Live Casino TV | Game Facts | History Of Blackjack
The game of live casino game of blackjack is not only an interesting game to play it has an interesting and rich history both in the United States and the world.
The game of Blackjack originated in France in the 1700s stemming from other card games they had such as chemin-de-fer and French Ferme. In France, the game was called vingt-et-un, which means twenty-one. The actual term blackjack was the name for an early bet in the game, which automatically paid out ten to one if the player was able to get the jack of spades and the ace of spades as their first two cards, this is known as a “black jack” hand.
Blackjack, as we know it was brought to America in the 1800s by French colonists and quickly spread in popularity all over North America. The game was widely played from 1850-1910. In 1910 the state of Nevada made it illegal to operate a live casino game. Without a place to play it blackjack lost a little bit of its steam, however it was still played in personal homes.
The game resurfaced as one of the casinos most popular card games in 1931 when casino gambling once again became legal in the state of Nevada. Casino gambling became legal in Atlantic City in 1978, and the popularity of blackjack spread there as well. Players liked the easy rules, the quick games and the often-big payouts. The game also found its way into other casinos as they were made legal, as well as gambling riverboats and Indian reservations.
The game became extremely popular in the United States in the late 1950″s and early 60s after the book “Beat The Dealer” was published in 1956 showing its readers how you could mathematically beat the house. The book written by Professor Edward O Thorp was a follow up in some respects to a paper written years earlier on the same subject entitled “The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack”. The original paper required the use of a computer, however the book outlined ways that a player could consistently win while playing inside a live casino. Players read the book, and then headed out to the casinos implementing the techniques of the book and beating the house quite regularly.
As a result of the book casinos changed the rules of blackjack briefly. The casinos were losing money, and they changed the rules so the game was once again in their favour. Casino gamblers were not interested in playing a fake version of blackjack, and the popularity of the game declined rapidly. With such a loss in revenue, casinos were forced to reinstate the game with the original rules intact.
The book however prompted the use of multiple card decks, more frequent shuffling, and the use of shuffling machines, which made it very difficult for players to use the strategies outlined in the book. The additional shuffling and cards restored the favourable odds that the casino once had, and made it much more difficult for players to win at casinos. The less favourable odds didn’t stop players from hitting the blackjack tables, and casino revenue quickly went back up.
Today blackjack remains a popular game in casinos, and is played by gamblers worldwide. In addition to casino game play many gamblers will play blackjack in their own home, and children will often play the game as a quick card game with friends. Versions of the game have been made available for players on their home computer, as well as online sites that allow gamblers to play the game for money while sitting at home in front of their computer. Here in the UK you can even play the live casino tv game while playing interactively online on the TV.
