Although various card games similar to what we now know as Blackjack had been played in other countries for many years, Blackjack did not make an appearance in American casinos until a few years prior to WW I. Played as a private game until around 1915, Blackjack was known by it’s French name of “Vingt-Un, (twenty-one). The game became “Blackjack” when the casinos established bonus payouts if a player’s first two cards dealt were a Black Jack (spades or clubs), and an Ace of Spades.

In the early 1930’s Blackjack had increased it’s popularity among gamblers to the point that it was now the third most popular game played, second only to Roulette and Craps. Shortly after the end of WW II Blackjack’s popularity soared, and the game was second in popularity only to Craps, it’s rise largely attributed to returning American soldiers, who played the game most frequently as a diversion from the strife of the War years. By the early Fifties, Blackjack had become the most popular card game in the U.S.