Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games out there. Why? Well, possibly it’s because it’s such a simple game to learn and play. There is really only one rule. You need to get as close to twenty-one as possible without going over. Ta-da! That is all. There is no real rocket science involved. If you can add, you can play. Based on that alone, that may be why it has been and will continue to be one of the most popular casino games.
But was it invented by the Americans? No. Card games as a whole were invented by the Chinese. The oldest known forms of card games were played with paper money in China around 900 AD As far as is understood from the research, they used to shuffle money and one day they said hey, that would be a great game; thus what they called “paper tickets” was born. Time and tide change all things, what a great saying, and a German gentleman named Johann Gutenberg in 1440 said: Hm, I can improve this (not really, but it’s funny to think he said that). Or it may be that he simply saw a way to make a product that would be in high demand and make him a lot of money. Smart man! So he printed the first deck of cards.
But let’s not get sidetracked, let’s go back to blackjack, the cupboard game that dates back to when most think blackjack was played in France in the 18th century. It was called “twenty one” or ta-da! twenty one. There were some wonderful card games that came out of this first game; as much as a famous TV series will have a spin-off show. “Seven and a Half” and a game from Spain called “One and Thirty” are just a few that have been pointed out as possible derivatives of blackjack. Then in the 1800s its popularity spread to the US Once again time and tide changed things because it wasn’t exactly the same as the blackjack we know and love, but so close that most are agree that its roots come from this game.
But by about the year 1910, this great game had made its way to America’s version of casinos and was being pushed into them in an effort to entice them to play. Their marketing of the game went so far as to give players a bonus if they had both the “Black Jack” and the “Black Ace” in hand. From this bonus came the wonderful name we all know and love now: Blackjack.
Now blackjack is a wonderful casino game or a fun family night game. Many movies have featured it in all its simplicity in their movies, further expanding its popularity. So the next time you and your family sit down for family night, maybe it’s blackjack night. Not only will this be a great way to impart some history on the cards, but shh, don’t tell them, it will give them more math practice.