» 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. When casino gambling was legalized Blackjack became one of the most popular games. Blackjack was played at nearly every casino and gambling house. 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. Thorp. It was Edward O. 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. After “Beat the Dealer” was published much more people began to play at casinos. People wanted to implement Thorp’s strategy. 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. Thorp’s strategy seemed complicated and difficult for some players. Julian Braun was one of the most important contributors to modern Blackjack strategy. Thorp’s code Blackjack History

» The Card Values. 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 Card Value in Blackjack

» Bets and the Deal. Blackjack is played on a semicircular shaped table. The blackjack tableis covered by a green or blue colored felt. The dealer stands behind the table. After shuffling all cards thoroughly, the dealer will give one of the players a plastic card. 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. Minimum bets are usually $1. 00, $2. 00, $5. 00, $25. 00. Maximum bets are generally $500. 00, $1,000. 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. Chips can be purchased at the tables. 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. After the dealer has dealt everyone two cards, he will turn his first card face up for all to see. The dealer's other card, his face down card, is often referred to as his "hole card". 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. When there are four or more decks, the cards are dealt face up from a "shoe". The shoe is a plastic box which sits on the table holding the portion of the deck remaining to be dealt. 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. When using four or more decks, the cards are often dealt face up both in European and American casinos. Dealing cards face up prevents some forms of cheating by the players Bets And the Deal

» 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

» Blackjack Terminology. If there is a ‘Push’ nobody wins and nobody loses. You have a bust it the total of your hand goes over 21. Hole Card is a dealer's down card, which isn’t shown to the players. Shoe is a plastic box, which stands on the table and from which the players receive cards. ’To burn after a cut’ means ‘to place up to 5 cards into the discard box before the deal’ Blackjack Terminology

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