Blackjack: where it began and how far it has come

Online casinos have quickly become the norm over the years. 

But what’s better than having the buzz of the casino from the comfort of your own home? Well, playing at that casino with a live Blackjack experience [3], of course!

Blackjack has long since been a crowd favourite amongst casino aficionados, and with that, has made several further developments to remain in top spot. The newest update is the live Blackjack games that can be found on almost all of your favourite casino websites! Live Blackjack allows you to play the classic game online, whilst sitting back and relaxing at home, but with the extra excitement of interacting live with the croupier and your fellow players!

Of course, things haven’t always been like this. There is no clear or definitive answer for when exactly Blackjack was first invented. One of the more recognised theories regarding the origin of the game is that it most probably evolved from the French game called “Vingt-et-un” – which translates to “twenty-one”. As the new card game for the age, it became increasingly popular from the beginning of the 18th century, allegedly being played regularly in the Royal Court during the reign of King Louis XV.

It was when the game was brought over to America that the version we know today started to form. The basic idea of the game was introduced by French colonists in the late 18th century, now dubbed “21”. There were many differences in the rules of this game and the modern version that we know today. In some versions of the game, both of the dealer’s cards would be visible to the other players, whereas in the most current version we know it to be the practice for only one of the dealer’s cards to be shown. It was common for the dealer to make his own choices in regards to how to play his hand, before stricter rules were brought into the game.

In the 19th century, America truly began to make Blackjack its own. The first legalised, hosted games came onto the scene in 1820 in New Orleans, although non-legalised underground games were commonplace across the rest of the country. The game progressed even further throughout the 20th century, although the name “Blackjack” was still yet to be coined. At this time, the state of Nevada became a gambling hub, as the Las Vegas strip began to rise, and gambling was made legal in 1931.

Now, let’s fast forward to present day. These days it takes very little effort to find your spot at the perfect Blackjack table, without even leaving your home! As the internet began to boom, the next big development in the history of Blackjack followed suit. There are now hundreds of different Blackjack games to find and play, with numerous new and exciting side bets and variations to find.

The next step in the progression of the game is the online live Blackjack revolution. It was found that the only drawback of online gambling was the lack of atmosphere, due to the isolated nature of playing at home. So, along came the idea to stream live Blackjack tables from real life casinos, in the hopes that people could feel like they were actually there. This came with its problems in its early stages so, after several trials and tribulations, gambling sites finally made their breakthrough in live gambling, and moved into new, purpose-built studios that were exclusively designed to stream live Blackjack, with at-home players in mind!