118 Casino - History of Blackjack
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History of Blackjack |
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The history of blackjack can be traced back centuries to the first card games. It has evolved over time and become one of the most popular casino games in the world. Unlike some games, whose origins can be easily traced, blackjack is a game that developed over time and has a shrouded past. It has evolved into the game that it is today since the early time of cards. Now, players attempt to get as close to 21 as possible without going over and having a higher score than the dealer. It has been glamorized in movies like “21” and is played in casinos and online sites all over the world. And it all started from a French game that was called Vingt en Un or “21.” The game was played as far back as the 1700s. It does not really resemble the 21 of today, but it is where blackjack appears to have started. The term “blackjack” developed from an English version of the game that paid extra with an ace and a jack of spades. The basic strategy of trying to get to a natural number of 21 was the same, but only the dealer was allowed to double down and betting occurred after every round. The evolved into a game called “seven and a half” developed in Europe. This game used just face cards and sevens through nines, with the face value at half a point for paint cards and a point for the other. The total of 7 ½ was the point and players who went over were said to “bust.” It is believed that this is where the concept of the busting out in blackjack began. This variation was eventually added to Vingt en Un. This combination of the games started emerging in the U.S. after the French Revolution. It instantly became popular until the 19th century, when the U.S. began banning many forms of gambling. It went underground until Nevada started allowing gaming and Las Vegas began to emerge as the gambling center of the universe. However, blackjack began to take off in the 1950s when students of the game began trying to devise strategies. While many of these early strategies were rudimentary in nature, it still provided players some basic reasons to explore the game in depth. Edward Thorp, a professor, took it to the next level with his groundbreaking book “Beat the Dealer,” which was released in the 1960s. This revolutionary book detailed a way to beat the game, called card counting. Thorp and his disciples did an amazing job of detailing how cards could be counted out during the course of a game, and millions of dollars were made by professional card counters. Of course, casinos did their best to counter this, adding such things as the automatic shuffler and the multideck games. Card counting continued to evolve and is still practiced today. It is frowned on, but it is not illegal unless you are using a computer or machine. Now, blackjack has not only become one of the most popular casino card games in the world, it is played at parties, in pubs and online. It has grown into one of the most popular card games in the world alongside poker. And it all started from a game that began in France in the 1700s. |
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