» Some people believe that Blackjack is based on some European card games. Blackjack have elements of French “Vingt-Un” (21), “Trente et Quarente” (20 and 30), “Chemin de Fer” (Railroad), Spanish “One and Thirty” and Italian “Baccara” and “Seven and a Half”. French “Vingt-Un” (21), “Trente et Quarente” (20 and 30), “Chemin de Fer” (Railroad), Spanish “One and Thirty” and Italian “Baccara” and “Seven and a Half” come to the United States in the 19th century and were very popular. For some time casinos and gambling houses were forbidden. In the Western part of the USA gambling was legal from the 1850’s to 1910. In Nevada gambling was illegal from 1910 to 1931. In 1931 gambling was legalized in Nevada. When casino gambling was legalized Blackjack became one of the most popular games. Blackjack was played at nearly every casino and gambling house. The most popular types of Blackjack were played with one or two decks. In 1956 the first article about Blackjack was printed. The first article about Blackjack was titled “The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack”. “The Optimum Strategy in Blackjack” was written by Roger Baldwin. Roger Baldwin explained how to reduce the “House”, or casino, advantage based upon probability and statistics. “Beat the Dealer” was published in 1962 by the Mathematics Professor Edward O. Thorp. It was Edward O. Thorp who developed and wrote about the first card counting systems. Some casinos changed Blackjack rules as Thorp’s strategy really worked. When Blackjack rules were changed in some casinos most people stopped playing Blackjack. Thorp’s book ended up making money for casinos, as it increased the amount of Blackjack being played. Julian Braun was one of the most important contributors to modern Blackjack strategy. Mr Braun improved Dr. Thorp’s code. Troph, Braun and others made Blackjack very popular Blackjack History

» All face cards (Jack, Queen and King) as well as Tens have the value of ten. Aces may be counted as either eleven or one. In blackjack card suits are of no importance. The value of the ace seems to confuse some players under the "heat of the action". It si up to you to decide how to value aces. You can count the ace as eleven until a count of eleven will put your hand over twenty-one, then you can count the ace as one Card Value in Blackjack

» Soft and Hard Hands. If you have an ace in your hand that counts as eleven, you have what is known as a "soft hand". If you hold no aces or have an ace in your hand that counts as one, you have a "hard hand". Think of an ace in your hand as "soft" because the hand value can always be reduced. If you have a soft hand, you hold a distinct advantage over the dealer Soft and Hard Hands in Blackjack

» Insurance. If you think that the dealer has a blackjack you can take the insurance. The insurance bet costs one-half your original wager, and the payoff is 2:1. If you win the insurance bet, the dealer will pay you by simply leaving your original wager on the table Insurance

» The surrender rule allows you to surrender any two card hand along with one-half his original wager. There are two prevalent forms of the surrender rule. "Late Surrender" doesn't allow the player to surrender until the dealer has ascertained that he does not have a blackjack. "Early Surrender" allows a player to surrender his hand even before a dealer can determine whether he has a blackjack Surrender

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