Biography of Twenty-one
Monday, 15. February 2010
Black Jack – also referred to as ‘twenty one’ and ‘pontoon’ – is a card game that nowadays is generally found in a casino with players attempting their luck on acquiring the elusive ‘twenty one’. It’s commonly presumed that the game came into existence in France through the 17th century. However, as with many other casino games the exact development of the game is a mystery.
Chemin de fer was introduced to the United States after the French Revolution, but the game didn’t become favored in the casinos until the house provided bonus payouts. This was the only method that appeared to get gamblers betting on twenty-one. One variation on the reward payment was for a gambler to make ‘21′ with the blackjack card (valued at 10 points) and an ace (given a value of eleven points). With the growing popularity of the game the bonus pay outs were phased out but the name of the game ‘black jack’ stayed.
Black jack is not simply about acquiring a straight ‘twenty-one’, but the primary adventure is to beat the dealer without going ‘bust’. The betting house clearly has an advantage over the gambling players in the long term, but with blackjack the gambler holds on to an element of choice.
Since nineteen thirty one when America first legalized betting, chemin de fer has become a traditional gambling den card game. Furthermore, it is the blending of both ability and mathematics used in black jack that has caused the game to be hugely loved. Twenty-one provides an attractive proposition to any scientist, mathematician or betting player looking to research the scheme of the game.
Posted in Blackjack by Claire