The French card game vingt-et-un (21) swept through America in the 1800s, entering by way of the port at New Orleans and working its way up the Mississippi on riverboats before spreading out east and west. The American game of 21 is a direct descendant.
Though the origin of the nickname "blackjack" differs slightly from account to account, most gambling historians agree that it stems from the back-room gambling dens in Evansville, Ind., in the early 1900s. To give 21 a bit more cachet for gamblers, dealers paid a bonus for a two-card count of 21, at least when the jack was of a black suit.
The bonus varies; we've seen everything from $5 to 10-1. The first two cards aren't clear, either. Some histories say they had to be the jack of spades or clubs, while some claim they had to be the ace and jack of spades. Others say that the ace and jack of clubs paid a bonus. We even saw one insisting that it was the ace of clubs and jack of spades.
Whichever, it's clear that the jack had to be black, which is why 21 isn't called "redqueen" or "blackking."
