Blackjack History

With a study of the History of Blackjack we see that it is a game that has been around for a long time and widely accepted.

Origin

It is estimated the origins of the game date to the early 1600’s. Back in the early 1600’s a book was written by a man named Miguel De Cervantes. The book was about a man who played a game very similar to the game we know today as Blackjack.

This book is the very first writings that have been found that seem to be about the game of Blackjack. The same writer of this book also wrote the book Don Quixote, who was known to be a Blackjack player!

Game History Continues

The next documented time that the game of Blackjack was apparently played was in France. A game called {vingt-et-on} originated in the 1700’s in a town called Castila. The game {vingt-et-on} which means 20 to 1, was being played and enjoyed by many. This is known as some of the earliest information found about the origins of Blackjack and where it was being played first in the world.

Not Accepted at First

Next stop is the United States in the 1800’s. Now its here to stay as we all know and are happy to say so! But when the game of Blackjack was first introduced in the USA it was not readily accepted, in fact, it did not catch on very quickly at all.

By the 60’s and 70’s Vegas Was Starting to Gain a Persona All on its Own

Early Offerings in Gaming Houses

History shows us that it was only a matter of time before blackjack was offered in gaming houses.

Initially the “gaming houses” later became known as “casinos”. They decided to start offering gamblers some incentives to get them interested in this new game. These incentives or bonuses were of different styles. The most popular one being a bonus of increased odds payout for a blackjack. Initially that consisted of the “Aces of spades and a black jack” which was a “blackjack”.

This often would pay out on 10 -1 odds which is immensely better than the odds of today at any casino where a blackjack usually pays off at 2-1!

Once the game became more accepted by gamblers, of course the casinos or gambling houses started reducing and eventually abolished this blackjack bonus system in the USA.

How About Blackjack Strategy

Moving up to the year 1956, a man named Roger Baldwin who wrote a short little essay called “The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack”, which became the first published “article” detailing the mathematical theory of beating the game of blackjack using stats and probability and overcoming the casino odds advantage!

Popularity Increases

So officially in the 1950’s, blackjack had become a very popular game in the United States. Popular enough for people to be looking for a way to beat the dealers in a casino setting.

The “Journal of the American Statistical Association” published this article which eventually gave birth to the calculators that are used today for card counting in which the odds and stats were originated from.

One has to wonder if it was in fact due to Baldwin’s release of Optimum Strategy writings which led to this increase.

Jump to the 60’s

Lets skip a few years ahead now to 1962. A man named Professor Edward Thorp wrote an informational piece of literature all about card counting. In 1963 he ended up writing a full length book called “Beat the Dealer” that officially became a huge “Best Seller”!

What About Vegas

Now in the mean time, the casinos in Las Vegas and elsewhere were starting to feel the hit by players at the blackjack table because of all this attention to the game.

More books were being written and released about the various ways on how to beat the dealer and the casinos.

In retaliation to the professional advice and media attention to the game of blackjack, things were about to change. Casinos in the United States decided to make the game harder to beat and play. During this time is when the game of blackjack went from one deck of cards to two.

Most Successful Blackjack Guidance

Throughout the 80’s and 90’s many more writers tackled strategies and touted their way to play were the most successful guidance to learn to win at blackjack.

Of all the literature written how the game of blackjack, one stood apart from the others. It was written, was by Stanford Wong. Wong was a professional blackjack player who had years of success playing the game of blackjack. After doing extensive research on the game, he wrote a book which today is known as “The Bible of Blackjack”. This book talks about computer simulation to teach blackjack strategy and has become the most successful book ever written about the game.

Rather then try and say it is still known as the best or teaches the most successful strategies we can only suggest you read various authors if you are interested in learning more.

Hundreds of Choices.

You may love the game of Blackjack and enjoy researching and reading all the theories. If so you literally have hundreds of books to choose from. There are books on how to try and beat the casinos at their own game, how to count cards without being caught, what are the best betting strategies and more.

Whether you are more interested in the history of blackjack, or how to play the game better, always remember to gamble responsibly and enjoy your future at the blackjack tables! Happy Gaming.