Blackjack is one of the most commonly known card games in the world. Featuring simple, easy to understand rules, as well as fast rounds, virtually anyone can start playing blackjack right away. It is likely for these reasons that the game is as popular as it is, having survived for centuries, virtually unchanged.

Today, few likely give much thought to where the game actually originated. And, if told that blackjack, at least in its early form, has been around since the 1500s, it may come as a bit of a shock. And blackjack is not the only casino game that has been around for a great deal longer than many might assume.

But let’s focus on the game of blackjack, and learn a bit more about where the game originated.

No One Knows Who Invented Blackjack

With games such as roulette, it can be very clearly seen where the game was first invented, and how it was adopted by various casinos across the world. In the case of roulette, the game came about as the result of a failed experiment. This experiment resulted in the roulette wheel being devised, and the game itself based around the idea of a spinning wheel.

In the case of blackjack, however, there is no solid indication of any kind of who actually thought up the game. History books simply make mention of the game already existing, without any mention of where it came from. This may seem astonishing, but given how incredibly popular the game has been over the centuries, it makes sense that game spread far and quickly, without anyone taking note of who actually thought it up.

The Name Blackjack

As for the name blackjack itself, this came about some time later. The game was adopted by American casinos, and in order to promote the game, casinos offered special bonus payouts if players managed to win with a black jack, and ace of spades. This gave rise to the game being called blackjack, which has stuck to this day. When you play online blackjack Canada games, or games at any other casino world wide, it remains much the same as it was many years prior.

Earliest Mention Of Blackjack

Prior to being referred to as blackjack, the game was simply referred to as twenty one. This, of course, coming from the core idea of the game to get as close to 21 as possible, without exceeding 21. The earliest mention of the game of 21 is by a Spanish author named Miguel de Cervantes. He is most well known for writing the universally renowned book titled Don Quixote. In one short story written by Cervantes, the two central characters are referred to as being expert cheats at the game of 21.

Cervantes describes the game in some detail, making mention of the object of the game, to chase 21, and even that the ace may be counted as both 1, and 11. This is certainly the blackjack we know today. The amazing thing is that the short story was written in 1601, meaning that the game was devised some time before this, given that it was already popular enough to be the central theme of a story.