Blackjack History

Does it matter where Blackjack began? In France, with "Chemin de Fer", "French ferme", Vingt-et-Un or Baccarat? In England with "Twenty –One"? With "Ochko" (the hole) from Russia? From Italy with "Seven and a Half"(played with only 8's 9's, 10's and face cards) or from Spain with "One and Thirty" (desired total of 31 played with 3 cards)? Or even from the game that the Australians lovingly refer to it as Pontoons? Blackjack's history can be traced back to all these countries and games.

While no one can say for certain who really invented blackjack, it is widely accepted that it first appeared in French casinos around 1700 A.D. and was very popular.

However, it was not until the French Revolution with the overthrow of the monarchy and class system, that the masses embraced blackjack. From the chateaus and palaces the game spread to cities and villages.

In the early 19th century Blackjack arrived on the shores of the United States together with the waves of European immigration. It was not a popular game, as Americans preferred craps and roulette. In order to increase its popularity, gambling halls offered bonuses to players receiving certain hands. This is actually where the name "Blackjack" originated. If one was dealt a Jack and an Ace of Spades (which is black), a bonus was earned. The name Blackjack came from this bonus, even though the bonus no longer exists!

In 1873, the California Legislature enacted Penal Code 330, which outlawed the game of "21" throughout the state. When the United States' government outlawed gambling activities in the early 1900s, Blackjack became an underground game.

Blackjack's popularity grew during World War I as the armed forces overseas were able to play it anytime and anywhere. It was their main entertainment!

When the war ended, the troops came home and Blackjack hit the casinos. Blackjack beat out Faro as the most played game in the casinos of Las Vegas and Reno.

The government, realizing that banning gambling did not work, created laws to control it. In 1931 Las Vegas was reborn. Although other states kept their gambling prohibitions, Nevada became the gambling center of the nation.
The first recognized effort to apply mathematics to Blackjack was recorded in 1956, in a scholarly mathematical paper by Roger Baldwin ("The Optimum Strategy in BlackJack") which appeared in the Journal of the American Statistical Association.

In 1962, Professor Edward O. Thorp (the Einstein of Blackjack), developed the first card counting techniques which he described in his book "Beat the Dealer", an immediate best seller. This was followed by the efforts of Julian Braun, an IBM employee, who created game simulations which resulted in basic game strategies and additional card counting techniques.

The early 1970s had many scientists, mathematicians, university professors, and other intellectuals writing books on the game, and several even developed systems of their own.

By 1978, gambling was legalized in Atlantic City, New Jersey with other areas following suit including the Native American Indian casinos whose authority stems from the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. But, it was the award winning movie "Rain Man" starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman that brought the romance back to the game and enticed new blackjack players into the casinos.

Today, with online internet casinos, Blackjack has become one of the most popular online games with hundreds of tournament rooms offering realistic blackjack play.