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History of Blackjack
It is commonly believed that Blackjack, as we know it today, originated in France. The first recorded mention of the game is found as "vingt-et-un" (`21` in French) in the 17th century. Similar to most other games, the precise historical origin of Blackjack is unknown and only speculation remains as to what and where marks the true beginning of this famous game. Blackjack is thought to have descended from other similar French card games but as gambling games are built upon precise and well balanced calculations, this is very unlikely. Casino games seldom mutate one into another all on their own accord.
Nevertheless, according to some gaming scholars, it is widely held that Blackjack was derived from a family of games that includes Baccarat, Seven-And-A-Half and Vingt-et-Un (known in North America as "21" and in Australia as Pontoon).
Certainly you`re familiar with the names of some of these games but what is it exactly that they all have in common? Actually, they are all games that claim or are credited to be the origin of today's Blackjack. No one can identify for sure its evolutionary track.
Soon after the French Revolution in 1789 Blackjack hit the United States and rapidly became popular because of its flexibility and freedom. Professional gamblers soon realized that Blackjack was a wonderful playing field for manipulating the odds and bets. Without any government regulation, gambling was flourishing and provided fertile soil for this unique game to grow and evolve until almost the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the government of United States realized that the unregulated and uncontrolled gambling industry was leading to major forms of internal and external corruption and blatantly encouraged, or at least provided the atmosphere for, organized crime.
As Las Vegas was reborn after the turmoil, the popularity of Blackjack spread quickly throughout the casinos, momentarily winning the hearts and the minds of the players. As all other US states were comparatively conservative and did not seek to reintegrate casino gambling, Las Vegas quickly became the gambling center of the United States and Blackjack was one of its most popular games.
When the game was first introduced in America, however, it wasn't very popular so the gambling houses tried various bonus payouts to encourage the players to try the game. One such bonus was a 10-to-1 payout if the player's hand consisted of the Ace of Spades and a black Jack (either the Jack of Clubs of the Jack of Spades). This hand was labeled a "blackjack" for obvious reasons, and the name stuck even though the bonus payout was soon abolished.
So, by 1919 special green-felted Blackjack tables were being made and by 1931 Blackjack was the third most popular Nevada casino game after Roulette and Craps. By 1948 it was second only to Craps. In 1958 the first numerically proven Blackjack basic strategies appeared and Blackjack was well on its way to being number one.
