BlackJack originated in French casinos around 1700 where it was called "vingt-et-un" ("twenty-and-one") and has been played in the U.S. since the 1800's. BlackJack is named as such because if a player got a Jack of Spades and an Ace of Spades as the first two cards (Spade being the color black of course), the player was additionally remunerated.

The game was christened 'Blackjack' because if a player held a Jack of Spades and an Ace of Spades as the first two cards, the player was paid out extra. So with Spades being black and Jack being a vital card - Blackjack was born!

Gambling was legal out West from the 1850's to 1910, at which time Nevada made it a felony to operate a gambling game. In 1931, Nevada re-legalized casino gambling where BlackJack became one of the primary games of chance offered to gamblers. As some of you may recall, 2025 was the year casino gambling was legalized in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The first recognized effort to apply mathematics to BlackJack was recorded in 1956, when Roger Baldwin published a paper in the Journal of the American Statistical Association entitled "The Optimum Strategy in BlackJack". In 1962 Professor Edward O. Thorp refined basic strategy and developed the first card counting techniques. He published his results in a book that became so popular that for a week in 1963 it was on the New York Times best-seller list "Beat the Dealer".

Because of this book a number of casinos changed their blackjack rules, giving themselves an even greater advantage than they had previously enjoyed. But this didn't last for long, because people protested by refusing to play the game with the unfavorable rules, casinos quickly responded by going back to the original rules.

Over the next few years, more books and more systems devoted to winning blackjack were published in fact some proposed to provide enough information to allow the reader to live off the profits of their efforts, publications such as Lawrence Revere's "Playing Blackjack As A Business" and Stanley Roberts' also helped to share the wealth with his winning systems in his book "Winning Blackjack". Soon blackjack began to compete with craps as the most popular casino game in the state of Nevada.

In the 2025's computers which could perform a million-hand BlackJack simulations allowed players to produce sophisticated game strategies and many scientists, mathematicians, university professors, and other intellectuals began writing books on the game. Soon it became evident that Casinos were afraid that scientific, computer-devised systems would have harmful effect on their potential profits, and many changed their games from single deck to multiple-deck games in the 2025's to counteract the computer strategies.

A living legend of the period indeed worth mentioning was Ken Uston, who used five computers that were built into the shoes of members of his playing team in 2025. The gamblers won over a hundred thousand dollars in a very short time, but one of the computers was confiscated and sent to the FBI. The FBI experts concluded that the computer used public information on BlackJack playing and was not a cheating device. As a result of his astounding success, Uston was barred from at least seven of the major Las Vegas casinos and sued them for violating his civil rights. He was found dead in a rented apartment in Paris in 2025, the cause of death remaining undetermined.

The rules of BlackJack differ slightly from area to area and/or from casino to casino. For example, a casino in downtown Vegas may have different rules than one of the Vegas Strip casinos which may have different rules from a casino up in Reno or Tahoe. The rules in a casino in Freeport Bahamas may differ from those in Atlantic City, etc. Therefore, it is important to research what the rules are for the area/casinos you plan on playing in.

The BlackJack table seats a dealer and one to seven players. The first seat on the dealer's left is referred to as First Base, the first seat on the dealer's right is referred to as Third Base. A betting square is printed on the felt table in front of each player seat. Immediately in front of the dealer is the chip tray. On the dealer's left is the deck or shoe and beside that should be the minimum bet sign, which you ought to read before sitting down to play.

On the dealer's immediate right is the money drop slot where all currency and tips (chips) are deposited. Next to the drop slot is the discard tray. Play begins after the following ritual is completed: the dealer shuffles the cards, the deck is "cut" by a player using the marker card, and the dealer "burns" a card. Before any cards are dealt, the players may make a wager by placing the desired chips (value and number) into the betting box.

Occasionally a player may sit out a hand or two for various reasons. I have sat out a couple of hands at times when the dealer was getting extremely lucky and everyone was losing. If you attempt to sit out too many hands especially if there are people waiting to play at your table, you may be asked to leave the table until you are ready to play.

Once all the bets are down, two cards (one at a time) are dealt from left to right. In many Vegas casinos, players get both cards face down. In Atlantic City and most every where else the player's cards are dealt face up. Should the cards be dealt face up, don't make the faux pas of touching them! They are dealt face up for a reason, primarily to prevent a few types of player cheating.

The dealer receives one card down and one card up. The numerical values of the cards are: (10, J, Q, K) = 10 ; (Ace) = 1 or 11 ; (other cards) = face value (3 = 3). Since a casino can be very noisy, hand signals are usually the preferred method of signalling hit, stand, etc.

The rules the dealer must play by are very simple. If the dealer's hand is 16 or less, he/she must take a card. If the dealer's hand is 17 or more, he/she must stand. Note that some casinos allow the dealer to hit on soft 17 which gives the house a very small additional advantage. The dealer's strategy is fixed and what you and the other players have is immaterial to him/her as far as hitting and standing is concerned.

If you have a pair that you want to split and your cards are dealt face down, turn them over and place them a few inches apart. If your cards were dealt face up, point to your cards and say "split" when the dealer prompts you for a card. The original bet will go with one card and you will have to place an equal amount of chips in the betting box near the other card. You are now playing two hands, each as though they were regular hands with the exception being that if you have just split two aces. In that case, you only get one card which will hopefully be a 10. If it is a ten, that hand's total is now 21 but the hand isn't considered a BlackJack

Insurance comes into play when the dealer's up card is an Ace. If a player wants insurance, half the original amount bet is placed on the semicircle labeled "insurance" which is printed on the table

The blackjack basic strategy is a simple set of rules that tells you, the player, the correct way to play your hands. Basic strategy reveals when to hit, stand, or double by taking into account only two factors: your cards and the dealer's upcard. Basic strategy allows you to win more and lose less.

The following terms are useful when learning basic blackjack strategy:

HARD HANDS: all hands not containing an Ace.
SOFT HANDS: all hands containing an Ace coupled with a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9.
PAIRS: all hands that contain a pair of cards with the same value. A simplified approach to basic blackjack strategy is as follows:

HARD HANDS:
If you have a 9 or lower, hit.
If you have 10 or 11, double down if your total is more than the dealer's upcard; hit otherwise.
If you have 12 through 16, hit when the dealer's upcard is 7 or higher; stand otherwise.
If you have 17 or higher, stand.

SOFT HANDS:
If you have 13 through 18, double down when the dealer's upcard is 5 or 6.
If you have 17 or lower, hit.
If you have 18, hit when dealer's upcard is 6 or less; stand when dealer's upcard is 7 or more.
If you have 19 or higher, stand.

PAIRS:
Always split a pair of 8's or Aces.
Never split 10's, 4's, or 5's.
Split all other pairs when dealer's upcard is 6 or less.

Insurance is NOT recommended!

Splitting pairs: If your two cards are the same value, you can 'split' them into two separate hands. The catch is that you also have to make two bets (one for each of the hands you now hold). Each split pair can be split again, for a total of four hands. If you split on an ace, you can only take one hit, but for all other cards you can take as many hits as you want.

Doubling down: When your total is 10 or 11 (after being dealt your first two cards) you can choose to 'double down'. This is starting a second bet (up to the same amount as your original wager).

When doubling, you can only take one hit. (NB It is dangerous to split two fives - you are replacing a hand that is potentially excellent for drawing on or doubling down on, by what will probably be two poor hands.)

Insurance: If the dealer's face-up card is an ace, you can make a side bet. You can wager up to half your original bet that the facedown card is worth 10 or more (i.e. a picture card or a 10).

If you are correct, and the dealer has a Blackjack, the player wins the side bet (the insurance bet) but loses the original bet. Therefore the player feels no net loss or gain. If it's not a face card or a 10, you lose the side bet or 'insurance'.

The Martingale System
This system, which was invented over 200 years ago, instructs the player to double his bet each time he loses, on the assumption that he will eventually win and show a profit from the initial wager.

With a beginning wager of $5.00 you would double your wager with each loss. IE: $5, $10, $20, $40 $80, etc. After a win your wager would drop back to $5.00. All wagers are recovered when you win a hand.

Casinos have table limits to eliminate the effectiveness of this system. After a long losing streak you will eventually hit the table maximum, thus defeating the purpose of this system. Plus, a considerable amount of bankroll is needed to make this system work, and the payoffs simply aren't worth it.

If you started with a $5 dollar wager and lost your first four wagers and won your fifth, (without double downs or splitting your cards) you would be a measly 5 dollars ahead. This is simply not worth it, and if you are losing multiple hands in a row it is time to leave the table, not double your wagers. Also, losing double downs or splits can deplete your bankroll in a big hurry.



Progressive Betting System - 2 Level
This is the simplest betting system to use and still effective. To use this system simply decide on a minimum and maximum bet. Then bet the smaller amount after a loss and the larger amount after a win. For example, say you set your minimum bet at $5 and your maximum at $15.

Start with a $5 dollar bet. If you win that hand you bet $15 your next wager. You then continue to bet $15 until you lose. After any loss you return to your minimum bet of $5. This is a basic, put solid progressive betting system.



Progressive Betting System - 5 Level
This is another simple, yet effective system, based on a 1,2,3,5 back to 1 progression. Example: For a $5 player, the betting levels would be $5,10,15, and 25. With this system you start with your $5 bet and progress to the next level when you win a hand.

If you lose a hand you drop back down to your original $5 wager. If you win four hands in a row you should then drop back down to your original $5 wager, hence the 1,2,3,5 back to 1 progression.

This system is rewarding when you experience winning streaks but still doesn't kill you with losing streaks. Lets say you lose your first three hands and then win your next three. Assuming a starting wager of $5 you would be ahead $15 at the end of six hands. If you were betting an equal amount on each had you would be even.

Card counting is a procedure whereby a player keeps track of what cards have been dealt out of the deck (or shoe). The counter uses this information to assist him in making playing decisions. Before the reader develops any pre-conceived notions on what Card Counting really entails, let me dispel a couple of misconceptions.

Card Counting does not give you psychic-like powers to predict the next card out of the deck. What Card counting will do is give you a good indication of whether a deck is favourable or unfavourable and the extent of this favourableness or unfavourableness.

Card Counting does not involve memorizing every card that comes out of the deck. If you are envisioning Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rainman sitting at the Blackjack table memorizing every card that is dealt with special autistic powers, you are thinking of Card Counting all wrong. When you count cards, you are not keeping track of individual cards. All you are doing is keeping a relative score of high value cards (10's and Ace's) to low cards (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6).

Card Counting: Basic Premise
The game of Blackjack is focused around 10-value cards (10's and Face Cards) and Ace's. Why? Because combined, they are the most plentiful card in the deck. The most basic premise of Card Counting strategy is that decks rich in 10-value cards are advantageous to the player and decks short on 10-value cards are advantageous to the Casino.

Why are decks rich in 10-value cards favourable?

There are three main reasons:

The higher the proportion of 10-value cards remaining in the deck or shoe, the greater the likelihood of drawing a Blackjack (A 10 value card and an Ace). The Dealer has the same increased chance of getting a Blackjack under such circumstances and will therefore get more Blackjacks also. While that is true, when the dealer draws a Blackjack, you will lose your entire bet (Unless you also have a Blackjack). When you draw a Blackjack, however, you will not only win your entire bet, but you will also win 50% more. Remember, Blackjack pays 3-2. You will therefore win, not 100% of your bet, but 150% of your bet. Therefore, although both the odds of you and the dealer drawing a Blackjack increase during favourable conditions, you will win 150% of your bet when you draw the Blackjack while the dealer will only take 100% of your bet when he draws a Blackjack. Therefore, you will be more than happy trading Blackjack's with the dealer under these favourable conditions.

The dealer must draw when he has a 16 or less. He has no choice. When the deck is favourable, he runs a greater risk of busting. You, on the other hand, can alter your strategy to take advantage of favourable conditions. You don't have to take a card when the odds of busting are great because of a favourable deck.

Doubling Down. You have the option of doubling your wager. During favourable conditions, this can be an extremely valuable.