Till date there has been no clear consensus, but most agree it probably originated in French casinos around , where it was called Vingt-et-Un which, translated, means twenty-one. Most believe it was probably derived from the French card games, Chemin de Fer , and French Ferme , which were in vogue at that time.
Another of its version was prevalent in Spain, which was called 'One and Thirty'. The basic rule of the Spanish version was to reach 31 with a minimum of three cards. It is believed that Romans used to play this game with wooden blocks of different numerical values. They implemented changes. Single-deck games became two and four-deck games.
No longer did dealers deal most of the way through the cards before reshuffling. But at the same time, casinos were adding tables to the floor to accommodate the influx of new blackjack enthusiasts. The casinos, by and large, were still winning big.
Computer programmer Julian optimized it. Others quickly jumped into the game. The advent of computers now began to give blackjack players the opportunity to attack the game, even as casinos changed it. And modified counting systems gave players a way to determine their advantage quickly and easily, even as the number of decks in the shoe swelled. Casinos wanted to keep the game attractive enough to insure people would try to beat it.
Pit bosses and dealers have been known to hand out basic strategy cards at the table. So what were casinos to do with those who did know how to beat the game? Las Vegas private detective Robert Griffin saw an opportunity and the casinos jumped at the chance. Griffin compiled a book with pictures of and information about known or suspected card counters, and hawked his book in regularly updated subscription form to every casino in town, which they quickly lapped up.
This eased the pressure on their end to assess each suspected counter individually. They could ostensibly work together to defeat card counters. Easier said than done. In , counter Al Francesco was playing blackjack and looking for ways to avoid heat. He was in a casino with his brother, also a card counter. While his brother sat, Francesco was not playing, but standing beside the table in a conversation. The Pit Boss fawned all over Francesco. Ever been chased down only to find out it is the host trying to offer you a free room?
The light bulb went on and Francesco soon became the first Big Player in the history of blackjack. He trained others to keep the count and signal him in.
The MIT team story found its way to the heart of a larger audience in the last decade with bestselling books like Bringing Down the House, and in Hollywood with blockbusters like Stanford Wong helped shape the look of an effective, albeit elusive card counter as well. He suggested table-hopping and back-counting tables. By entering a shoe only on positive counts, a player could avoid playing through negative counts and also to avoid the typical card counter give-away of wild bet swings.
In these early years, it was also not illegal to use computers. Players developed intricate technical machines that they could hide under their clothing. They entered information by toe taps, and the computer offered information back in vibrations. The first Atlantic City casino, Resorts International, opened its doors in A favorable early surrender rule resulted in a crush of players, including players from these newly formed teams.
Even though the casino was making money hand over fist, they wrestled over how to deal with counters. They conducted a two-week experiment in , letting card counters play uninterrupted.
The run proved profitable for scores of card counters and the casino alike. Even so, casinos were eventually allowed by the Casino Control Commission to change their loose rules.
In , Ken Uston won a lawsuit against Atlantic City casinos. The New Jersey casinos could no longer kick out players by law, but it only empowered them to resort to constant suspicion, as well as half-shoeing and shuffling tactics. In Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which effectively gave tribes the right to build and regulate their own casinos.
Tribes across the country began getting into the gaming business. Meanwhile, states started getting in on the lucrative action. In the Midwest, they began opening riverboat and shoreline casinos to step around traditional restrictions and create gambling zones. The game is just as beatable as ever.
Not in the same ways as Thorp and Francesco were doing it in their day, but certainly, a career in card counting is more possible than ever. In spite of all the game security measures casinos have taken, the proliferation of casinos means that talent in the pit and surveillance room has thinned out. In a computer scientist named Harvey Dubner introduced a new method of card counting. This was called the high-low method.
Another change we saw at the beginning of the 20 th century was a change in the name of this popular game. In the 19 th century, the game of blackjack was still known as Vingt-et-Un to players around the world.
Some of the rules were also changed at this time. Blackjack is one of the most popular games in the UK and around the world. Over the last few years its popularity has only increased thanks to the introduction of online casinos. Online casinos allow you to play games from the comfort of your own home. Casinos are constantly introducing new technology in order to provide their customers with a better experience.
Today, most online casinos have both classic versions of blackjack for players to enjoy as well as a range of altered versions with different features and rules included. You can find out more about playing online blackjack by clicking here. While we may not know the exact origin of blackjack, many researchers believe that it was created in France in the 17 th century. This amazing game has undergone a few changes over the years.
Not only have some of the rules changed, but it has also changed its name from Vingt-et-Un to blackjack. Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile with an obsession for Britain that borders on psychosis.
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