The History of Blackjack

The legend of blackjack is clouded in mystery and intrigue. This does so much for a game’s appeal because everyone loves the dark, mysterious type. Apart from the fact that blackjack is loads of fun, the subtle degree of mystery is what attracts millions of players around the world. The game has gone through many ups and downs, but the fundamentals of the game have stayed the same throughout time.

Blackjack first made its way onto the scene in French casinos around the turn of the 18th century. It evolved from old French card games like "French Ferme" and "Chemin de Fer". It was first called "Vignt-et-Un" (translated as "21") The reasoning behind this name was that when a player drew a Jack of Spades as the first card and an Ace of Spades of the second, that player won bigger bonuses.

There are several variations of the story of blackjack's history. Another theory is that when gambling was legalized in Nevada in the 1930's, casino owners saw blackjack as a huge crowd puller. However, because the game was quite unknown at that time, the casino owners had to implement quite a few incentives to attract gamblers to the casinos and develop a craze around the game of blackjack as a way to win big.

By offering better payouts for gamblers who were dealt a Jack of Spades or Clubs as well as an Ace of Spades, many more players were attracted to the casinos which offered blackjack. Blackjack also became a very popular with tourists, locals and those trying to win big with the better odds on offer. The modern game of blackjack as we know it today was born.

But, like all mystery men, the journey for blackjack was somewhat bumpy. At the turn of the 20th century, US laws banned any type of gambling. When blackjack was brought to the US after the French Revolution, many Americans were drawn to this nonconformist game. This led to an upsurge in illegal gambling areas and on the flip side of this, a large counterattack by the federal authorities. By the 1930's the State of Nevada was the first US state to understand the huge profit potential of legalizing gambling – more specifically blackjack. Within a few years, other states also realized this potential and also legalized gambling.

Usually, when something is legalized, the underground appeal seems to wane somewhat. However, with blackjack being legalized, all the people who had only heard about the game's appeal but were not brave enough to challenge the federal authorities, now had the opportunity to try it out. It was a huge success.

Today, blackjack is found in almost very land based and online casino and is one of the most popular and sought-after means of entertainment and winning money. The game combines both strategy and luck to make this a truly exceptional game.