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PLAY FREE BLACKJACK SWITCHBlackjack History
The French are usually credited for inventing Blackjack, believed to be an offshoot of French card games "chemin de fer" and "French Ferme". The game "vingt-et-un" (twenty-and-one) originated in French casinos around 1700 A.D., and migrated to the United States in the 1800's.
Vingt-et-un (21) while sounding similar to Blackjack, was actually quite different. The goal was to reach a "natural" with cards totaling 21, but the cards were dealt in rounds followed by betting on each round. Only the dealer could Double and if he got a Natural, the other players would pay him triple.
nother game which may have contributed to Blackjack as we know it is the Italian game "Seven and a Half". This game was played with only 8's, 9's, 10's and face cards, with face cards counting as the "half". The King of Diamonds was wild. This is reputed to be the first game where the player would automatically "bust" if the cards totaled over the desired number of "seven and a half".
The Spanish game "One and Thirty" had similarities to Blackjack, though the desired total was 31 rather than 21, and the game was played with 3 cards instead of 2.
Vingt-et-un crossed the ocean from Europe to America in the 1800's, and appeared in American Hoyle* in 1875 and Foster's Hoyle* in 1905. The game appeared in gambling halls in 1910, first reported in Evansville, Indiana.
Initially the game was not very popular and gambling houses tried various bonus payouts to entice players. Blackjack is so named because if a player got the Jack of Spades and the Ace of Spades as his first two cards, he received one such bonus payout. The original payout for this Blackjack was 10 to 1. Some houses recognized both the Jack of Clubs and the Jack of Spades for the 10 to 1 payout.
While a Jack is no longer specifically required and any ten-value card with an Ace now makes up a winning hand, the name Blackjack remains as a testimony to the game's origins. Casinos now traditionally offer a payout of 3 to 2 on a natural Blackjack, regardless of suit or color.
In Russia the game is called "21" or "Ochko" (The Hole). Other card games similar to Blackjack include Pontoon, which may be one of the early variations of the game. California Aces is another variation, as is Spanish 21.