.

You can make Blackjack games similar in that players pool a certain amount of money in return for a set amount of chips – they can’t add more money for more chips, but rather play until they lose them all or the night ends.

Hosting the perfect Blackjack game at home can be a fun experience for you and your family or friends. It offers a way for people to get together, enjoy a casino game in the comfort of a friend’s home and even have a party with a new and exciting theme.

This guide was created to help you learn the rules of Blackjack and some strategies to entertain guests. Grab a deck of cards, bring out the chips and play one of the most popular casino games out there!

Title Image Credit: Shutterstock