The History of Blackjack

Vingt En Un means 21 in French. Blackjack is a version of the game Vingt En Un. Blackjack commonly has been said to have arrived from France making it’s first appearance in the 1700’s as Vingt En Un. This game was very similar to Blackjack, the only differences being that you would have to bet after every round and that the dealer was the only one allowed to double. Blackjack got it’s name from the best hand in Vingt En Un which was called a Blackjack.. you guessed it! a Jack & the ace of spades. After the French Revolution the game was brought to the North America where the trend spread like wild fire, with this of course players started to develop a strategy to beat the odds and cash in on winnings more often. The US government started to believe that gambling was corrupting the people and so laws were placed against gambling. From there, Blackjack became an underground game with the 20’s approaching Blackjack grew in popularity so Las Vegas decided to legalize gambling & well we all know what Vegas is all about today! Blackjack is played all around the world including in UK online casinos.

So, How is Blackjack Played?

Blackjack consists of one to many 52 card decks, each card has a point value numbered cards 2 through 10 are worth face value. Jacks Queens & Kinds are worth 10 points and Aces can be used as 1 or 11 points. The aim of this game is for both the dealer & the player to try & hit 21 which is called a “Blackjack” So the player will want to get as close to 21 as possible without going over 21, this is called a “bust” if both the dealer & the player receive the same amount of points this is called a “push”. The table in Blackjack is the shape of an arch. The dealer stands in the middle while the players sit around the arch. In some casinos the dealer actually deals from his hand, most casinos now play with anywhere between 1 and 8 decks at once so the dealer will use what is called a shoe where the cards are held so the dealers hands can be free during game play.

To get started you’ll place your bet in the square or circle in front of you, after all players have made their wager everyone at the table is dealt 2 cards including the dealer. When playing a shoe game cards are dealt face up and players cannot touch their cards. In a single deck game players are dealt cards face down and may touch their cards with one hand. In either game the dealers cards are always dealt face up so that the player’s can rank their competition. Now the players will decided whether to stand or to hit. To hit is when you ask for another card. To stand is when you’re satisfied with what you have. The dealer then has to make his move. The dealer has to draw if his hand is 16 or less if the dealer’s hand is 17 but contains an Ace this is considered “soft” and the dealer will be able to draw again because the ace will be considered a 1. Now you’ll rank the cards on the table to determine the winner.

Some other terms you might hear around the Blackjack table are;

Insurance is offered by the dealer if their faceup card is an Ace. This is basically when you feel that the dealer’s other card is a 10 which would give him Blackjack. Insurance is taken for half the original bet and pays 2-1 if the dealer has Blackjack. Your aim with this is, if you lose the hand but took out insurance you’ll break even instead of losing.

Double down is when you choose to double your original bet and get another card in this case the additional card may be way too high to work in your favor, some casinos prohibit players from doubling their bets.

Split: A split is when your first 2 cards have the same point value you can choose to make a second bet equal to your first bet and split the pair using the two cards as the first in each hand so you’re basically just playing two hands at once for this round.

Rules for playing in a land based casino and for playing in UK online casinos are pretty much the same so this Blackjack guide should really help you, aside from all the shoe talk & other physical aspects of the game.