The History of Blackjack

It is commonly believed that the first game of Blackjack took place in France in the 17th Century  under the name of Vingt-et-un, which means twenty one. Vingt-et-un is very much similar to blackjack except for a few small differences. The only person at the table who was allowed to double was the dealer and there had been different betting methods. Also, unlike in the modern Blackjack, in the game of Vingt-et-un players had to place bets after every round. However, both  Blackjack and Vingt-et-un share same goal - to reach 21 without exceeding it. Blackjack received its name because of the hand of Ace of spades and Jack of spades or Jack of clubs which was called Black Jack and had a 10 to 1 payout.

Approximately at the same time a game called Seven and Half appeared in Italy. All face cars and sevens, eights, nines and tens of all suits were used in this game. The objective of the game was  to collect a hand with seven and half points. All face cards had been valued at half of a point while all regular cards had been valued at one point. The King of Diamonds was used as a wild card (or Joker) and could substitute any other card. If the players exceeded seven and half points he was busted. The Blackjack term "bust" had been taken from this game.

The new era in the history of Blackjack began when after French Revolution the game came to the United States. At that moment there were no restrictions or laws regulating this game and it became incredibly popular in no time. The professional players managed to see the huge potential of this game and soon began developing various strategies able to improve the odds and increase their chances of winning. However, in the 19th century the United States government banned gambling because government officials believed gambling corrupts the society and encourages the crime.

Despite the anti-gambling laws and acts, blackjack remained on the the most popular gambling games in the United States and went underground. In 1931 the state of Nevada legalized gambling and Las Vegas officially became the capital of gambling in the United States.

In 1953 Roger Baldwin and his associates began studying the game of Blackjack. This led to a great turn in the history of Blackjack. Baldwin and his group used various statistical theories and calculating methods trying to reduce the house edge. Their findings and conclusions were published in 1956 and this book became the very first guide on blackjack strategy.

In the late 1990's the first online casinos introduced online version of Blackjack. It became very popular and attracted many players from all around the world. Today, Blackjack is one of the most popular online casino games.