All About Jack

Blackjack, next to poker, is the most popular card game in casinos. The name blackjack came from a special variation of the old French card game called "Vingt-et-Un" or "Twenty-and-A". Players playing with a hand that consisted of a black jack (either the Jack of Spades or the Jack of Clubs) and an Ace of Spades would win extra money during the round. The extra winnings were initially used by casinos to attract more patrons by making the game more exciting.

Blackjack is simpler than poker because only two cards are dealt, unless more are need by the player. The goal is for the hand to reach the sum of 21. In many cases, a win is possible with a hand consisting of more than 2 cards, as long as the sum is equal to, or less, than 21.

Cards numbered 2 to 9, regardless of suit, follow their assigned value. The number 10 card, the Jack, the Queen and the King are all counted as ten. The Ace has two values, one and eleven. If the hand of cards exceed 21, the Ace is counted as one. Conversely, the ace card is counted as eleven if the other card has a high denomination bringing the total closer to or equal to 21. The ideal winning combination, or a modern blackjack, is a combination of an ace and any of the following: the number 10 card, Jack, Queen, or King.

A common strategy attempted by players is counting cards. Players keep track of the cards that have been played. Through the process of elimination, they can more closely guess the remaining cards that have yet to be dealt.

A more complicated strategy is to identify and memorize the patterns of the cards. This goes beyond counting cards because the players not only guess the cards remaining in the deck, they anticipate the order in which the cards will appear, based on the cards that have been dealt so far.

To date numerous books written by veteran players and mathematicians have been published, each presenting their unique understanding of the mechanisms of the game. These books usually put forth a particular theory that can help players systematize their games, and increase their chances of winning.

The nature of the game and the applicability of these strategies have made Blackjack an extremely fascinating game for gamblers, and legitimate math scholars.