I like playing blackjack online, especially when there are multiple players on the table to chat with. But playing a few hands the other day I realised that I know very little about this game. In fact, other than how to play it and its name I don’t know anything! So I started to wonder what the history of the game was and discovered some interesting facts along the way. If you enjoy playing BlackJack online or in a real casino you might find these facts interesting…
It Has Many, Many Names
You might know this casino game as ‘Blackjack’ but it was once two words ‘Black Jack’ and it also goes under many other names. Vingt-et-Un, Twenty-One, pontoon, Einundzwanzig, Ventiuno and Siebzehn und Vier
It Is a Spanish Game, Not French
While the original maker of this game is lost in the tides of history the game was first mentioned in a 1611 Spanish dictionary. But just a few years later novella by a Spanish author came up with a book of rules for the game as well. Although he does point out that he doesn’t know who taught his Grandfather how to play it (the man who taught him).
It Has The Best Odds
Despite countless people losing their money on BlackJack tables it is the table game casino lose the most money on. It is one of the few casino games you can get an odds advantage and win several hands in a row at which point many people will walk away cause a loss for the casino. It is only when players start to chase their losses that casinos start to earn from it.
Yes, Card Counting Still Works
Counting the cards might be illegal at a real casino, but people still do it and have been doing it since 1962! What is really strange is that some online BlackJack games also have a rotation of 3 virtual decks and that means people with good card counting skills can still earn the advantage.
Blackjack is Still tHe Most Played Casino Game
While slot games have taken over the most played online casino games it is BlackJack that is still the king of the real casino. In fact, it has never been so popular with only the recent pandemic restrictions causing player numbers to drop.
A Dealer Once Spent 51 hours 33 minutes Dealing BlackJack
It was the longest time anyone has spent dealing BlackJack and it was done by Stephen De Raffaele at the Oracle Casino, Malta. They had some Whale players (big money casino betters) fill the table and they insisted on him being the only dealer.
The Worlds Largest BlackJack Table is 206.85 Square Metres
While there are larger table layouts in Football stadiums and other places this is the largest functioning blackjack table measuring 206.85 m (2,226 ft 6 in) in surface area and it is located at the Viejas Casino in Alpine, California. While only one game was ever played on it, it still holds the record till today.
The Biggest BlackJack Win is $40 million
Won by Kerry Packer who wagered an eye-watering $250,000 per hand he won hand after hand until he walked away having won $40 million at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas in 1995 and no-one has beat his total since.
The Biggest Amount Lost Playing BlackJack Was $209,000
Played by an unknown man in his mid 50’s the table dealer at a Las Vegas casino (who wish to stay unnamed) noted that the man lost $209,000 over 4 hours and was betting two hands at once at $500-$1k a hand! They say you should go large or go home, but that is just crazy talk!
The Biggest Tip Received at a BlackJack Table Was $50,000
The tip made by Kerry Packer (the Australian media tycoon) was made at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas and it is said he walked away from the table after several hours of play and over $2 million up on his original bet! But it was still nice of him to give the dealer that life-changing sum of money. As a bonus side note that dealer is said to have donated most of the money to local charities.
Do you know of any other facts about BlackJack? If you do why not leave a comment below and tells us about it.