Overview Of The History Of Blackjack
As many other games,
researchers are still not able to trace back the origin of Blackjack,
and even to this day, the history of Blakjack is continuously
debated. Up till now, there has not been any clear and steady
consensus, but it is widely agreed that Blackjack most likely
originated from around 1700 in French casinos. Allegedly, it was
known as “Vingt-et-Un” back then, which means “twenty-one” in
French, which is still an alternate name for Blackjack even today. It
is widely believed that this card game likely originates from Chemin
de Fer and French Ferme, two French card games that were quite trendy
back then.
Other versions of Blackjack
Apparently, another version of Blackjack called
“One and Thirty” was widespread in Spain. In this Spanish
version, players had to get 31 points on their first three
cards.
Another theory about the history of Blackjack is that it was the Romans who had invented this card game. It believed this game was played by the Romans using wooden blocks that were assigned varying numerical values. There could be some truth behind this theory since the Romans were fond of gambling, however, it is unlikely that this theory could actually be confirmed.
Out of all the other versions of Blackjack, it was apparently “21” or “'Vingt-et-Un” that kept on becoming more and more popular, reaching gamblers far and wide. Eventually, the French colonists ended up introducing it to North American and soon, gamblers through the continent were playing it. However, unlike the contemporary or modern version of Blackjack that is widely played today, the rules back then were not the same. Back then, that former version of Blackjack did not permit the dealer to double. Moreover, for every playing cards dealt, there used to be a betting round.
Back in 1931, when gambling was declared legal in the state of Nevada for the very first time, Blackjack was still known as “21.” Back then, even a special bet was being offered by certain casinos, so as to attract more people to the card game. They were offering to pay ten-to-one odds on the bet of any lucky player who managed to get a hand feature the Jack of Clubs or the Jack of Spades, i.e. the two black jacks, along with the Ace of Spades. Although this odd payout was later discontinued by those casinos, the name “black jack” or “blackjack” stuck to the game, and it ended up becoming the popular Blackjack that is played today.
Blackjack in the America
Blackjack had become big business in American casinos by the 1960s. The rules of the game had also been firmly established. However, the game took an absolutely unexpected turn. The rules of the game were changed by casinos, which provided them an edge over players, providing the dealer with an automatic advantage. This was how the concept of counting cards was developed.
Hence, it was not just a single person who ended up conceiving Blackjack at some definite point of time. Rather, it took centuries and centuries for this card game to evolve, and even today, the evolution and growth of the card game continues, all because of the Internet. The online casino industry has fueled the popularity of Blackjack, as a result of which a variety of versions of the game have developed, and it has become quite revolutionary.
