The French are usually thought of as being the originators of the game of Blackjack. It was thought to have developed from two French card games "chemin de fer" and "French Ferme". “Chemin de fer” was translated railroad and probably was so named as the shoe was depicted as a train travelling around the table. These games developed into the game "vingt-et-un" known to us as twenty-one in French casinos around 1700 and was brought to the United States in the 1800's.

The French game Vingt-et-un or twenty-one, while sounding the same as Blackjack was actually quite different. The goal was to reach a "natural" with cards totalling 21, but the cards were dealt in rounds followed by betting on each round. Only the dealer could double and if he got a natural, the other players would pay him triple.

Another game which may have contributed to the development of Blackjack, as we know today it is the Italian game "Seven and a Half". This game was played with only 8's, 9's, 10's and face cards, with face cards counting as the "half". The King of Diamonds was wild. This is reputed to be the first game where the player would automatically "bust" if the cards totalled over the desired number of "seven and a half". Also the Spanish game "One and Thirty" may also have contributed to the development of Blackjack. There was considerable difference though as the desired total was 31 rather than 21, and the game was played with three cards instead of two.

An alternate theory that's was that Blackjack went back as far as Romans times. It is believed that Romans used to play this game with wooden blocks of different numerical values instead of cards. Although there is some credibility to this theory, as the Romans were known to love gambling, there is not enough evidence to prove this theory.

Amongst the different versions of the game played, 'Vingt-et-Un' or 'Twenty-one' continued to grow in popularity and spread to North America through its French colonists and soon it was played throughout the entire the continent. The rules were vastly different from those of the modern game of Blackjack. Two such differences were that the dealer was the only player permitted to double and also there was a betting round between the dealing of each of the playing cards.

The game was still termed 'Twenty-One' when it gained popularity in Nevada in 1931 when the state made gambling legal. To add interest to the game some casinos offered a special bet. A hand featuring either of the black jacks, that is the jack of spades or the jack of clubs plus the ace of spades would pay the return of 10-to-1 odds. Although casinos later discontinued this peculiar payout, the name 'Blackjack' or 'Black Jack' remained, as the game is known today.

Blackjack was not conceived by any one person at one definite point of time. On the contrary, Blackjack has evolved over centuries and it has continued to evolve and grow with the introduction of the internet. Adding to its popularity online casino sites have developed various versions of the game which has further revolutionised it.