ORIGIN OF BLACKJACK

The origin of Blackjack is still debated; the most popular belief is that it originated in French casinos around 1700 due to its mention in Cervantes's novel Don Quixote, which dates to the late 16th/early 17th century. 

There is actually a theory that Blackjack is an invention by the Romans. The theory stands because Romans loved to gamble, but it is not confirmed. It is believed that Romans played this game with wooden blocks with different numbers painted on them, instead of paper cards.

Besides the various versions of Vingt-et-Un, the popularity of the card games expanded through North America. The card game has made it to the American shore in the 18th century with the help of French colonists. The game couldn’t spread and develop in France in the 19th century. However, during this time the game evolved and gained popularity in America. The game would be seen in New Orleans in 1820 at the legalized gambling halls. Interesting enough, during this time the rules were different than the contemporary Blackjack we now know. For instance in the earlier form of Blackjack only the dealer was allowed to double.

Also during this time, there was a tale of Eleanor Dumont. She was born in France and immigrated to America. She was a skilled dealer and was traveling around until she opened a gambling hall in Nevada City, California

. Ironically, the place was named Vingt-et-Un. People were coming from all around the country to play against Eleanor, just because she was considered a rarity between card dealers.

The Concept

The concept of Blackjack was generated from French games like “Chemin de Fer” (or “Iron Way”) and “French Ferme” (or “Firm French”). In French, Blackjack is known as “Vingt-et-Un” which means “Twenty-and-A”. It was called "21" when Nevada first made gambling legal in 1931.

The game was termed “Blackjack” when, to attract more attention to the game, some casinos offered a special bet: A hand that featured the Ace of Spades plus either of the Blackjacks in the deck (the Jack of Clubs or the Jack of Spades) would pay 10-to-1 odds on the player's bet. Although casinos have long since stopped offering these extra payouts, the name "Blackjack" stuck.

In the late 1950's and the 1960's, theories and books were developed around Blackjack, in order to make the game more interesting. The Journal of the American Statistical Association published a paper in 1956, called "The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack" by Roger Baldwin. This paper explained how one can apply Mathematics to Blackjack, using probability, statistics and calculators. These techniques had huge potential to let a player gain an edge in the game.블랙잭사이트