Blackjack has turned out to be one of the most well-accepted casino games in the world today. Plus, it is one of the most played table games online as well. If you look into its history, it was the most loved game centuries ago as well. Who invented this game first still remains mystery.
Back in the 16th century, the Italians by then had a variation of blackjack “Sette e mezzo” or “seven-and-a-half.” The game was played with a deck with cards of 7 or bigger value, each face card were worth one point and 9s and under were worth a 1/2-point. The king of diamonds was wild. It is believed that the phrase “to bust” originated from this game’s term.
During the same period in France, “vingt et un” was one of the well accepted games amongst gamblers of those times. Although this game was a lot comparable to today’s blackjack, players needed to bet after every card and only the deal was allowed to double down.
The diverse kinds of twenty-one were introduced in America along with the Western European immigration throughout 18th to 19th century. Obviously, gambling was prohibited but the integration of lawful gambling in Las Vegas in 1931 led the game to expand and gained popularity rapidly in the U.S. Some believe that the title “blackjack” is American in origin, as gaming houses frequently provided 10-1 odds on a hand of ace of spades in addition to a black jack while others believe that the “black jack” hand paid out at higher odds in the French game as well.