Blackjack is perhaps the most popular banking game at casinos – both brick-and-mortar and online. Also called the Twenty-One, the game is played with a 52-card deck. In this table game, players compete against each other and not the dealer.
As it is one of the most common games of chance, no wonder that blackjack has a rich and sometimes entangled history. In this GBC-Time article, we explain the history of the Twenty-One in great detail.
The origins of the game
Although the exact origin of blackjack is debated, the researchers agree that the game first appeared in the early 16th century. Here are some of the most popular theories about the emergence of the banking game.
French vingt-et-un
According to the most common origin story, the game of blackjack was first played at French casinos in the 1700s. Back at that time, it was called vingt-en-un, which literally translates as twenty-one. As seen from the name, the objective of the game was to reach 21. Some believe that popular at the time games of Chemin de Fet and French Ferme were the earliest predecessors of modern blackjack.
The game became extremely popular in the country, and historians state that even the French King Louis XV was an avid fan of blackjack.
The first mention of vingt-en-un can be found in Cervantes’s novel Rinconete y Cortadillo, where the protagonist cheats in the game called veintiuna, which is Spanish for twenty-one.
Spanish blackjack
The other popular variant of blackjack originated in Spain around the same time as the French vingt-et-un. The game was named One-and-thirty and the goal, consequently, was to reach 31 with at least 3 cards.
Ancient Rome
The other popular theory about the early history of blackjack is that it first emerged in Ancient Rome. Although it was not proven by any historian, this legend is very common in gaming circles. Some state that in the Roman era, there was a game with wooden blocks that had an objective of reaching 21.
The European expansion
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the game of twenty-one started spreading all across Europe. Similar to the Spanish Trente-Un, Italy had its own blackjack version – Sette e Mezzo, which meant seven and a half. And as the Spanish and other colonizers moved around Europe, blackjack became one of the most-played games on the continent.
Move to the US
As French colonists came to North America, they introduced the game of twenty-one there. There are several versions of when blackjack was first played in the US:
- In the early 19th century;
- During World War I;
- In the 1930s.
Rumor has it that in the 1800s, gaming houses in the US were offering generous incentives to encourage players to play at their casinos. For example, the casinos would give a 10-to-1 payout to players who had a hand of the ace of spades and a black jack.
The rules for the blackjack we see at casinos today were formed in the casinos of Las Vegas and exported back to Europe, where the game originated. The First American rules for the game, however, were formed in 1825 and were just the reprint of the English version.
The game of blackjack is still developing and evolving, with new strategies being introduced quite often. Now, it is one of the most played games across the globe, which can be found in literally every casino in the world.
