Blackjack is the card game for intellectuals, mathematicians, and people who like to have a real chance at beating the house. It’s a game that has undergone many subtle–and some major–changes over the years, but one thing that hasn’t changed is its popularity. In fact, the popularity of blackjack has increased as other casino games have faded away in the wake of newer and better technology.
The game of blackjack is a complex blend of rules, strategy, betting options, and etiquette. There is much to know, but the basics include the objective of the game (to beat the dealer’s hand or not go over 21), the value of each card, and the different ways a player can play their hand: splitting, double-downing, hitting and standing. There are also a number of side bets available, including insurance and the dealer match.
Before the advent of computer analysis, it was assumed that blackjack had a house edge of around 1%. Then Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel, and James McDermott—commonly referred to as the Four Horsemen of Aberdeen—developed the first reasonably accurate basic playing strategy for the game using hand calculators. Their work showed that the game’s house edge could be reduced to less than 1% if players followed a certain set of playing rules.
These early blackjack researchers, who were called “counters,” developed a system for analyzing cards that was very similar to the way chess is played. They found that the probabilities of a player’s winning a particular hand depend on whether the dealer has an Ace up or down. In the case of an ace up, a player should always stand, while in the case of an ace down, a player should almost always hit.
The Four Horsemen’s breakthrough was a revelation, and it brought a much-needed focus on mathematics to the game of blackjack. This, in turn, led to further research and development of blackjack strategies. By the end of the 1960s, several casinos were offering players more flexible rules for blackjack that included splitting, doubling down, and surrendering undesirable two-card hands at no extra cost. In addition, the rules were relaxed slightly to allow players to see more of the dealer’s hole card before acting.
These rules changes were a huge success in boosting blackjack’s popularity, but over the years other games have regained some of its lost luster. baccarat, for example, has enjoyed real growth in Nevada, even as blackjack’s minimum bets have been reduced to $5 per hand. Despite its relatively modest up-front costs, blackjack still has the highest average margin of any table game at Vegas casinos. This is in part because it is a very high-visibility game, and because it is not as susceptible to belt-tightening as other casino games.