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Blackjack is the modern
game that started life as twenty-one, a game transferred to the United States
in the 18th century from European origins. The game of twenty-one was known
simply in France as Vingt-et-Un but the earliest reference is found in a
book by the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, most famous for writing Don
Quixote.
Cervantes was a gambler, and the main characters of his tale
"Rinconete y Cortadillo", from Novelas Ejemplares (a series of twelve short
stories), are a couple of cheats working in Seville. The story was written in
or before 1602 and is the earliest reference for this type of game. The two
characters were cheats at Ventiuna (Spanish for twenty-one), which was a
game where the object was to get as close to 21 as possible. This means that
"21" was played in the old spanish capital at least from the beginning of the
17th century. |
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When twenty-one was
introduced in the United States, gambling houses innovated by offering bonus
payouts to make the game more interesting. This is mirrored in todays game
where casinos are constantly adding side-bets. For more about them and an
alternative guide why not try
Ladbrokes
guide to the history of blackjack.
Legalized and house-banked games
popped up in New Orleans in 1823. Less than legalized and player-banked games
were common everywhere else in these early times. There is the tale of Eleanore
Dumont, who showed up in Nevada City, California in the mid-1800’s. She
banked and dealt the game of 21 to any takers, and whatever her math talents or
card handling skills, enjoyed much success as an expert at the game.
New
Orleans was the America's first big gambling centre where it flourished before
the civil war and exported it to the whole country after the civil war.
Gambling had grown with the town since 1718 but by the early 19th century it
was so endemic that it was prohibited by law in 1811 across the whole
state.
After ten years of pressure, illegal casinos everywhere and low
state tax finances, a licensing act was passed to allow 6 casinos at $5000 per
year. This led to the earliest of the large gambling houses to dominate the
American gambling scene. John Davis started his extremely lavish gambling house
in 1827, providing the best that money could buy for his customers. Blackjack
was one of the main games but it was not called that yet, or even 21, but it
was a direct transfer from Europe. It was still called
vingt-et-un.
The game was still termed ‘21’ when it
gained popularity in Nevada in 1931 as the State first chose to make gambling
legal. Once its lawfulness was established the need to have game standards and
controls in place to regulate the action began.
One early bonus was a
ten-to-one payout if the player's hand consisted of the ace of spades and a
black jack (either the jack of clubs or the jack of spades). This hand was
called a "blackjack" and although the bonus was not popular the name took over
in popular culture, hence our modern game of Blackjack.
In the years to
follow, a number of other states and countries around the world legalised
Blackjack and it is now the most popular real casino game.
It was in the
1950’s when Roger Baldwin published a paper called “The Optimum
Strategy of Blackjack”. This was the very first attempt to use mathematics
to form a basic strategy which would reduce the houses edge and give players a
better chance at winning. Although Baldwin’s efforts are recognisable, he
didn’t have the proper technologies (computing systems) to take his theory
to the next step.
About a decade later, in 1962, Dr. Edward Thorp,
expanded on Baldwins theory and created an application of mathematics that he
used to analyze blackjack odds and to develop a card counting system. This was
the first time card counting was acknowledged and Thorp published his
discoveries in a book titled “Beat the Dealer”. This book taught
players tricks of the game that would make their odds equal to the dealers. The
book was a best seller and absolutely got the attention of the
casino.
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