» 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”. 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. Thorp. It was Edward O. Thorp who developed and wrote about the first card counting systems. 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. 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. Braun’s updated strategies and card counting systems were included in the second edition of “Beat the Dealer”. 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". 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. You can never bust when you hit a soft hand Soft and Hard Hands in Blackjack

» 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. If you win the insurance bet, the dealer will pay you by simply leaving your original wager on the table Insurance

» Push happens if the hand value of the dealer and of the player is equal. 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.  ‘To cut the deck’ means ‘to insert a plastic card into a deck’. ’To burn after a cut’ means ‘to place up to 5 cards into the discard box before the deal’. Blackjack Terminology

Blackjack Casinos

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