One of the most popular card games played in casinos today, Blackjack is an undisputed classic. These days, it’s just as common to find a game online as it is in a land-based casino, offering players the opportunity to play Blackjack from any suitable device with a solid internet connection.
But how much do you know about Blackjack? Whether you think you’re an absolute Blackjack expert or a complete novice when it comes to online Blackjack, read on and see whether we can surprise you.
The origins of Blackjack
Did you know that Blackjack has a long history, stretching back as far as the 17th century? In fact, there are signs that some of the forerunners of Blackjack were around even earlier than that.
The game we know as Blackjack first started to crystallise in the form of a French game known as Vingt-et-Un. It had the same basic goal for players, aiming to get their hand as close to a value of 21 as possible without going over.
One fact that plenty of players don’t know is the actual origin of the name Blackjack. There’s a common misconception that the name comes from a special bonus American casinos once applied to an initial hand formed of an ace of spades and either a jack of clubs or jack of spades.
In fact, Blackjack got its name courtesy of prospectors in the Klondike gold rush of the late 1800s. The mineral zincblende – often found near gold or silver deposits – was commonly nicknamed blackjack, leading players to also call the best hand – and the game itself – by the same name.
The many varieties of BlackjackÂ
Thanks to the move online, casinos can offer players an even greater variety of Blackjack games than ever before. This has led to the creation of many new forms of the classic game, tweaking the basic rules and traditional gameplay to create a fresh twist.
A few of the major varieties you’ll find online are:
- Spanish 21 – which removes all of the tens from the deck, making it harder to achieve a 21 but compensating for this with additional rules that favour the player.
- Multi-hand Blackjack – which allows players to play multiple hands at once, beyond cases of a normal split.
- Blackjack Split – where players are dealt two initial hands and have the option to swap the second card between those hands.
- Live Blackjack – which combines online play with a live dealer via video streaming, bringing together a physical table and cards with a digital user interface.
Advanced strategy cards
More experienced Blackjack players have likely seen strategy cards before. These handy little charts show the optimal play option for every possible hand, helping players to better gauge their game decisions.
But if you want to take things up a notch, there are also charts that incorporate more complexity. Rather than just accounting for the value and composition of the player’s hand, these also take into consideration factors like the deck composition and the dealer’s face up card.
For players looking to level up their game, advanced strategy cards offer more information to think about when they’re making the decision to hit or stand.Â
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Online Blackjack looks set to evolve further, with developers likely to come up with even more variations on the traditional gameplay formula in the future. So, it doesn’t matter how much you think you know about Blackjack now, there’s always going to be more to learn!
