How And When Blackjack Started?

Few can agree as to when and where exactly the game of Blackjack began. By all appearances, it appears to have slowly evolved throughout the history. By most accounts, Blackjack owes its august origins to a French game known as Vingt-et-un, which means 21. This was a very popular game starting from the 18th century and was even played in the Royal Court of King Louis XV.

However, there are other casino games in Europe older than even Vingt-et-un, which appeared to have been quite influential in its development. These comprise the Italian Sette e Mezzo -Seven and a half-, the Spanish Trente-un -31- and the French Quinze -15. The above card games had values assigned to their playing cards, and required players to reach a certain value without however exceeding it. All these are of course elements of the game.

Blackjack Comes To America

French colonists brought Blackjack to American in the 18th century. It was then known as 21 and had some rules that were different from the modern version. For example, dealers could decide just how to play their hands and the second card of the dealer is always face-up. Soon after, mandatory rules were put in place and dealers were therefore forced to stand on 17 and hit a maximum of 16.

Blackjack Grows Up In America

Earlier Blackjack did not have much room for development. The reverse was, however, the case in 19th century America where it spread like a wildfire. New Orleans had the very first house-banked and legalised games, though there were numerous other non-legalized and player-banked games, all over the country.

The 20th Century and Its Massive Casinos

Nevada legalised gambling in 1931 and was among the chief proponents for the standardization of gameplay rules. Soon after, it experienced a boom as players all over the country descended on it in droves. To tickle the interest of such players, some casinos had a special payout set at 10:1, which was gained when players had 21 points using an ace of spades in addition to a Blackjack hand, ie the Jack of clubs or spades. This astoundingly high payout was soon discontinued, but the game of 21 was henceforth known as Blackjack.

Blackjack Is For Card Counters

Card counters started appearing from the woodwork from the 1950s onwards. Some of these characters were banned from playing, while others wrote seminal books that sought to teach players everywhere how to count cards and so eliminate the house edge. Casinos soon fought back against card counters by increasing the number of decks employed during gameplay session from 1 to 2, to 4 and then to 8. The shoe was also shuffled much more often than usual.

Blackjack Goes Online!

Blackjack entered a new era with the advent of the online version. This was at first merely standard game, but soon after there was a lot of different versions with their own distinct rules, features, payouts and whatnot. Some of these online Blackjack games even had progressive jackpots, while others barely have any resemblance to traditional Blackjack and were derided by purists of the game.

And oh, card counting is impossible in online version, which has up to 8 shoes that are shuffled after each hand.

Live Blackjack For A Live Experience

While online seemingly had all the bells and whistles and can be played anytime anywhere, it had one important limitation- its lack of engaging atmosphere. Players wanted the feel of playing in a real, live casino, but from the comfort of their home. And thus was live Blackjack born, with an emphasis on the most immersive and realistic gameplay experiences possible.

The very first live Blackjack experience was streamed from actual casinos. Unfortunately, owing to technological limitations of the period, the streaming quality was mediocre and the action was often obscured by players. Also, it was not possible to interact with the dealer.

In 2006, live Blackjack began to be streamed from well-decorated studios exactingly designed for that purpose. By this time, the streaming quality was much improved and players could interact with the dealer all they wished. The view of the action was provided from multiple HD cameras that were adjustable for the perfect view.

As well, an unlimited number of players were able to lay bets using the bet behind the option.

Play Now At TheOnlineCasino.co.uk!

Gear up and explore your favorite Blackjack variants in the best online casino sites in the UK! TheOnlineCasino™ has enough Blackjack variants to keep players entertained until the middle of the next century and their tables are staffed by attractive professionals who strive to make gameplay experiences something worth remembering. Now that you know all you can of the evolution of Blackjack, you can hoof it over to their site and play it up!