History of Blackjack

Looking at the history of the card games certainly is a very complicating task. It is hard to determine the exact origination of card games, but there are a few general ideas. There are not much records of the origination of card games as most people never felt it to be important so they never maintained any living records of it. But based on available records we can still work out on its origination. Blackjack is one of the games that originated in the past.

People believe that the game has its roots dated back the 17th century. The games were initially started in France and was better known by the name Vingt et Un that is another term for 21. There are a number of other games known that have same set of rules, so blackjack is believed to be a part of those games.

There are a few differences between the two types as in Vingt et Un you are allowed to bet while the dealer can double when playing unlike Blackjack. The game derived its name from the black spades for jack and ace. So, different variations of the game follow the same aim in different parts of the world. Players are requested to make a total of 21 in order to win. So if you are holding a blackjack the payout is much better in this game.

A game called as 7 and ½ was playing in Italy in the 17th century. The game was played making use of 7, 8 and 9 along with face cards. Players had to make a total point of 7 and ½. The number cards were valued one point in this game. The diamond king was termed as a wild card or joker. So if a player scores more than 7 and ½ points were declared as loser of the game.

Right after the French revolution, the game was introduced in US and North America. During that period there was no prohibition against gambling in US but there were a few set of rules for gambling in France in those days. So people who were interested in gambling took al advantage of gambling in the ship on high seas. Most players also developed their set of rules for gambling when playing blackjack. By the 19th century a number of cards games included blackjack were prohibited and outlawed. One of the main reasons was as authorities felt that these were responsible for increase in the number of crime rate in US.

There were a number of clubs that organized this game even at this time. Players had to play the game secretly inviting only trustworthy people. By 1931 Las Vegas introduced a number of legal gambling centers for most players. There are a number of people who find this as the best option as you can never enjoy this game the way you do at a casino.

Players develop their own working strategies that help in making their best win. By the coming of 1956, Roger Baldwin developed a working strategy that could be applied to this game to help players reduce the house edge.

Even if the information provided by them were considered as helpful still due to the lack of advancement in technology it was hard to develop skills further. Edward Thorp performed a number of researches with the game and offered players with a much improved strategy that could be applied to this game. In 1962 his book was published that stated the card counting theory.

This book was also considered as first published book in New York for black jack strategies. This is also looked up as an important moment in history of blackjack as there were a number of people who were interested in developing and learning basic skills of blackjack. Most casinos never encouraged this book and so they went for introducing a number of minor changes like shuffling the cards before dealing. By 1962 another book called as ‘beat the dealer was published that managed to increase the worries of the casino owners.

One of the main advantages for most casinos owners was that this particular book was not easy to read as it involved a lot of mathematics. Players never liked the amount of changes that most casino owners introduced resulting in the publication of the book. By 60s or 80s blackjack was also considered as one of the most popular casino games.

There are a number of people who always try studying the strategies to beat casinos when playing blackjack. Braun Julian, a computer professional developed a set of rules on computer to apply to the strategies of playing black jack. Lawrence Revere also developed a number of working skills to play blackjack.

For the first time Ken Uston was the first person who managed to earn a big amount when playing Blackjack. They made use of a mini computer to make their best win but by making use of their strategies they managed to win around $300,000 when playing at Nevada casinos.

After this a number of players managed to make money using their personal strategies especially the MIT team who managed to make around millions of dollars. They were also prohibited from playing in a number of Vegas casinos as they made use of cheating codes. But today there are a number of casinos that make use of better technology presently. Players can play blackjack in Europe, UK, North America and Australia. You can also play this game online as a number of casinos provide you with this option.