Where Did The Term Blackjack For A Two Card 21 Hand Come From?

The term Blackjack was introduced to the game of blackjack in 1931 by casinos in Las Vegas. The game reached America from France in the 1800´s, but unlike the French version of Vingt-et-un, it was proving very unpopular. The casinos needed to attract custom and so invented a new hand to the game.

The hand was Blackjack. It consisted of the ace of spades and either the jack of clubs or spades. The casinos paid out 10-1 on this hand and the game suddenly grew in popularity. So much so that mathematicians began to study the game and provide blackjack strategy that would give the player a better advantage over the casino. The direct result of this was that casinos removed Blackjack as an option.

The game still needed to be attractive and so they created the modern day Blackjack hand. This is any hand of two cards only that adds up to 21. casinos only pay 3-2 for modern Blackjack, but the odds of hitting it are higher than of hitting the founding hand with the same name.