Blackjack is a game that originated from the evolution of a number of different games that were played in Europe in the 17th century. The games it originated from all had one similarity; the objective of reaching a total of 21.
One of these games was referenced in a story by Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes in 1601. The story involves two characters who are proficient cheaters in a game called Ventiuna, translated as 21 in English. In comparison to modern day Blackjack, Ventiuna has the goal to reach 21 points without busting alongside the aces having values of 1 or 11. The game was played with a Spanish deck that didn’t have 8s, 9s, and 10s.
The French version was referred to as Vingt et Un which stands for 21. This version requires that the dealer is allowed to double while players place bets after each round. The Italian version was referred to as Seven and a Half. It was played with face cards, 7s, 8s, and 9s. However, this version was different as the objective was to make a hand of seven and a half points.
Blackjack was introduced in the U.S a while after the French Revolution and it was originally unpopular in gambling houses. This caused the owners to offer a variety of bonus packages to attract players to the game. The most popular of these bonus packages was a payout of 10 to 1 for a hand which had the ace of spades and a blackjack. The hand was initially referred to as a blackjack and this subsequently became the name of the game.
The payout was later withdrawn and a payout of 3 to 2 was introduced for a hand consisting of any ace on any ten value card. Regardless, the name blackjack still persisted. Some developments resulted in the game being outlawed, resulting in it being played in secret. This was the case until 1931 when gambling became legal in Las Vegas.
Blackjack requires significant skill and a good number of players experienced difficulty in figuring out the optimum moves of the game. A manual was published in 1953 by Roger Baldwin, aimed at outlining the strategy of the game. In 1960, Edward Thorp improved on the Blackjack strategy. He did this by conducting a count of the discarded cards and was subsequently able to fine-tune the strategy to enable a return of over 100%.
He proceeded to publish the book called Beat the Dealer, and it emerged as an instant bestseller. The netbet.co.uk handled the development with fear but they soon realized that only a few players could actually count the cards. Therefore, there was no dent in their overall profit. However, in the 1990s, a set of players from MIT sought to count cards professionally. They engaged in the recruitment and training of players and soon devised a plan that involved tracking tables that were in a situation that favored card counting. The casinos reacted by increasing the number of decks and also introduced early shuffling.
Recent developments ensured that casinos went online in the mid-1990s. Players started gambling on blackjack from the comfort of their homes. Meanwhile, software developers involved in online gaming have continued to release new variants in blackjack with a touch of innovation with a view to ensure that the interest in blackjack is sustained.