How To Play Blackjack With Friends?

Having friends or family over to play blackjack can be a fun way to spend a weekend or evening. Blackjack is, without a doubt, one of the most popular card games in the industry. While it is mostly played at land-based and online casinos, you can also play at the comfort of your home. 

However, you need to understand a few things about blackjack before throwing a party. We've put together a few requirements you should know, including blackjack equipment, how to play for fun without a dealer, winning strategies, security in-home blackjack games, and much more.

Home Blackjack Equipment

To host a successful home blackjack game, you must ensure that you have assembled all the required equipment. The good thing is that most of the items are available in local and online stores. The following equipment must be available:

A Card Table

A standard blackjack table is designed to accommodate between 5 and 6 players. Don't go for the idea of using a dining table as most people do. Using dining tables can be tedious for the dealer. A card table is a must-have item.

Betting Chips

Betting chips are easy to find, and they are pretty cheap. Using real chips makes everything unified and transparent. Also, players can tell the amount of money other players are betting with.

Playing Cards

A good game requires 1 to 6 decks, depending on how you plan to deal your game. It is not recommended to use cardboard playing cards. Once you spill any liquid on them, they spoil. Also, they can be torn by kids accidentally.

A Dealer's Button

You can find a dealer's button with many card sets, which is extremely useful in the game. The button is placed in front of whoever is dealing the game. It helps clear the confusion of who is dealing with the game.

A Shoe

If your blackjack game involves multiple decks, you need to buy a shoe and deal cards from it. It's optional if you are playing on a single deck blackjack table.

How To Play Blackjack At Home Without A Dealer?

The interesting thing about many card games played at home is that players compete against each other. However, the case is different with blackjack games. Instead of competing against each other, players compete to beat the dealer. But since there is no professional dealer from a casino, you must share the duty of dealing.

The reason why the duties of dealing must be shared by all players is that the dealer always has an edge in blackjack. By sharing the role, all players get a fair chance to win. Therefore, when organizing a home-based blackjack game, the first thing to consider is how the dealing turns will run.

The first step is to ask all players to pick a card from the deck randomly. The player who gets the highest card automatically becomes the first dealer. Once the turn of dealing is over, the role is moved to the player sitting on the left, and the turns continue until all players are served.

Secondly, you need to decide the duration of dealing with a game before passing it to the next dealer. This is pretty simple in a multi-deck game using the cutting card. As the name suggests, a cutting card is used to cut the game, and it's placed around one-fourth of the way from the base of the deck.

But if you are playing a single deck game, you must shuffle the cards after each round for a new dealer to be picked. Nevertheless, it's advisable to choose dealers in advance and decide the number of hands that they'll deal with. In a standard blackjack, a dealer should play between 3 and 10 hands before the next dealer takes position. The reason is if the dealer busts the first hand, they'll have to deal and pay all players on the table.

Once you have determined the dealing turns, the next step is to start placing bets. Like baccarat and poker card games, blackjack is not fun without betting. You must determine how the players will bet. Moreover, you must ensure that all the equipment, including cards, is available.

If you are hosting the game, you automatically become the banker. You'll be exchanging chips for cards. As a banker, you are responsible for the security of any money used in the game. All players must have enough chips to cover their turn while dealing with the game. Moreover, the host must decide the minimum bet for all players. This implies that players must buy chips before joining the blackjack table.

It is required that the minimum buy-in for each player must be 100 times the minimum bet range. This implies that if you set the minimum bet to be $1 for every hand, players must spend at least $100 on chips.

Home Blackjack Game Strategy Advice

As earlier mentioned, one of the advantages of blackjack games is that you can apply a strategy to increase your winning opportunities. There are many strategies and betting systems that you can use at any time to maximize your potential to win. Whether you are playing blackjack for the first time or you are a veteran player, you will benefit from our strategy advice.

Double Down on a Hard 11

Doubling down on a hard 11 against the dealer's upcard will always give you a chance of winning more money. If you are playing with multiple decks where the dealer must stand on 17, you have a higher chance of hitting against a dealer ace than doubling down.

Split a Pair of 8s and Aces

It is advisable to always split a pair of 8s and aces. Many players often avoid splitting with a pair of 8s when the dealer's upcard is a 9, 10, or an Ace. Since they are big underdogs, they don't see a reason to wager more money. What they forget is that you lose less money in the long run when you split a pair of aces and 8s.

Never Split a Pair of 5s or Tens

A pair of 5s is equal to a hard 10, and it is recommended to always take one or more card draws to a 10 instead of splitting the 5s and then playing two hands. The good thing is that  in splitting tens winnings happens more often than losing

Hit a Hard 12 Against the Dealer's 2 or 3 Upcard

Since many blackjack players fear to burst, they tend to stand on their hard 12. However, hitting against the dealer's 2 or 3 upcards will cost you in the long run, regardless of whether you hit or stand. To avoid losing more money, you must hit.

Hit Ace-7 when the Dealer's Upcard is 9, 10, or Ace

Many punters imagine that any hand that totals 18 guarantees a win. That's why they prefer to stand on a soft 18 whenever the dealer shows a strong upcard. The best strategy, in this case, is always to hit ace-7 anytime the dealer shows a 9, 10, or ace as the upcard.

Double Down on 10 when the Dealer's Upcard is 9 or Less

Whenever you have a 2-card 10 against any of the dealer's upcards or less, you become the favorite. This is why it is advisable to double down in this case. The simple rule is always to double down on 10 when the dealer has 9 or less.

Avoid The Insurance Bet

By all means, never make an insurance bet in any blackjack game. Don't accept to be lured by a good hand like 19 or 20. An insurance bet offers payouts of 2 to 1, which is less than the odds of the dealer will have a blackjack.

Learn Bankroll Management

When playing blackjack games for real money, it is essential to learn some bankroll management skills. You should be able to set aside some funds to be used on betting. This way, you can tell whether you are profiting or losing in your blackjack games.

Consider Card Counting

Though card counting is not for everyone, it can benefit your blackjack game. This skill takes time to learn and requires regular practice. But it is not complicated as many people tend to believe. Counting cards in blackjack is not all about memorizing the exact cards that have been played. You must be able to keep a general track of all the low cards and high cards that have been played. Though card counting is not illegal, many casinos don't accept it. That's why we recommend this technique when you are playing at home with your buddies.

212 Manhattan Betting System

This is a progressive betting system that uses units. It aims to cap your downside and take profit when you win, and maximize your bankroll when you are on a hot streak. The sequence starts with 2 units, and if you win, you take profit and reduce your bet by one unit on the next hand. The good thing about this strategy is that it doesn't require a huge bankroll; however, the profit is small.

Deviation Strategy

You are not bound to use one blackjack strategy while playing. A time will come when you break from the normal strategy. This occurs when you stand a higher chance of winning by contradicting the strategy you are using. Nevertheless, the blackjack deviation strategy depends on the composition of cards that are remaining in the shoe. You must be an expert in card counting to successfully break from your strategy.

Surrender Strategy

The most misunderstood strategy in the blackjack game is surrender. With the surrender strategy, players can hand over their cards back to the dealer. The casino gives the player half of their original bet in return. Using surrender strategy depends on the dealer's upcard.

Martingale Betting System

Though Martingale is a popular betting system in roulette games, it can also be used in blackjack. The objective of this betting system is to profit from the initial wager; regardless it's the player's first hand or 10th hand.

Security In Blackjack At Home

Though you know everyone that will be joining you for a blackjack game, it is essential to keep a few things in mind regarding security. The first and foremost important thing is to ensure that you keep the money used in the game safely. Pick a location based on the amount you are going to spend. For instance, we recommend using a cigar box if your friends are betting 25 cents per hand. But if the bet ranges between $1 and $5 per hand, you must use a safe box and keep the funds away until the playing session is over.

There have been incidents in the past where home-based gambling games have been robbed. Additionally, if you don't know everyone that will be participating in the game, you need to consider the types of chips that you will be using. It's pretty simple for a player to conceal and produce identical if you are using the standard plastic red, white and blue chips. Make sure you count all the chips you will be using in the game.

Blackjack With Friends FAQs