The origins of this game are highly contested. It is believed that this extremely appreciated card game originated in France.

The game’s original name was Vingt-et-un, twenty one, and derived from other French games such as “Chemin de Fer” and “French Ferme”.

It was first played in French casinos around the 1700’s then little by little its popularity spread all over Europe and by the early 18th century it was known in the USA as well.

The present name of Blackjack came in the early years of it’s presence in the United States when for a jack of spades and an ace of spades, both black cards, as the first two cards of a player the bank would have paid 10 to 1.

Blackjack has evolved over time. The game is nowadays known under different names such as “pontoon” and “Californian aces”. After it hit the USA it became rapidly popular and fashionable because of its flexibility and simple rules. Gamblers realized that playing this card game you could manipulate the odds and bets.



Step by step, gambling in casinos started to flourish and it is in the 19th century when the government of United States realized that this industry, which was soon out of control, was heading towards corruption. Soon Las Vegas became the gambling center of the US and in 1931 it gambling became legal in Nevada. Today, Blackjack is played in every casino around the globe.


Blackjack has become even more popular after the publishing of some books on how to play the game. One of the books published “Beat the dealer” by Professor Edward Thorp ignited the interest of the public and soon it became a best seller.

With hundreds of such books sold the profits of casinos were decreasing and they responded by changing the rules of the game so that the odds of the players would diminish to the advantage of the house. make it more difficult to win as they thought these books taught the public how to cheat and beat the house. This did not last long as people protested against it and soon the casinos were forced to get back to the old rules.

As a gambling game, Blackjack was not avoided by the scientists either who took a great deal of interest in the game. Knowing that it is not a simple game mathematically scientist invested a great amount of money in the search of winning tips.

In 1956 based on this research a book “Basic strategy” was published by Roger Baldwin which caused a storm in the media and fear among the casino owners but soon this fear disappeared. To make the game more attractive some casinos offered a special bet to persuade people to play without trying to cheat.

Types of Blackjack

In today’s casinos you can find various types of Blackjack such as Atlantic City Black Jack, Double Exposure Black Jack, European Black Jack, Multi-hand Black Jack, Spanish Black Jack, Super Fun 21, Vegas Downtown Black Jack, Vegas Strip Black Jack Black Jack Surrender, and Black Jack Switch, and their progressive 777 Black Jack.


Although pretty similar you will enjoy the slight differences. Casinos did whatever they could to prevent the players to win by increasing the number of decks and introducing more frequent shuffling. However these changes did not affect the popularity of the game as it remained one of the most challengeable table games in casinos and online casinos as well. The object of blackjack is to accumulate 21 or as close to 21 without going over and beating the dealers hand.

Each card has its own value. Face cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings) worth 10 points. Aces are worth 1 or 11 whichever you prefer depending on the value you want to make with the ace. All the other cards are represented by their value.

The blackjack table is designed for 6 players. Six or eight decks of cards are used and shuffled together by the dealer.

Before the dealer hits the cards you have to place the bet on the Blackjack table. Be careful and think twice before placing your money on the table.

After the bet has been made the dealer will deal giving each player two cards and then to himself. The dealer receives two cards as well one of them is faced up and the other is faced down. If your total value is greater than 21 you lose. If your total is less or equal to 21 and the dealers total exceeds 21 it means that you win. If by some reason the player and the House tie no one wins and no one loses. A tie is called a "push".

Here are some of the basic rules that you have to keep in mind when playing this card game:

Blackjack: After the cards were dealt and you received an Ace and a 10 point card (10, Jack, Queen or King),that is “blackjack” and you win automatically. But if the dealer has blackjack as well than it is a “tie”. Sometimes blackjack pays the winner 3 to 2.

Insurance: After the dealer’s cards were dealt and one of the card is an Ace you can decide whether you would like an insurance or not. The amount that you can pay for the insurance is half of your original bet. But be careful. If the dealer’s down card is a 10 or a face card then you win 2 to 1 but if it’s any other card the dealer wins.

Surrender: If by some motifs you feel that you are going to lose you can give up your hand and in this way you lose only half of your bet.

Early Surrender: this is allowed before the dealer checks if he has or hasn’t a Blackjack.

Late Surrender: if the dealer first checks if he has a blackjack, surrender is not permitted.

Double Down: you can double your bet after having received the first two cards. If you have chosen to double your bet the dealer will give you only one more card to improve your hand. It is advised to do it only when you are in a strong situation.

Splitting pairs: after receiving the first two cards and these by any chance are pairs you are allowed to spilt the cards and play separately. If the two alike cards are Aces you will only receive one card on each hand and if you gat 21 it is not considered blackjack.

Hit or Stand: you can ask the dealer to give you one more card by raising your hand. This is called hit. To stand means that you do not want any other cards and you can indicate this by turning the cards in a horizontal direction. If you ask for a hit and the total of your cards is greater than 21 you lose the whole bet.

These rules can differ from casino to casino. Even if you are playing this game online rules differ from one game to anther.

Here are some of the most common rules that can occur when playing in different places:


• The dealer can draw on 16 and stand on soft 17



• The player may double down after splitting pairs



• The player may re-split the Aces which gives him a higher advantage



• The player may “surrender” after the first two cards were dealt and this way he loses half of his bet


After having learned the rules you can pick any online Black Jack game and practice on free versions.


When you feel confident enough go for the real game make bets and take the money of the casinos.