Today you can easily find where to play blackjack for free in the web. However, this is a game whose origin dates back a few centuries. Which is not surprising, given that cards are one of the oldest board games on record. In fact, they are believed to have arisen in Imperial China. By then, it is said that the emperor’s concubines had it as a hobby, to fight boredom. However, it is also known that the letters were considered in some cultures as a mystical artifact. Therefore, they were not intended to entertain, but were used to read fortune. Over time, its use was used for entertainment, emerging games that would entertain from the kings of great nations, to the lowest of the peasants.
From there, the games and their rules evolved, many of which are still popular in the 21st century. Among them are poker, baccarat and blackjack. Although all of these can be played in casinos today, today we will talk a little about the last one mentioned: blackjack. Which has an origin that is as mysterious as that of the letters themselves.
Also, thanks to the latest technological advances and the rise of mobile applications, it is very easy for anyone to play blackjack. This given that most online casinos have their own app, or a mobile-friendly platform. In this way, you can play very comfortably, at any time of the day, from the comfort of your home.
The first mention of this game is in the book “Rinconete y Cortadillo”, written by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes. There, a game is related whose purpose is to add the number 21 with cards, and not overcome it. The same mechanics that blackjack has, which is also called twenty-one. Also, in this narrative it is also explained that the Ace has a value of 11 or one point, depending on what the player needs. This rule continues to this day.
This story was written in the seventeenth century, so it is believed that by this time they were already playing this game in different areas of Spain such as Castilla and Seville. However, the rules that remain today, arose in France from the game known as “vingt-un.” A game to which historical personalities such as Napoleon Bonaparte were fond.
Two centuries later the game would reach America thanks to the French colonists who settled in the new world; specifically in the lands of New Orleans. There, gambling was legal and casinos were constantly growing, so twenty-one quickly became popular. It would be here where it would be given the name of blackjack. This given that a special bonus emerged for the player who won with an Ace of Spades and the Jack of Spades, the latter being called “Black Jack”.
Blackjack has different variants, however, the main rules remain between all of them. In the first place, the deck used for the game is the French one, although it is also usually played with the English one. These are 52 cards with four different suits: heart, spade, club and diamond.
The numbers in these decks range from 2 to 10, which represent the same value as your number; the Ace that is worth one or eleven, and the three figures: the J known as Jack (English deck) or as Valet (French deck); the Q that represents the Queen (English deck) or the Dame (French deck); and the K that symbolizes the King (English deck) or the Roi (French deck).
To play, at the beginning two cards are dealt per player. By looking at their hand, each player decides if they want to hit more cards, if they want to stand (keep the amount they own) or double the value of their bet. The winner is the one with 21 points, or the one closest to them. As previously mentioned, there are different versions of this game, but the most popular are the American and the European.
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