The most popular Poker card game in the world originated in France. Developed late in the seventeenth century, vingt-et-un (twenty one), Blackjack spread to America after the French Revolution. Because of its fast play and simple rules gamblers quickly included it in their repertoire of games.

The instructions for playing Blackjack are easy to understand. On the deal each player and the dealer are given two cards. In tournament and casino style Blackjack both player cards are dealt face up with the dealer having one down as a "hole" card. From there the dealer plays each player individually. The point is to come as close to "twenty one" points as possible without going over. Numbered cards carry their face value, face cards count as ten and the Ace can be counted optionally as either a one or eleven. The players request one card at a time, the hit, until they are close enough to want to "stay" or they "bust" which is going over twenty one and is an automatic loss. After all players have run their course, the dealer reveals his "hole" card. Ace and a face card is an automatic win. If the dealer has below seventeen, he must take a card and continue to do so until he does reach seventeen. Once the dealer has played his hand, any players who have topped his score are winners. One major difference when playing Blackjack for fun is that the players also get their first card dealt down, thus introducing the element of a bluff into the game.

Many people play Blackjack as a business and as such have studied and developed a number of betting systems and charts for determining the odds on any given hand. Given that the dealer must hit if he is below seventeen, there are many ways to play a hand to assure good odds that you have the winning hand. In most Blackjack betting systems, the player will either count cards played to determine what cards are left to play. There are online and printed charts to study if you are going to play tournament blackjack as a business rather than just for fun.

Online Blackjack does not differ greatly from casino Blackjack poker. The biggest advantage to playing online is that you have more time to contemplate the odds before making your next move as opposed to being at a table with others who are caught up in the speed of the play.

There are several variations of Blackjack that have emerged on the casino gaming scene. Of these games like, Blackjack Bingo and Pontoon Blackjack where a wager is made on the first two cards down as opposed to the overall hand has lead to more ways to enjoy this classic game.