I love playing Blackjack.  Several times a year we visit casinos and I sit at the tables for hours, hoping for those 21's. 

Now that I have young nephews who enjoy card games, I enjoy teaching them the fine art of Blackjack.  And when we play at home we use the Trademark Professional Blackjack Set.

Interestingly, you really don't need any kind of "set" to play Blackjack.  You need cards (6 decks is standard but you can use fewer decks) and chips to represent money.  That's it!  Everything else that comes in this set is "extra".  There so you can look like a "professional" but none of it is actually necessary.

Summary of the game itself: (feel free to skip this section)
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All players play open-handed against the dealer (thus players are not competing against each other).  The players and the dealer all start out with two cards, but one of the dealer's cards is hidden.  All other cards are face-up.  Then, in turn, players decide if they want to "stand" (keep their hand as it is) or "take a hit" (have the dealer give them another card).  Players can take as many cards as they want until they decide to stay with what they have, or until they "bust" (go over 21) in which case they automatically lose.  On the other hand, if a player is dealt a "blackjack" (any 10 or face card plus an Ace) they are an automatic winner (or at very least, a tie).  When all players have finished, the dealer's hidden card is revealed, and the dealer either stands or takes his hits.  Note that the dealer plays like a robot - he doesn't have any free will at all.  He MUST draw until he reaches 16. And he MUST stand on 17 or higher (although in some casinos the dealers hits on "soft 17", explained below).  After the dealer is finished, players who haven't busted, and whose cards sum higher than the dealer's win even money.  If a player's cards sum lower, they lose their bet.  If it's a tie, it's called a "push" and you simply keep your original bet.

The number on the card determines its value.  All face cards are worth "10" and aces can be worth "1" or "11" to the best interest of the player.  A hand that contains an ace acting as an "11" is called "soft".

There are a few other details - splitting, doubling-down, insurance, and surrender - and some rules vary by casino - but now you have the basic gist of the game.
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About the Trademark Professional Blackjack Set:

The set includes:
* a table-top felt designed to look like a casino-style Blackjack table, with spaces for 7 players
* 6 decks of cards
* a shoe (a plastic container that holds all of the cards and allows the dealer to easily pick off the top card)
* cut cards (fancy name for a card-shaped piece of plastic used to allow players to cut a deck of cards at any point, by sticking the plastic card into a deck)
* discard holder (plastic container for cards that have been played or buried and are out of use for the rest of the game)
* 100 chips in three different colors
* battery-powered card shuffler

The felt is designed to make your table look like a Blackjack table.  There are rectangular spots to designate where each player's cards should be dealt.  There are also a few payout rules written right on the felt (Blackjack pays 3-to-2, Insurance plays 2-to-1) as well as the rule about the dealer drawing to 16 and standing on 17.

The felt feels cheaply made and tends to have set-in wrinkles that can sometimes make card-playing difficult.  It also tends to leave little green "fuzzies" behind.  I suspect that with a lot of use, the felt will start to become thread-bare.  Let's face it - it's cheap.

The cards are a nice quality and have lasted well in our house.  The shoe and the discard holder are fairly sturdy plastic and have also lasted well.  The cut cards are nothing more than plastic, colored cards.  There's not much to say about them!  The green, red, and white chips are thin and light-weight. I prefer a heavier chip, personally. 

To my surpirse, the card-shuffler works pretty well.  Simply place half the cards on each side, press the button, and the cards will shuffle together and land in the bottom tray.  The kids, in particular, enjoy pressing the button and watching the cards "fold into themselves".  It jams occasionally but a quick smack will usually get the cards falling again.  Face it, when playing with 6 decks, this beats having to do all of that shuffling manually!

Playing with a set like this makes the home version of the game feel more like "the real thing" and adds a layer of fun to the game.  And let's face it - it just looks "cool".

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 15
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older