Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as 21, is said to have its origins in French casinos in the very early 18th Century and reach American shores some 100 years later. Originally termed "Vingt-et-un" ("Twenty-and-one" in French), the game was later referred to as blackjack whenever a player's first two cards dealt comprised a jack of spades along with an ace of spades.

Today blackjack ranks among the most widely played games at both land-based and online casino establishments throughout the world. In this exciting game, each participant plays against the dealer (the house) only and not against other competitors. The goal for the player is to draw cards until the sum of his or her hand adds up to as close to 21 without going over 21, or ‘busting it' as it is also known. If the sum of the dealer's cards adds up closer to 21 than the player's - without going over - the dealer wins.

Whenever a player's first 2 cards add up to 21, he/she has blackjack and wins the hand, unless the dealer also has blackjack, in which case the hand winds up in a tie, or "push."

Players place their wagers prior to the cards being dealt by laying their bet on the designated area. The dealer subsequently deals 2 cards (one face-up, one face-down) to each player including him/herself. Face cards (jacks, queens, kings) have a value of 10, aces are worth one or 11 (player's choice) and all remaining cards are worth their face value.

In contrast to games of total chance, blackjack players can significantly enhance their playing levels and boost their winning chances by developing certain blackjack strategies in conjunction with other card-playing skills.

Online casino blackjack and versions played in land-based casinos are virtually identical. The one significant difference being that with online casino blackjack, the dealer, or software, automatically shuffles the card deck after every hand.

Computers back in the 70's could perform various blackjack simulations thus paving the way for serious players to develop sophisticated playing strategies. This, naturally, encouraged a number of mathematicians, scientists, college professors, along with other "experts" to publish guide books suggesting a multitude of (alleged) winning blackjack strategies. Casino owners obviously became very disturbed by the notion that these computer-generated, scientific systems could bite into their casino's profits. Thus, numerous casinos at the time switched from single-deck to multiple-deck games as a means of countering these new computerized threats.

In 1977, legendary player Ken Uston achieved fame for developing and implanting five computers into his teammates' shoes. Soon after, these players amassed winnings exceeding $100,000. When the plot was uncovered and FBI experts examined one of the computers, the results of the investigation concluded that there was in fact nothing illegal about the act because the computers merely processed common blackjack information considered public domain property and therefore in no way an illegal cheating mechanism.

Nevertheless, Uston was banned (what a surprise) from Vegas' biggest casinos as a result. He then sued them for civil rights violations and in 1987 was found dead in a rented Paris flat. Uston's official cause of death is still unknown.

Blackjack is enjoyed today all over the world in a never-ending number of versions. The more common ones include: Atlantic City, Double Exposure, Vegas Strip, Vegas Downtown, European, Multi-hand, Spanish Blackjack, Super Fun 21, and Bonus Blackjack.