Blackjack - the history

European origin
The history of Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one, can be traced back to Spanish, French or Italian, card games that were very similar in nature. Many other card games, including Baccarat, probably were derived from Blackjack. History books from the 11th century make references to card games where the player's goal were to reach certain total values.

Vingt-et-un
By its French name, Vingt-et-un (21 in English), it was the parlor game of fashion in the 18th century. Easy to learn and simple to play, Blackjack was an instant hit! The game's popularity spread throughout the world, and the French name became corrupted into various forms: in England it was called Van John, and in England as well as Australia it was called Pontoon.

Servicemen made Blackjack popular
The servicemen of America learned Blackjack from their allies during World War II and used it as a pleasant distraction. Along with poker, this was the American soldier's favorite card game. When they brought the game back to the United States it rapidly became popular all over the country. The development over the last few decades has been astonishing, and nowadays there is a lot of money involved in Blackjack as well as poker. In many casinos the betting limits have increased from to ,000-and higher. Blackjack is second only to Bank Craps when it comes to amounts of money won and lost.