How to Host a Casino Night at Home

Looking for new ways to bring the entertainment of a cruise home while the ships are docked? We recommend hosting a casino night with friends and family! Grab a deck of cards, dice, cocktails, and appetizers and you are ready for an evening of fun. 

In this edition of our Couch Cruising series, we’ve created a how-to guide for playing popular ships casino games from the comfort of your home! 

Blackjack (AKA ‘Twenty-One’)

Considered one of the most popular card games, Blackjack is commonly found in most casinos on land and at sea. The object of Blackjack is for participants to ‘beat’ the dealer by getting a card count as close to 21 as they can, without going over and hoping the dealer comes in with a lower total or busts (goes over 21). In the game, Ace cards count as 1 or 11, face cards as 10, and the rest of the cards at their index value.

How to Play Blackjack from Bicycle Cards.

Poker

Poker is a popular game that’s easy to learn but difficult to master. Although it’s a card game, poker is also a game of strategy, and you'll need to constantly read the other players to decide when to fold, when to bluff, and when to call someone else’s bluff. (Queue Kenny Rodger’s song ‘The Gambler’).

There are many variations of poker, but Texas Hold’em is the most popular. While each variation has its own rules, the basics of the game are always the same.

Learn how to play poker from WikiHow.

Texas Hold’em Poker

Texas Hold'em is by far the most popular of all poker variations.  In Texas hold'em, players are trying to make the best five-card poker hand according to traditional poker rankings. The way players construct their hands in Texas hold'em is a little different than in draw poker. In hold'em, each player is dealt two cards face down (the "hole cards"), then over the course of subsequent rounds five more cards are eventually dealt face up in the middle of the table.

Poker News has more on the instructions for Texas Hold’em.

Baccarat

Baccarat is said to be one of the easiest games to learn and very popular in casinos around the world. It typically offers the best odds of all the table games in casinos. This video below from Caesar's Entertainment explains more on the rules of Baccarat.  

Chase the Ace

Chase the Ace is a fun card game that will create a lot of laughs and have everyone sitting on the edge of their chairs. The game is simple. Players are dealt one card only, and the object is to not end up with the lowest value at the end of a round’s trading. You can stick if you have a high card, or trade with the person sitting to your left. The game continues until the last person has an A or another low-value card. 

Learn how to play Chase the Ace.

Read More: Everything You Need to Know About Cruise Ship Casinos

What is your favorite casino game?