Blackjack can be found in every casino in the world, from Las Vegas to Monte Carlo and online gaming platforms. Blackjack, this seemingly simple but strategically formidable card game, has fascinated players and statisticians alike for centuries. Yet few know its true origins, which are often reduced to an American anecdote. In reality, blackjack has a much longer, more complex and international history.
Forgotten European roots
Long before the lights of Las Vegas made the black and red cards shine, the game we know today as blackjack had its roots much further back than most people realise.
In 1613, Miguel de Cervantes (the famous author of Don Quixote) published ‘The Exemplary News’, a series of stories about marginal characters in Golden Age Spain. In one of them, Rinconete y Cortadillo recalls a game called veintiuna (twenty-one). Not only does Cervantes provide the very first written account of a game similar to blackjack, he also explains its context: a low-class game played by hooligans and misfits, far from the aristocratic salons.
But should Spain be credited with inventing blackjack? Historians of the game are cautious. Twenty-one seems to be a natural evolution of a much older game: thirty-one, the first traces of which date back to the fifteenth century. In 1440, in a fiery sermon against games of chance, the Italian monk Bernardine of Siena referred to a popular card game, mentioned in a French translation in 1464 under the explicit name of Trente-et-un.
The social rise of a popular game
It was not until the 18th century that vingt-et-un emerged in the more respectable circles of French society. The game did not appear in any of the first editions of ‘L’Académie des jeux’, the main manual of game rules at the time, but it gradually appeared in English collections at the turn of the 19th century. The 1800 edition of Hoyle’s Games provides the first description in English, attesting to its international spread.
Why was there such a gap between popular practice and literary recognition? The explanation is social: the first books on games were aimed at the literate classes, and tavern games had no place in them. The change in the game’s status could be explained by a major technical development: the introduction of the alternative value of the ace, which can now be worth 11 points instead of just one.
This innovation radically alters the dynamics of the game. It means that the total of 21 can be reached with just two cards (an ace and a face card), rather than three as in the version mentioned by Cervantes. The game became faster, more strategically tense and more attractive to a wider audience.
The American adaptation: the birth of blackjack
The history of the name blackjack is shrouded in popular legends that continue to circulate, even among the most assiduous gamblers. According to the most widespread account, when Vingt-et-Un was introduced in the United States (depending on the version, at the beginning of the 19th century, during the First World War, or in the 1930s), gambling houses tried to attract customers with attractive bonuses. One house offered an exceptional ten-to-one payout if the player won a hand consisting of an ace of spades and a black jack (clubs or spades). This winning duo would have been called “blackjack”, a name that would have stuck, even after the bonus was removed.
An attractive story, easy to remember and widely reported… but historically dubious.
The famous French historian of card games, Thierry Depaulis, is seriously questioning this romanticised version. In his research, he explains that the name blackjack actually emerged during the Klondike gold rush, between 1896 and 1899, in north-western Canada. The prospectors who came to try their luck in these icy lands played an American version of Twenty-One. For them, the term blackjack did not refer to a specific combination of cards, but simply to the classic premium hand: an ace and a card worth ten points.
But why this name? Depaulis puts forward an original hypothesis: the word blackjack was also used to designate a mineral well known to gold miners, zincblende, often found in gold or silver deposits. It is therefore possible that the miners transferred this mineral name to the game’s best hand, in a sort of symbolic shift between underground wealth and gambling wealth.
Rules, cheating and evolution
Over the years, the rules have become more uniform. Blackjack became a mainstay of American casinos, particularly with the legalisation of the game in the State of Nevada in 1931. However, the early days were marked by a great deal of mistrust. Casinos feared cheating – marked cards, biased distribution, coded signals.
The first strategy manuals appeared in the 1950s. But it was Edward Thorp, an American mathematician, who revolutionised the game with the publication of ‘Beat the Dealer’ in 1962. By introducing the principle of card counting, he proved that players could gain a statistical advantage over the house.
This led to a wave of repression in the casinos, which adapted their rules to make the counters’ task more difficult: automatic shuffling of cards, increased number of decks, tighter surveillance.
Blackjack and popular culture
Beyond the green carpet, blackjack is becoming a cultural icon. It is at the centre of famous films such as 21, inspired by a true story in which MIT students rake in fortunes by counting cards. The myth of the genius who rebelled against the casino empire fascinated audiences.
In the digital age, blackjack continues to expand. It is one of the most popular card games on online casino platforms. But its dominance is not absolute: in some parts of Asia, baccarat reigns supreme.
Where does blackjack come from?
Blackjack has its origins in 15th-century Europe, in a game called Trente-et-Un, widely played in France, Germany and Italy. In the seventeenth century, a similar version called Veintiuna appeared in Spain, and the game gained popularity in France in the eighteenth century under the name Vingt-et-Un, before evolving into blackjack in the United States.
Why is the game called blackjack?
According to historian Thierry Depaulis, the term was adopted by prospectors during the Klondike gold rush, in reference to zincblende, a black ore also known as ‘blackjack’, associated with gold veins, which makes it a symbolic link with the best hand in the game.
Who invented card counting in blackjack?
The American mathematician Edward O. Thorp is generally recognised as the father of card counting. In the 1960s, he formalised this technique in his book ‘Beat the Dealer’, revolutionising the way the game is played by proving mathematically that it is possible to gain an advantage over the casino by keeping track of the cards played.
What is the best blackjack strategy?
The best blackjack strategy is based on basic strategy, a set of optimal decisions calculated according to probabilities, and card counting. With these techniques, a player can reduce the casino’s advantage to less than 1%. To find out more, read our complete guide to blackjack strategy.