The History of Blackjack
Blackjack is believed to have originated from French games like the French Ferme or Chemin de Fer. In the 18th century, blackjack was first played in French casinos as Vingt-et-un which means twenty one.The J or Jack card is the most important card in the game, and combined with the Ace of spades, gives the player a bonus pay. This combination gave the name blackJjack.
In the 1800's, blackjack was introduced to America. Despite the anti-gambling policy of the country, it was played in secret. Gambling in casinos was legalized in Nevada in 1931 while 1978 in Atlantic City.
In the 1960's, the basic strategy of blackjack made an interesting impression on the common players, and from then on casinos have made a great deal of profit from blackjack. But the blackjack players were still interested in developing new strategies in order to increase their chances.
Then in 1956, an article called The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack, by Roger Baldwin, was published in the Journal of The American Statistical Association. The article presented and championed the application of mathematical skills in blackjack. In 1962, the basic blackjack strategies were developed and polished by Professor Edward O. Thorp. His book, Beat the Dealer, became an instant best-seller.
More books about blackjack were published to increase the chances of winning the game. The book by Lawrence Revere, Playing Blackjack as a Business, and Stanley Roberts' Winning Blackjack, provided information on how to live off blackjack winnings.
In the 1970's, more complicated strategies were produced. At the onset of computers, more and more scientific and innovative approaches were developed. Ken Uston used 5 computers in 1977 in increasing the odds of his team members. Almost instantly, the group took more than 100,000 dollars. But one of Uston's computers were busted by the FBI and he was blacklisted from more than seven casinos in Las Vegas.
Uston's experimentation led to more blackjack cheating. To prevent this, casinos started using four-deck games. And later introduced five, six and up to eight-deck games to make the game tougher to play.
Casinos may have developed hard-to-beat strategies, players and enthusiasts of blackjack still come up with winning solutions in increasing their chances. In 1976 a very potent strategy was published called HI-OPT II. Other blackjack masters were able to find ways to increase their own chances when they are playing in the casinos.
No matter how hard the casino blackjacks are, there are never-ending developments made in order to win. As long as there are innovations available, enthusiasts and players will never stop at nothing in order to win.