History and Information of Blackjck

No definite timeline of blackjack history exists but as far as we can tell, its roots date back to France in the early 1600s. The first written reference to blackjack was recorded in 1601 or 1602 but the game, or at least its ancestors, is probably much older than that.

The early French precursor to blackjack was called Vingt-et-Un, which translates to “21.” The rules were a little different but it was obvious that blackjack was a direct descendent of Vingt-et-Un.

Early references to blackjack can also be found in Spain, where the game was called Veintiuna. Again, this translates to 21 and the object of the game was to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. If the rules were a little different, the object of the game was still the same.

Another Spanish game called “One and Thirty” may have contributed to blackjack’s heritage as well. In this game, the goal was to get 31 points instead of 21 and players were given 3 cards instead of 2. Even so, the similarities in the games are obvious.

Eventually, some form of the game traveled to the United States where it was greeted with a cool reception. A few casinos tried to spread the game, but they just couldn’t get it to take off. In an effort to increase interest in the game, casinos started offering a special bonus payout of 10 to 1 if the player’s first two cards consisted of an Ace of Spades and either one of the black Jacks. This is where the modern name “Blackjack” originated.

The game never took off in a big way in the United States but it survived in small casinos and home games and spread slowly across the country. At one point in the early 1800s, the US Government banned all gambling card games and pushed the game even further underground.

Instead of stamping out the fires, the anti-gambling prohibition actually fanned the flames and caused interest in the game to grow sharply. Finally, in 1931, the city of Las Vegas decided to legalize gambling and blackjack sprang up there along with hundreds of other gambling games.

Blackjack established a firm foothold in Las Vegas but it still didn’t take off quite like some other games had. Over the years, however, interest in the game grew as more and more people began to suspect there was a way to beat the house in Blackjack.

When the first card counters appeared in the 1960s and people got wind of certain gamblers making millions of dollars playing blackjack, interest in the game spiked. Ever since the first card counters hit the scene, blackjack has been known as the game that can be beaten.

Of course few people ever go through the difficulty of learning how to beat blackjack but even so, the game still has that aura of possibility. And even if the game couldn’t be beaten, gamblers eventually learned that blackjack had one of the lowest house edges in the casino.

Today blackjack is played all around the world, in both live casinos and online. Casinos employ sophisticated methods to deter card counters but interest in the game hasn’t faded a bit. Millions of people still flock to the game every year, hoping that this time might be The Big One.