Blackjack History Online
The fact that you are a fan of blackjack history is what that has landed you on to this page where I am going to share all that I know about blackjack history online with you. Although the origin of Blackjack is somewhat hazy, it is widely believed that the version of Blackjack that we know today had its origins in France. The first recorded description of Blackjack is "vingt-et-un" means "21" in French. Vingt en Un was very much like blackjack, with just a few differences with only the dealer being allowed to double. The betting method too was different in the sense that you would have to bet at the end of each round, which is not like in modern blackjack. The English name "Blackjack" came about when a player’s initial hand consisted of a jack and an ace.
Shortly after the French revolution, Blackjack migrated to North America and soon became one of the most popular casino games since there were hardly any rules at the time to regulate card games. Deft gamblers soon realized that Blackjack is one of a kind game where there was scope to manipulate the odds and bets. Without any sort of government regulation, gambling was flourishing and was in its peak. However, in the beginning of the nineteenth century the US government believed that gambling corrupted society and encouraged organized crime. The government then promulgated a law in 1910 that ruled that playing casino games was a crime.
This situation as you can imagine was lopsided and unfair to the scores of decent players like you and me. Soon the entire industry went largely underground and was extremely criminalized. Eventually things went so horribly wrong that the Nevada authorities were the first to make gambling legalized, but created laws and regulatory bodies to protect the players and thus was born the haven for modern gambling, Las Vegas! Since all other states remained conservative and made no effort to rehabilitate casino gambling, Las Vegas soon transformed into the gambling center of the United States of America.
In 1953 Roger Baldwin made the first attempt to study blackjack that later on proved to be a defining moment in the history of blackjack. He made good use of statistics theory and calculating methods in order to reduce the proverbial house edge of blackjack. In 1956 his findings were published in the American Statistical Association under the heading "Optimum Strategy in Blackjack", which turned out to be the first ever guide for blackjack.
The next milestone in the understanding of blackjack via science and math was made by Professor Edward O. Thorp. He perfected the earlier findings of Roger Baldwin and published his book, "Beat the Dealer" in which you can find the first blackjack card counting system. "Beat the Dealer" turned out to be a runaway success and in 1963 it took the top place of the New York Times' seller list of books. Thorp’s work brought about a paradigm shift to blackjack and soon US casinos went into a damage control mode by modifying the rules of blackjack then on.
Today blackjack is a classic game played across countries such as US, Canada, Australia, and in Europe, Asia and many other parts in the world. Online Blackjack has grown in popularity by leaps during the last few years and the thrill of playing blackjack online can be matched by very few online gambling games.