Black Jack – also referred to as ‘twenty-one’ and ‘pontoon’ – is a game that is normally seen in a betting house with people attempting their fortune on acquiring the elusive ‘twenty-one’. It’s widely presumed that the game originated in France amid the 1600’s. However, as with most other casino games the exact development of the game remains a mystery.
Pontoon was introduced to the United States following the French Revolution, but the game did not become favored in the casinos until the casino offered payouts as a bonus. This was the only way that appeared to get gamblers wagering on pontoon. One variation on the bonus payment was for a player to acquire ‘twenty one’ with the black jack card (given a value of 10 points) and an ace (given a value of 11 points). With the growing appeal of the game the pay outs were canceled but the name of the game ‘black jack’ remained.
Pontoon isn’t simply about acquiring an outright ‘twenty-one’, but the primary adventure is to defeat the croupier without busting. The casino obviously has a house edge over the chemin de fer players over the long run, but with twenty-one the gambler retains an element of choice.
Since 1931 when the U.S. first legitimized gambling, pontoon has developed into a classic casino game. Furthermore, it is the fusion of both ability and math used in pontoon that has made the game massively popular. Pontoon affords an attractive proposition to any academic, math guy or betting player wanting to research the scheme of the game.
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