Blackjack
is still the most widely played
casino game in the United States
and across the globe. The game
can go by a number of different
names including Twenty One (21),
Pontoon, and Vingt-et-un although
the original version of the
game was referred to as 21.
Blackjack dates as far back
as the early 17th century where
it was commonly played in Spain,
under the Spanish 21 version.
The
game 21 quickly became popular
across Europe, but had difficulty
with the American casino players.
For this reason, the casinos
began introducing bonus bets
to players, to peak their
curiosity in the game. When
the dealers began paying players
10:1 on a hand consisting
of an Ace and a “black
jack”,
the game quickly changed from
21 to Blackjack . Over the
years the bonus payout was
removed, and instead replaced
with a different pay table
based on the house edge and
a player’s odds and
wagers. The pay table is still
in use today, although varies
depending on which casino
you play at. How a hand is
declared a blackjack also
changed. In the early days,
a player was required to hold
an Ace and a black jack, however
in today’s game its
common for a player to hit
blackjack when holding any
ten value card and an Ace.
This of course give’s
a player more opportunities
at the table.
Although
American players were late in
taking to Blackjack,
Nevada would hold out a bit
longer. It wasn’t until
1931 when Nevada would legalize
gambling that blackjack became
the most predominantly played
game at the casinos. During
the mid 50’s a man by
the name of Roger Baldwin published
a paper in the Journal of American
Statistical Association which
was the first paper to apply
theory and mathematics to the
game. Titled “The Optimum
Strategy in Blackjack”,
Baldwin disclosed multiple ways
and betting
strategies that
would help a player reduce the
house edge and of course increase
their expected value. The only
downside to Baldwin’s
theory was it made use of a
computer for players to use
the “optimal
strategy”, thus making
it nearly impossible for anyone
to take advantage of. Following
Baldwin was Professor
Edward O Thorp, who’s
been credited as the man who
created “card
counting”.
In 1962, Thorp picked up where Baldwin left off and published a book titled “Beat
the Dealer” which took Baldwin’s theories and advanced them to create
the original card counting system and the first successful mathematical book
published to bring down the house edge from 5% to a staggering 1%. The book
was released and became an instant hit. So much so, that it hit the best seller
list in the New York Times during ’63 and quickly gained the attention
of the casinos.
It was Thorp’s book that initiated the changes to
the game. The casinos quickly changed the rules of the game but without success.
Players refused to play the new casino rules and as a result, the game changed
back to the original that Thorp used in his book. This time around, one change
would still take place. The dealer hand-dealt games would be placed with a shoe
and four decks instead of one. Related articles - How to play Blackjack - Chinese Blackjack - Vegas Strip blackjack
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