History of Blackjack

To date, the origins of Blackjack have remained a mystery, but numerous theories have been entertaining historians and card players alike for many years. As the popularity of Blackjack has grown immensely since the advent of online casinos, its story has gained renewed interest in recent times.

Blackjack Origins

It is believed that the earliest version of Blackjack originated in France in the 18th Century and was known as "Vingt Et Un", which is French for "21" (some say it could have developed from an ancient Roman card game, but these claims have been unfounded). This popular gambling pastime followed a similar format to the Blackjack of today, while certain rules were taken from the Italian card game, "Seven and a Half", which existed around the same time. "Pontoon" – first played in the UK and British Commonwealth – is another early version of the game, but it is 21 that is widely held as the precursor to modern Blackjack.

However, the earliest known evidence documenting a Blackjack-style card game came from Spain, in a 16th Century book of short stories titled ""Novelas Ejemplares", written by Miguel de Cervantes, author of "Don Quixote". In one of the tales, two of the main characters are cheating at "Spanish 21" – another game similar to Blackjack that has remained popular to this day. But as much as this version is still widely enjoyed, it was "21" that became the most influential, spreading across the US when colonists from France arrived after the French Revolution.

Gambling Ban

Gambling was legal in North America at the time, and the game quickly became a lucrative money-spinner for professional players; it was at this point that Blackjack strategy began to develop. The craze was taking over the whole country until the start of the 19th Century, when the US government banned gambling, believing it promoted corruption and organised crime.

21 and Blackjack

This forced the game, still going under the name of "21", out of commercial establishments and underground. It wasn't until 1931, when gambling was legalised in the state of Nevada, that it began to flourish once again. As a way of drawing more interest, casinos added another attractive dimension: a hand with a black jack and ace would pay out at 10/1. The game was given the new name of "Blackjack".

Blackjack Stratergy

This resurgence in the game kick started a revolution in playing strategy. A team lead by Roger Baldwin published a study in the American Statistical Association in 1956, titled "Optimum Strategy in Blackjack" – the first ever guide to the game. These studies were taken to new levels in 1962, when Professor Edward O. Thorp adopted a mathematical and scientific approach in his book, "Beat the Dealer". This influential work detailed the first and most renowned strategy system – "card counting".

Thorp's new strategy started to turn the casino advantage to the players, and was developed even further when IBM worker, Julian Braun, used computer simulators to study the game. Other famous players and personalities from Blackjack history, such as Lawrence Revere and Ken Uston, pioneered new playing strategies. In fact, it was Uston's cheating tactics – which involved hiding small computers in his shoes – that were adopted by the infamous MIT Blackjack Team, who took millions from US casinos between 1980 and 1997, before finally being caught out by Griffin Investigations – a group of private detectives hired by the gambling industry.

And it was not long after, at the end of the 20th Century, that the latest Blackjack revolution began, in the very first online casinos. There is no doubt that this has been one of the most important eras for the game and its evolution is set to continue, captivating more and more new players, just as it did over 400 years ago.