Like many games found in casinos, the origins of blackjack have not been proven beyond doubt and there are plenty of contrasting theories which researchers have asserted as to how this fine game came about. While USA online blackjack is not that far removed from the game that arrived in the USA with migrants and merchants from Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, here we look at three theories about how it all began.
1. What have the Romans ever done for us?
There is a school of thought – chiefly championed by Italian researchers – that the origins of blackjack reach far further back than many believe, right back to the Roman times no less.
The theory goes that Roman soldiers who were hanging around their camps waiting for the next battle or conquest to be ordered would while away the hours inventing and playing various games on which they could gamble (they loved to gamble, apparently!) One such game involved the use of wooden blocks, each of which had a numerical value carved onto it. The players used the numbered blocks to try to get to a target total, the nearest to the total being the winner.
2. If in doubt, look East
Another theory about the origins of blackjack is that it was invented in the Far East (most probably China) some time around 900AD and that it developed from games that came about when Chinese merchants would shuffle paper money (something they certainly invented).
There are only sketchy accounts of such games and how they relate to blackjack, but there is certainly circumstantial evidence that merchants who ventured from Europe to the Far East were exposed to such games which might have inspired them to adapt the rules into something that more resembled blackjack.
3. 21 by any other name
The French game of vingt-et-un (which means “21”) is widely considered to be the true forerunner to the game of blackjack we know and love today. Originating sometime around the early 17th century, and probably as a variation of other games that existed at the time, vingt-et-un was a card game whose object was to reach a total of 21 without going over that total and in which aces counted as one or 11 in value. Sounds familiar, right?
Conclusion
All in all it is impossible to say how blackjack really came about and it almost certainly developed over the centuries as various games were morphed and adapted by those who played them. One thing’s for sure though, now we’ve got blackjack, it isn’t going away!
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