Why is the game called blackjack?
Blackjack is hugely popular in casinos around the world. This is certainly true when it comes to the US, and players really love both the land-based and online blackjack experience. While so many people enjoy the game. There aren’t as many who know about where the game first came from. Or how the name blackjack came to be.
You may wonder if it matters. But we’d say that it definitely does. Why? Well. The role that blackjack has on the gambling industry means that learning more about it can help you to understand more about the history of gambling as a whole.
As you’ll see. Blackjack didn’t start in the US. It took a journey across Europe. With fans in both France and Spain, before it made its way onto these shores. We’re going to take a look at that journey, how the name came to be and how the game has developed.
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From 21 to the name Blackjack
The name 21 seems to make much more sense. Anyone that’s played blackjack understands the importance of that number. It’s the one that marks the limit: go over it and your bust and out of the game. Players all look to get closer to 21 than the dealer and holding 21 is the perfect hand.
It was during the 1800s that 21 first entered the US. At this point, the country had just started to relax some of the stricter gambling laws and this gave the game an opportunity to gain a following. It was Nevada that first allowed gambling and 21 was one of the earliest games introduced into the casinos. There was, however, a slight problem.
Transition into US casinos
Those in the know had loved the experience they’d had playing 21. They believed that it would transition into US casinos and that there would soon be a huge fan base. The problem was that no one seemed to want to play the game. This left casino owners needing to make tweaks so they could get people behind it.
Something that casinos did was introduce bonuses and bigger payouts. The thought was that these would be attractive to the majority of players and that they’d be persuaded to give it a go. One of the bonuses brought in was called the blackjack bonus. Any player who was lucky enough to get this would receive a 20:1 payout. That’s 10 times more than what’s usually on offer. The bonus came into play when players held an ace and either the jack of spades or the jack of clubs – the blackjacks!
The huge payout on offer was never going to last forever. However, for as long as it was on offer it helped to boost the popularity of the game and it soon became a staple of all casinos. As the bonus was withdrawn, the association with the blackjacks remained. This meant everyone dropped the 21 name and adopted blackjack instead.
The origins of the name Blackjack
Now that the name makes sense, let’s have a brief look at the history of the game and how it made its way to the US.
Most people agree that the game can be traced back to France and a game known as ‘Vingt-et Un”. Of course, this translates to 21. The first time that the game seems to have been referred to is all the way back in 1768. It was in the 1770s that it is first mentioned in Britain. It would not be until the early 1800s that the game reached the US and it would take until 1899 before it gained its now familiar name: blackjack.
There are some blackjack fans that have alternative thoughts about the origins of blackjack. They believe that blackjack wasn’t a thing in the US until the First World War. The only evidence that exists comes in the 1930s when there are records of casinos offering bigger payouts when players were holding blackjacks and an ace. That aside, there’s no evidence at all that shows who actually invented the game and whether it was an individual or a group.
What can say with certainty is that the game, in one form or another, was enjoyed for almost 200 years before there were attempts to probably apply math and probability. It was in 1956 that The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack was published. This laid the groundwork for much of what players are using to get the edge of the house today.
Where did card counting come from?
We can date basic blackjack strategy of coming into existence in 1956, but what about card counting? This popular strategy is a major part of the game that’s played today and it’s a skill that has allowed people to win millions of dollars. History shows that it was a player by the name of Jess Marcum who was the first to come up with the whole card-counting concept.
Marcum created his counting method in 1949. Some 7 years before basic strategy became a thing. It was a trip to Las Vegas when Marcum took the time to watch a game of blackjack being played. Given that the game only used a single deck back then, he soon realized that it was possible to count the cards.
The first book published on the subject came in 1957 and was called “Playing Blackjack to Win”. However, the book that had the biggest impact on card counting came a little later. It was Edward Thorp’s “Beat the Dealer” that set the standard and showed the world how card counting should be done.
Final thoughts
Blackjack has a fascinating history and it’s interesting to look at the journey that it has taken. From a basic game in France to a game that now rules casinos around the world. What has really led to blackjack remaining so popular is the fact that the likes of Marcum and Thorp showed everyone that players could take control of the game. They realized that they now had a casino game where they could impact the outcome and where they could boost their chances of winning.
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