• Find out some more about the history of Blackjack.
  • Learn about different varieties of Blackjack.
  • Get in the know about Blackjack strategies. 

Modern day ‘Blackjack’, sometimes referred to by its older name ‘21’, is the result of centuries of gaming evolution with beginnings reaching farther back than anyone can confirm. As one of the few Casino Games that requires careful thinking and a well developed strategy in order to win, ‘Blackjack’ is one of the most studied and most enjoyed Games in the Casino both in Vegas and Online.

The earliest records of similar Games from which ‘Blackjack’ could have developed begin from the early 1700s. Some believe that it derives from Spain where records have been found of a then popular Game of social strategy called ‘Ventiuna’ or ‘21’. Others think it more likely that the Game so many are familiar with today is derived from the French ‘Vingt-et-Un’ or ‘21’ which was also popular around the same time period. Similarities can easily be recognized with other French Card Games like Chemin de Fer. All these versions have in common a similar system of card value and objective to reach a sum of 21 with the player’s hand.

Whatever the case relating to the origins of Online Blackjack, the Card Game was brought to North America with French colonists sometime after the French revolution. ‘Blackjack’, then still known as ‘21’ had found a home and began to thrive in North America.

When Las Vegas first legalized Casinos, many establishments drew interest to the ‘Blackjack’ Tables with a Bonus Payout of 10 to 1 to any player who received the Ace of Spades and a Black Jack. Known as a ‘Blackjack’, the name of this fabled hand stuck to the whole Game.

Throughout its history ‘Blackjack’ has split into several variations, each country or region having its own popular form. Blackjack’s popularity has been partly due to its strategic intrigue and social element.

Later, throughout the 1900s, several significant attempts were made to find the perfect strategy in Blackjack to turn a profit with every card. The most successful of these was Edward O. Thorp’s breakthrough book in 1966 ‘Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One’ in which the author detailed very carefully designed mathematics that allowed players to count the cards in a deck to know which card was coming next.

Several other large attempts have been made at beating the Dealer, but with the recent evolution of Blackjack Online, cheating has become much more difficult if not impossible as counting cards is irrelevant against the computer Dealer.

If you’re into discovering the strategic depth of Blackjack for yourself, then our guide on strategy and useful tips is the perfect place to get you started.