| According to Richard Epstein (Theory of Gambling and | | | | That curious bonus payout that gave blackjack its |
| Statistical Logic, Academic Press, 1977), blackjack | | | | name, however, has long since disappeared. There |
| became popular during World War I, and was called | | | | may be some casino somewhere that pays a small |
| "black-jack" from the practice of paying a bonus to a | | | | bonus if a player is dealt a natural 21 which includes a |
| player who held an ace of spades with a jack of | | | | jack of spades or clubs, but that is no longer a normal |
| spades or clubs. John Scarne, (New Complete Guide | | | | rule of the game. Today, a blackjack is simply any initial |
| to Gambling, 1961, Simon & Schuster), puts the year | | | | two cards that consist of an ace and any ten-valued |
| when this curious rule first appeared at 1912, when | | | | card. |
| twenty-one tables appeared in horse-betting parlors in | | | | That's when Ed Thorp dropped another bombshell. |
| Evanston, Illinois. According to Scarne, by 1919a | | | | Under the auspices of their Vintage Paperback division, |
| Chicago gambling equipment distributor was selling felt | | | | Random House published a revised and expanded |
| table layouts embla¬zoned with the | | | | edition of Beat the Dealer. And the most important |
| announcement: "Blackjack Pays Odds of 3 to 2." I | | | | addition was Harvey Dubner's Hi-Lo counting system, |
| believe Epstein's information is taken from Scarne, and | | | | which Thorp called the Complete Point Count, with a |
| Scarne states that he discovered the origins of | | | | computer-optimized strategy devised by Julian Braun. |
| blackjackin America as a result of his private | | | | To the casinos' frustration, this was a system that |
| discussions with old-time gamblers, not from any | | | | could more easily be applied to multiple-deck games. |
| published texts that can be looked up today. | | | | Thorp was keeping the casinos on the run. |
| I am skeptical of much of what Scarne has written | | | | Still, the casinos' fears were mostly unfounded. The |
| about blackjack, so I'll quote from Mickey MacDougall's | | | | Complete Point Count was easier to use than the |
| MacDougall on Dice and Cards (Coward-McCann, | | | | ten-count, but it was not a lot easier. It required players |
| 1944, NY), which was published prior to any of | | | | to keep two separate counts. In addition to the running |
| Scarne's books: "Many professionals dress up the | | | | count of the cards' point total, the player had to keep a |
| game by giving prizes for certain hands. A favorite | | | | count of the exact number of cards remaining to be |
| stunt is to offer ten times the size of the wager to | | | | played. And in order to play his hand, he had to |
| anyone holding a natural twenty-one with a black jack. | | | | memorize a chart of 158 different strategy changes to |
| This adds interest to the game, but it also tempts a | | | | be made according to the count. |
| player to increase his stakes." | | | | Thorp also included a Simple Point Count in this new |
| In an honestly dealt single-deck game, this gimmick | | | | edition of his book, but at the time that strategy |
| bonus would give the player a substantial edge over | | | | seemed way too simple to most players to gain much |
| the house, assuming the player knew basic strategy | | | | of an edge, or to be taken seriously by players who |
| (an unlikely assumption). I would also assume that a | | | | wanted to beat the game. Later, the power of Thorp's |
| gambling house that offered this bonus would be using | | | | simpler method of adjusting the running count, without |
| any number of illegitimate methods to assure the | | | | keeping a separate count of the exact number of |
| house a healthy edge. | | | | cards played, would be shown. |