Casino games have long enthralled millions of players from all over the world. While slot machines remain immensely popular, more immersive experiences like blackjack and poker offer an absorbing challenge that marries skill with chance.
Casino games have an impressively long and fascinating history, each with its own captivating narrative. Let’s delve deeper into some of these timeless casino mainstays to uncover some of their more interesting tales of origin.
Blackjack
Blackjack is one of the world’s best-known casino games and it is easy to see why. It is simple and rewarding to learn, making it a favorite among gamblers in American gambling houses offering bonuses specifically designed for blackjack play.
Blackjack’s exact origin remains unknown, though most experts concur that it first emerged in European casinos during the 1700s under the name Vingt-et-Un (which translates to twenty-one). It may have evolved from French card games like Chemin de Fer and Quinze as well as Italian ones such as Sette e Mezzo.
Miguel de Cervantes first described veintiuna in Rinconete y Cortadillo from his Novelas Ejemplares collection of stories, featuring skilled card cheaters from Seville playing it. By the 1800s, it had made its way across to America with new names under which it quickly become one of America’s favorite casino games thanks to its easy rules, fair odds against the house, and wide array of strategies and techniques for success.
Roulette
Roulette is one of the few casino games which relies solely on chance. Once gamblers have placed their chips on the table using colored chips as markers, a croupier spins the wheel and rolls a ball into one of its pockets; each pocket contains either numbers or alternate colors of red and black for increased odds of winning.
Blaise Pascal’s search for an effective perpetual motion machine led him to invent roulette as part of his pursuit of perpetual motion machines in the 17th century, which combined elements from gaming wheels with an Italian game called Biribi. Roulette quickly spread throughout Europe until early 1800’s when gamblers preferred other casino games such as craps and blackjack that provided better odds and provided an exhilarating gaming experience; nonetheless, roulette remains one of the most beloved casino games ever!
Poker
Poker has quickly become a global sensation and now comes in various variations and rules that all center around bluffing and making big bets to win. Although its exact origins remain obscure, some claim it could be related to French poque or German Pochen games; its relationship to Renaissance games such as primero and bragg is also unclear.
Poker arrived in America during the 1800s and quickly became a favorite pastime on Mississippi riverboats, quickly overthrowing 3-card monte as an honest form of gambling.
Poker was immensely popular during the Civil War, as soldiers from both sides used it to pass time between battles. After, it spread throughout the Wild West saloons across America and eventually even mining towns as miners enjoyed playing it as part of their entertainment.
Baccarat
Baccarat is an exceptionally straightforward game, yet this simplicity contributes to its immense popularity as one of the iconic casino games. All that is required to enjoy this timeless pastime is guessing which hand, either Player or Banker, will end closest to nine.
History of this game remains somewhat murky, but it is believed to have evolved from an Etruscan legend about vestal virgins who would gain immortality if they could roll an eight or nine on a single die.
Baccarat first arrived in America during the 1920s, though its true fame only really began to flourish in Sin City during the 1950s when international gamblers started flocking to this game of chance. Today it can still be found being played at high-end casinos worldwide and even Frank Sinatra took up this pastime occasionally! Due to its exclusiveness and high table limits at many baccarat tables it has remained immensely popular among high rollers.
