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The Migration of Blackjack from Europe to America

‘Blackjack’- the master of all casino card games has its origin in France. Vingt-et-un (French for Twenty-one) is the pioneer of Blackjack. Vingt-et-un originated in French casinos around 1700 A.D, and crossed the ocean from Europe to America. The game first appeared in gambling halls of Evansville city of Indiana in 1910 and has now entered almost all online casino game websites.

Initially Blackjack did not earn popularity in the United States. This was primarily because there were no bonus offers attached. Gradually, casinos in America introduced huge bonus offers to attract players. Certain casinos in the United States went to the extent of offering a 10:1 bonus payout, if the player was dealt with an ace of spades and a jack of clubs or spades. This hand was popularly known as ‘Blackjack’.
Now, though the bonus is no longer offered, the name ‘Blackjack’ has stuck to the game. However, it has very little to do with a jack of clubs or spades.

Another deterrent to the popularity of Blackjack when it first came to America was the whopping house edge –a high percentage of the wager was retained by the casinos. In 1960’s, Edward O Thorpe, a renowned American mathematician proved that the house edge could be eliminated from the game. Based on research, he developed certain moves which later came to be known as the basic Blackjack strategy. It is this basic strategy that lured hundreds of American players to try their luck at the game in the later years.

The advent of online casino games further spurred the evolution of Blackjack in America. Online casino games included new versions of Blackjack that offered even higher bonuses and cut-back further on the house edge.

Now Blackjack has evolved further and taken on an online avatar. Offering even higher returns to skilled players who wish to play from the comfort of their homes, it is ranked as one of Americans’ favorite online casino games. So much so, its popularity has spread to neighboring Canada as well.