A history of blackjack

Especially in europe, blackjack is probably one of the most popular card games. The game is a mixture between a game of chance and a game of skill which makes it a very exciting card game. Some scientists attribute the origins of the game back to the middle ages. Some forefathers of the game are Quinze, Baccarat and Vingt-et-un – well-known card games.

There is no single game that is a direct predecessor of the game but the game has its origin in different countries and different eras as well.

All predecessors of blackjack have one thing in common: the player must reach a certain numbers with his cards in order to win the game.

Card games were mentioned for the first time in the literature of Johannes Gutenberg. The scriptures of Gutenberg are one of the oldest source of knowledge there is.

The French game vingt-et-un is probably a direct forefather of the game as well. The goal in this game was to get a 21 with your cards. This score could be reached with an Ace and a 10.
The game was then probably brought to the US by settlers where it became blackjack as we know it today. The US-government imposed a ban on online gambling in 1910 but after the Prohibition the game became especially known when Las Vegas started to become one of the major gambling hot spots in the world. From then on, blackjack became more and more popular and is now one of the most-loved card games in the world.

Different types of blackjack

There are several variations of the classic game of blackjack and many different variations of the game are played all over the globe. Get a overview of the most popular variations of blackjack below:

Original Blackjack

In the original blackjack, the player plays against the dealer at the casino or the bank if it’s an online casino. The goal of the game is to reach a card value of 21 or a value that is as close as it gets to 21. The player gets two cards that are dealt face down and can either try to win with those cards or draw another card.

Multi-Hand-Blackjack

Multi-Hand-Blackjack ist blackjack that is played with 5 decks of cards. The player can only double if one of his hands includes a card with a value between 9 and 11. The dealer must have a card value of 17 (if the value incluces a ace) to not surrender.

Vegas Strip Blackjack

When playing Vegas Strip Blackjack a total of two decks of cards are in the game. This type of blackjack is a relatively new variation of the game. It is actually a variant of the usual Atlantic City blackjack. The novelty of this variant of blackjack is that you can split two cards of the same value. This also means that you have to play up to four hands at the same time when playing this variant of blackjack.

European Blackjack

As with other types of blackjack the goal of European Blackjack is to get a card value of 21 and thus beating the dealer. The interesting factor about this blackjack variant is that you can’t double once you have already split.

Spanish Blackjack

Spanish Blackjack is another interesting type of blackjack and what makes this type of blackjack interesting is that you can double whenever you want. It does not matter what amount of cards you have.

You might ask yourself what type of blackjack is the type with the lowest house edge. One can say that the house edge is similar for most types of blackjack but that Vegas Strip Blackjack has a slightly lower house edge than the other types of blackjack.

The rules of blackjack

Blackjack is a relatively easy card game and therefore easy to pick up for new players. The aim of blackjack is to get a card value as close to 21 as possible. If the player happens to have a higher value than 21 he will lose.

At the beginning of the game both you and the player are given two cards that are dealt face down apart as one of the dealer’s cards. The game will then start and you will need to decide how to play and what to do with your cards.
You can either hit which means that you received another card from the dealer.

You can stand which means that you are ok with the cards you are holding at the moment. If you double down, you will double your original bet and only take another card.

If you split, you have two of the same cards and can split them which means that you have two bets at once. If you for example have a bet of 1 £ and get two tens you can split them and place 1 £ on the 2nd ten and then draw more cards for both bets.

If you surrender, you give up the game completely and put your cards down. You will then lose half of your original bet.

If you happen to be dealt a natural blackjack, you can cash in your bet straight away with a payout ratio of 1:1. This is only possible if the dealer’s cards are showing an Ace. This is called an “Even Money” situation.