» Blackjack History The origin of the game Blackjack is still discussed. 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 Nevada gambling was illegal from 1910 to 1931. 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”. 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. Thorp who developed and wrote about the first card counting systems. “Beat the Dealer” was one of the most popular books. A lot of people read books about casinos, casino games and gambling. People wanted to implement Thorp’s strategy. Some casinos changed Blackjack rules as Thorp’s strategy really worked. Casinos had to change Blackjack rules back to attract players. Julian Braun was one of the most important contributors to modern Blackjack strategy. Thorp’s code. Braun’s updated strategies and card counting systems were included in the second edition of “Beat the Dealer”. Troph, Braun and others made Blackjack very popular. Blackjack History

» "Blackjack" ia also called "21". Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games in the world. Those who play different casino games spend most of their time playing Blackjack. Every player and the dealer have two cards each. Each player's hand is played against the dealer's hand only. The players don't play against each other. The objective of Blackjack is to Beat The Dealer! The most powerful hand possible is a hand value of twenty-one in your first two cards. An ace and a ten valued card will give you 21 or blackjack. If both you and the dealer have blackjacks your bet is simply retained by you. If both you and the dealer have blackjacks you neither lose nor win. It is you who is to determine when to "hit" (take another card) and when to "stand" (stop taking cards). There are fixed rules governing the play for the dealer. The dealer must hit until he has seventeen or more. If a player obtains a hand value less than or equal to twenty-one and greater than the dealer's hand value the a player wins an amount equal to his wager. If both a player and the dealer has the same hand value, it is known as a "push". If your hand value goes over twenty-one, you "bust" and lose your bet. If both your hand and the dealer's hand is a bust, you lose your bet because the dealer always plays out his hand last. The dealer always plays out his hand last, which gives the dealer his greatest advantage over the players. Players have four options. Players determine when to hit, when to stand, when to split (play two separate hands) and when to double down (double your wager in favorable situations) About Blackjack

» Bets and the Deal. The blackjack tableis covered by a green or blue colored felt. The blackjack table has seven places for players. One of the players has to"cut" the deck wth the plastic card. To cut the deck, the player has to insert the plastic card into the deck. After shuffling and cutingt the deck, the dealer "burns" one to five cards immediately placing these unseen cards into the discard box before the deal of the first hand. On the sign minimum and maximum bets allowed will be posted. Minimum bets are usually $1. 00, $2. 00, $5. 00, $25. 00 or $100. 00. Maximum bets are generally $500. 00, $1,000. 00 or $5,000. 00. Minimum and maximum bets higher through special arrangements with the house. You can make your bets with house chips. Sometimes you can make bets with cash. All winnings are paid with house chips. If you want to cash your chips you must go to the Cashier. At the outset of each hand, you have to place your bet in the square on the table directly in front of your seat. When all the bets are made all players and the dealer are dealt two cards each. The dealer always deals his own cards face down. After the dealer has dealt everyone two cards, he will turn his first card face up for all to see. After all players have played out their hands, the dealer will turn his hole card face up and, if necessary, hit his hand until he has a hand value of seventeen or more. When one or two decks are played, the dealer will deal from his hand and the player's cards will be dealt face down. The shoe provides the dealer with a convenient way to handle four or more decks. The house has one more advantage when dealing from the shoe. The more decks a house plays, the more favorable the odds become for the house against the card counters. Dealing cards face up prevents some forms of cheating by the players Bets And the Deal

» Insurance. The insurance option is simply another form of wager that is offered to the players when the dealer has an ace showing. 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 Insurance

» The surrender rule allows you to surrender any two card hand along with one-half his original wager. Many casinos do not allow any form of surrender rule. 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 Surrender

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