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History of Blackjack

The history of blackjack, like many other casino games, remains obscure, since not many gamblers are historians. However, there are certain things that have come down to us. Blackjack probably comes from the French game of Vignt et Un, meaning Twenty One which was popular during the 1700s.

Vingt et Un was very similar to blackjack, and is still played as a variant is some casinos to this day, yet there were a few differences between them. For example, only the dealer was allowed to double, and there was a separate round of betting after each round. However, as in blackjack, the aim of Ving et Un was to reach a natural, meaning, cards that amounted to the sum of 21, using the blackjack card ranking system.

A contemporary of Vignt et Un, Seven and a Half was a game that was played in Italy. While a further relation to blackjack than Vingt et Un, it is of interest because the aim was more or less the same. The game was played with the face cards of the deck, and the sevens, eights and nines. The aim of the game was to reach a hand that amounted to seven and a half points. The number cards were counted as one point while the face cards were counted as half a point. When player exceeded seven and a half points, they were "busted". The King of Diamonds was a wild card, and could be used to replace any of the other cards.

A turning point in the history of blackjack was the French Revolution, which brought blackjack to the shores of the United States, where it prospered in a climate that had no anti-gambling laws. Professional gamblers, seeing that they could turn the game's house edge to their favor, began to play the game avidly on riverboats and gaming saloons. However, the success of blackjack was to be short lived, as the government banned all card games involving money. Blackjack went underground, but was stilled played extensively.

The history of blackjack receives a twist as in the middle of the twentieth century, as Nevada legalized gambling and blackjack was a magnet for those who wanted to play, and in most cases, win. The game was not popular immediately, and it was during this time that blackjack first got its name. In order to attract gamblers, the casinos offered payouts of ten to one in the case of an Ace and a Jack of Spades. Although this bonus has since been abolished, the name has remained. However, no empirical study of the game was made until 1953, when Roger Baldwin made a thorough study of the game. However, it was not until 1962 that his findings were given consideration by the casinos, with Professor Edward Thorpe's book, "Beat The Dealer." This was the first great milestone in the history of blackjack, namely, card counting.

With the publication of "Beat the Dealer" the casinos worried that using Thorpe's methods; blackjack players everywhere would gain an edge on the casinos. In order to stem the tide, they invented a series of blackjack variants, changing the rules into something more palatable. Ultimately, this was a case of overkill, since the general public had problems with learning card counting, not to mention the book's difficult language. Realizing that "Beat the Dealer" posed no threat to them, and in any case faced with the demands of the older blackjack player who railed against the so-called "bogus blackjack games" the casinos soon changed blackjack to the original rules.

Ken Uston, perhaps the most famous blackjack player in history, inspired millions of people from across the globe to take up blackjack. He and his team, using computers embedded in the soles of their shoes, used card counting methods in order to win thousand of dollars each month in casinos all over the world. "Million Dollar Blackjack", "Ken Uston on Blackjack" and "The Big Player" remain to this day gambling classics and are read avidly by beginners and experienced blackjack players alike.

Today blackjack remains a classic game that is played in practically every casino. While still less popular than poker, it is rapidly reaching a greater audience, thanks to the technological advancements, namely, the online casinos.

Written by Lars Bendford, Correspondent 12.01.06

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