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Blackjack
History:
The beginning of most popular casino
game. It is widely believed that
Blackjack as we know it today originated
in France.
The first recorded mentioning
of
this game is found as
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"vingt-et-un"
(twenty
and one) in
the seventeenth century.
Just like with the rest of games we do
not know precise origin of Blackjack and
there are only guesses left as to what
is the true beginning of this excellent
game. Blackjack is thought to have descended
from other alike French games but as the
gambling games are built upon precise
and well balanced calculations, this is
very unlikely. Casino games seldom mutate
one into another all on their own.
Blackjack is a very popular card game
in Russia, where it's traditionally called
"21" or "Ochko" ("the
hole"). The game is not just played
in fashionable casino but is also very
popular among the folk, who play it passionately.
Other known names for for Blackjack are
"pontoon" and "California
Aces". The English name "Blackjack"
comes from the original French game where
a played was rewarded to draw a Jack of
spades and an Ace of spades as the first
two cards. The first card to draw was
Jack and spades is black, hence the name
Blackjack.
Soon after the French revolution, Blackjack
hit the United States and rapidly became
popular because of its flexibility and
freedom. Professional gamblers realized
soon that Blackjack is a wonderful playing
field for manipulating the odds and bets.
Without government regulation, gambling
was flourishing and provided a fine ground
for this unique game until almost the
beginning of nineteenth century which
is when the government of United States
realized that uncontrolled, gambling industry
was leading to corruption and encouraged
organized crime.
The State of Nevada written gambling into
law as a crime in 1910, and the situation
was rapidly deteriorating for decent players
while the industr went largely underground
and became
majorly criminalized, together with other
ridiculous conducts of the government
forming the very core of gangsters as
we know them today. Eventually things
went so horribly bad that the Nevada authorities
finally got a clue, and the gambling was
legalized, along with creation of laws
that protect the players and overseeing
bodies in the government.
As the Las Vegas was reborn, Blackjack
spread like wildfire throughout the casinos,
momentarily winning the hearts and the
minds of the players. As all other states
were conservative and did not seek to
reabilitate the casino gambling, Las Vegas
quickly became the gambling center of
United states. extremely reluctant to
legalize casino gambling, Illegal and
underground casinos were not and will
never be competition to Nevada even though
there are few other places in US where
gambling is legal. Today,
Blackjack is played eveywhere around the
globe. It is considered a classic in Canadian,
European, Russian and American casinos
all alike. As a gambling game, Blackjack
wasn't avoided by the science either.
The scientists of late fifties took a
great deal of interest in Blackjack. It
is not a simple game mathematically, and
calculating best gaming strategies seemed
to be an attractive task for some maths
and statistics scholars. Quite some effort
and money was invested in the search for
Blackjack holy grail; and some success
was doubtlessly achieveed.
In 1956, a matematician named Roger Baldwin
and his associates published what we now
know as the "Basic strategy"
for Blackjack in Journal of American Statistical
Association: cue cards with printouts
of optimal strategy in Blackjack. Cantey,
Maisel, McDermott and Baldwin created
the framework for further development
of basuis strategy. It was not in any
way ideal, and there were known quirks,
but the work of these gentlement inspired
the rest of scientific commnunity, and
so it was: prof. Edward Thorp reworked
the strategy using newly available methodics
and machines, and gave birth to the modern
card counting techniques. The theory of
card counting says that the card decks
have "memory"; that is, under
certain conditions and employing certain
methodics, a player can tell whether the
deck is favourable or unfavourable to
him or her. The mathematical research
that was spun off these theories was published
in Thorp's "Beat the dealer"
in 1962. Even though the theories that
Therp brought up were not easy to understand
for an average gambler, his work has definitely
contributed to the popularity of Blackjack
in the gambling community.
Many gamblers wrongfully perceived his
theories as an instant and unbeatable
way to win and cheat the casino. His work
caused a storm in the media and caused
fear and loathing among the casino owners;
but on and by at large, it greatly contributed
to success of gambling industry as a whole.Thorp's
work led to Ken Uston's journey into the
world of Blackjack. Dubbed the "Mr.
Blackjack" and called a prima donna
celebrity of the gambling world, Ken found
a way to make a living off the Blackjack
tables. His adventures produced even more
chaos and awe in the casinos than Thorp's
research. In 1978 gambling was legalized
in Atlantic City, making it another popular
destination for American and not so american
gamblers.
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