If there is one story that is the most debated in the gambling world, it is blackjack. If some analysts claim that its origin is to be drawn from a game of our French neighbors called “twenty-one”, which was then very popular in French casinos in the 17th century, others persist in seeing its beginnings. in Italy, and more particularly under the name of “thirty-one”, which appeared in the 13th century. We will try to see more clearly by giving you in fact the history of blackjack.
About The Thirty-One
It is basically a game that indeed has a lot of similarities to the blackjack we know today, even if its goal at the time was to have a hand of 31 points on three cards. Since this game has been attested from the 14th century, it therefore becomes the first ancestor of blackjack officially and especially as we know it today in land-based casinos or on video games offered in online casinos. For the little anecdote, know that it is the priest St Bernardine di Siena who will then mention it for the first time in a sermon in 1440. This one targeted the universe of the game by proclaiming that he wanted to burn the cards, the dice as well as backgammon aprons. Do you like anecdotes? And you should also know in passing that the first set of cards, composed of 22 trumps and 14 cards of 4 colors was printed by Johan Guttenberg, to whom we also owe the printing of the first Bibles. Between 1532 and 1542, the thirty-one was also mentioned in Gargantua and Pantagrue by François Rabelais who then describes it in one of the chapters of the book as one of the 100 games played by Gargantua.
About The Twenty-One
Although this version of the game differs from today’s blackjack in many ways and aspects, the game of twenty-one still had great similarities to it, as the cards were actually dealt in a circle. This allowed players to bet on any game while aiming, similar to blackjack today, to have a hand totaling 21 points. But with the difference that this time, only the croupier could double. If this one had a “natural,” all players paid it at odds of 3: 1. The “natural” of the player made him win double his initial bet. Just like the blackjack that can be played now, the ace could be worth 1 or 11 points. You can see that the twenty-one was actually very similar to blackjack. This is also one of the reasons why he is considered his worthy predecessor. For the record, also know that this version of the game was adored by the French elite and was played by the mistress of Louis XV.
A Game Of Controversies
You will understand, however, there are some obscure points that really prevent us from knowing the true origins of blackjack. A few researchers have looked into the question and have deduced that this game could well be a variation of another French game, while these games are often based on thoughtful calculation methods and casino games in fact do not exist. rarely change in other games. This remains a solid argument for once that suggests that blackjack might not ultimately be a derivative of twenty-one or any other game for these scientists. But since we are talking about controversy, you should also know that on the contrary, many other people think that blackjack is an integral part of the family of games such as Baccarat, or Vingt-et-un.
