Blackjack History
Like most gambling games, the exact origins of blackjack are clouded. Three different European countries claim to be the country of origin and its roots have been credited to several different games. The majority of historians, though, believe that the French game Vingt-En-Un (twenty-one) is the most likely predecessor to the modern game of blackjack.
Similar to blackjack, vingt-en-un's main objective was for a player to have a hand value closest to 21. Unlike modern-day blackjack, the game was played in rounds with betting following every round, similar to many poker games of today. Experts believe that this French game originated in the late 1600's and became popular in French casinos during the 1700's.
This version of 21 eventually made its way to America a few hundred years later, around the late 1800's. In the beginning, American casinos called the game either Vingt-en-un or 21. The game wasn't a smash hit. The American casinos changed the name to Blackjack when they added a bonus payout to the original game. In the bonus payout, when a player was dealt a blackjack - an Ace of Spades and a Jack of Clubs or Jack of Spades - they received a payout of 10:1.
Modern Blackjack History
Even though the ten-to-one payout was soon discarded in American casinos, the name of blackjack remained. Gambling was legalized in Las Vegas in 1931 and the game became one of the most popular choices at the casinos. Its popularity increased over the next two decades, by the late 1940's only craps was more popular.
Ten years later, in 1958, a book was published that outlined how a player, with a basic strategy, could mathematically gain an 'edge' over the house and earn money playing the game. Blackjack's popularity skyrocketed and has never plumetted. Today, blackjack is the most popular game played in casinos around the world.
Playing Online Blackjack
Blackjack is one of the simplest games you will find in an free online casino games and, as a result, one of the most enjoyable! The object of the game is for the total of your cards to be closer to 21 than the dealer’s cards, without ever exceeding 21 (in which case your hand is ‘bust’ and loses). Each card is assigned a numeric value – number cards are worth their face value, picture cards are all 10 and an ace counts as either 1 or 11.
To begin the game, both you and the dealer are dealt two cards. If your two cards are an ace and a ten-value card (Black Jack or otherwise) then you have Blackjack and win 1.5 times your stake. Otherwise, depending on the first two cards that are dealt, Online Blackjack allows you to choose one of the following options:
Stand
If you are happy with your two card total you can stand with that total to end your turn. The dealer than takes his turn to complete the Blackjack game.
Hit
If you wish to take an additional card you may choose to hit. Following a hit you can either stand or continue to hit until you wish to stand or your hand is bust.
Double
If you feel that one more card will beat the dealer’s hand you can choose to ‘double’. In this instance you are dealt one more card, your original stake is doubled and your turn ends.
Split
If the first two cards that you are dealt have the same value then you may choose to ‘split’ your hand. In this case, your hand is split into two separate hands and a second bet, equal in value to the first, is placed. You may draw as many extra cards as you like on a split hand except when two aces are split, in which case only one additional card is allowed for each ace.
Insurance
Whenever you play Blackjack, the initial two cards dealt to the dealer will be placed with one face up and one face down. If the face up card is an ace then you are given an opportunity to ‘insure’ your bet against the possibility that the dealer has Blackjack. Your insurance amount will be equal to half your original bet and pays out at 2 to 1, so, if the dealer has Blackjack, you receive your stake back. If the dealer does not have Blackjack then you lose your insurance.
Main Blackjack Rules
Online games work exactly like regular best online casino bonus games, therefore our Blackjack follows the standard Las Vegas rules, with the following exceptions:
* After each round, used cards are returned to the deck and the deck is shuffled.
* The player may not split a split hand.
* Only one card is drawn to split aces.
* The player may double after splitting.
* The dealer will not check for Blackjack in any case.
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