| Blackjack
History |
Although
unclear, blackjack history is usually traced
back as an evolution of other French games
such as "chemin de fer" and "French Ferme".
Around the 1700's in French casinos it was
called first "vingt - et - un" (twenty - and
- one) and gradually developed into blackjack.
It has been in United States since the 1800's.
An early bet, which awarded the holder of
the cards with a payment of 10 to 1, was getting
a jack of spades and an ace of spades, both
black, as the first two cards. This bet gave
the game called 21, its currently more known
name - blackjack. However, the name outlived
its source and this bet (probably the best
part of blackjack history) no longer exists.
Blackjack leaped into public awareness in
the late 1950's and the 1960's when mathematical
information was published that showed sophisticated
gamblers how they could play nearly even with
the casino and perhaps gain a slight edge.
One of these books
became so popular that it made the New York
Times bestseller list. Blackjacks then become
number one table game in the U.S. as it has
remained right to these days. The newly gained
popularity and all of the media attention
it generated helped the casinos to make a
fortune.
However, the casinos joy over a success of
a book that told the public how to beat the
house did not last long, and serious steps
were taken in order to secure their profit.
They tried to change the rules of blackjack
to make it more difficult to win. This didn't
last long because people protested by not
playing the new "rules version of blackjack
and the resulting loss of revenue quickly
forced the casinos to go back to the original
rules.
Although the last move didn't succeed, others
did. In search of ways to increase their odds,
casinos introduced multiple decks, shuffling
machines, and frequent and early shuffling
among other changes. Together with the fact
that the methods described in the books were
difficult to master even by those who were
patient and clever enough to understand them,
the casinos increased their edge back to odds
they considered acceptable. All the rest,
as we say, is blackjack history. |
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