What are the origins and history of the game Blackjack?

嘿，聊到二十一点（Blackjack）的历史，这可是个有意思的话题！这游戏看起来简单，就是凑21点，但它的身世还真挺曲折的。咱们今天就来扒一扒它的来龙去脉。

The Earliest Ancestor: French 'Vingt-et-Un'

Most people agree that the most direct ancestor of Blackjack is a game called 'Vingt-et-Un', which was very popular in France in the 18th century.

As you might have guessed, this French term translates to 'twenty-one'.

• Time: Around 1700.
• Place: French casinos and aristocratic salons.
• Gameplay: Very similar to today's Blackjack, the goal was to get your hand as close to 21 as possible without exceeding it. At the time, this game was very fashionable in French courts, even frequently played in the court of Louis XV.

So, you can think of 'Vingt-et-Un' as Blackjack 1.0.

Even Older Relatives?

As historians delved into the past, they discovered some earlier games with similar gameplay, which likely provided inspiration for the birth of Blackjack.

1. Spanish 'Ventiuna' This word also means 'twenty-one' in Spanish. Interestingly, the great writer Cervantes (the one who wrote Don Quixote) mentioned this game in one of his novels (around 1601-1602). This suggests that a card game aiming for 21 already existed in early 17th-century Spain.

2. Italian 'Sette e Mezzo' Translated, it means 'Seven and a Half'. The gameplay involves using a special deck of cards, with the goal of reaching seven and a half. Face cards count as half a point, and number cards count at their face value. Although the target score is different, the core concepts of 'Hit', 'Stand', and 'Bust' are identical to Blackjack.

Therefore, Blackjack likely didn't appear out of nowhere, but rather evolved by incorporating gameplay from similar games across Europe, eventually forming the mature version known as 'Vingt-et-Un' in France.

Crossing the Ocean to America, and the Origin of the Name 'Blackjack'

This is the most exciting part of the story!

When French colonists brought 'Vingt-et-Un' to America, it wasn't immediately popular. Americans found the game not exciting enough, and the payouts were mediocre.

To promote the game, around the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the 'marketing geniuses' in Nevada casinos (at the time, gambling wasn't fully legalized, and many were underground establishments) came up with an idea: offer a special bonus.

If a player's first two cards were an Ace of Spades and any black Jack (Club Jack or Spade Jack), they would receive an exceptionally high payout of 10-to-1!

This special combination became known as 'Black Jack'.

This marketing strategy was a huge success! The name 'Blackjack' became catchy and memorable due to this special bonus. As people spread the word, the name gradually replaced the original, clunky French name 'Vingt-et-Un' and became the official name of the game.

Interesting, right? Although most casinos have now discontinued this special '10-to-1' bonus (it's typically 3-to-2 now), the name 'Blackjack' has endured forever.

Modern Development: From Luck to Skill

As the 20th century began, Blackjack entered its heyday.

• Mathematicians' Involvement: In the 1950s, some mathematicians began to seriously study the game. They discovered that Blackjack wasn't purely a game of chance! Through probability calculations, players could develop a 'Basic Strategy' to determine when it was most advantageous to hit, stand, split, or double down.
• The Birth of 'Card Counting': Most famously, a mathematics professor named Edward Thorp published a groundbreaking book in 1962—'Beat the Dealer'. He rigorously proved mathematically that by tracking the remaining high and low cards in the deck (i.e., 'card counting'), players could gain an advantage over the house.
• Cat-and-Mouse Game: From then on, a decades-long 'cat-and-mouse game' began between casinos and 'card counters'. To counteract card counting, casinos introduced measures such as using multiple decks, frequent shuffling, and automatic shufflers.

In Summary

So, the history of Blackjack can be simply summarized as:

1. Origins in Europe: Similar game prototypes existed in Spain and Italy.
2. Formed in France: The 18th-century 'Vingt-et-Un' is its most direct ancestor.
3. Gained Fame in America: Thanks to a marketing campaign involving a 'black Jack,' it acquired the catchy name 'Blackjack'.
4. Elevated in Modern Times: Proven by mathematicians to be a game combining skill and strategy, not just luck.

Next time you sit down at a Blackjack table, you can reflect that you're playing a classic game that has evolved over centuries, blending European aristocratic flair, American Wild West casino ingenuity, and the essence of modern mathematics!