Homemade blackjack tournaments can be fun for all ages

It’s probably fair to say that blackjack is the world’s most poplar card game. It’s certainly the world’s top casino card-based game and the reasons for this are undoubtedly down to its fun and its simplicity. Most of us learned to play blackjack plying for matchsticks or a few pennies as kids – with multiple rule variations such as paying double on five card tricks, or the ability to buy “blind” whilst doubling one’s stake etc.

Any kid can be taught to play blackjack in a few hands and a few minutes. They immediately get it and just start playing for the sheer fun of the game. This is also, perhaps, why the game is so popular with web-based players. Often, people will sit and play blackjack on their mobiles in demonstration mode only for no real cash – just because it helps while away the hours on a long journey, for example.

With some online casinos like the 32red mobile casino, and others, players can play on their mobile phones or tablets etc., wherever they can get web access and play for nothing if that is their preference – and the various blackjack games are designed to be interesting regardless of real cash. On the other hand, most players with 32Red do choose to play for real cash on their mobile devices – not least because they can profit from up to £160 free when they first register as the site rewards players with £32 for each £20 deposited.

But blackjack doesn’t have to be for real money, nor does it have to be online or in a real casino to be fun. If you have a bunch of kids to entertain for an hour or two, for example, then organizing a blackjack tournament on a winner-takes-all basis with pretend cash (there are ready-made sets available but some cash from a Monopoly set and a pack of cards is all you need) will certainly do the trick. 

Simply make sure that all the players start with an equal amount of faux-money. The aim of the game is simply to play to a point where someone has won all the cash – or to play to a pre-agreed stop time and to see who has most cash.

To decide who will be the banker is the hard part. You can either be the banker yourself throughout all the games without taking part in the final ‘prize’, or you can let each player deal the same number of hands each in rotation – or you can draw lots to see who starts then change the bank each time a player has pontoon (or royal pontoon if you prefer).

The important thing is that this is great fun for all ages – but particularly if you’re stuck for ideas with a room full of children on a rainy day.