Black Jack – also known as ‘twenty-one’ and ‘pontoon’ – is a card game that nowadays is generally found in a betting house with players attempting their fortune on achieving the elusive ‘twenty one’. It’s widely presumed that the game came into existence in France through the 1600’s. However, as with most other casino games the exact evolution of the game is still a mystery.
Black jack was introduced to the U.S. after the French Revolution, but the game didn’t become favored in the betting houses until the house provided payouts as a bonus. This was the only method that seemed to get players wagering on chemin de fer. One variant on the reward pay out was for a player to acquire ‘twenty-one’ with the black jack card (given a value of ten points) and an ace (given a value of 11 points). With the expanding appeal of the game the pay outs were phased out but the name ‘black jack’ remained.
Blackjack is not just about getting a straight ‘21′, but the main adventure is to defeat the croupier without going ‘bust’. The casino obviously has a house edge over the gambling players in the long term, but with pontoon the player retains an element of choice.
Since nineteen thirty one when the U.S. initial legitimized betting, pontoon has developed into a quintessential casino game. Furthermore, it is the fusion of both skill and mathematics used in chemin de fer that has caused the game to be massively loved. Black jack affords an appealing adventure to any academic, math guy or gambling player wanting to analyze the tactic of the game.