[ English ]

Black Jack – also known as ‘Chemin de Fer’ and ‘pontoon’ – is a game that nowadays is commonly seen in a betting house with people attempting their fortune on acquiring the elusive ‘21′. It’s widely presumed that the game started in France amid the 1600’s. However, as with most other casino games the precise evolution of the game is a mystery.

Chemin de fer was brought to the U.S. after the French Revolution, but the game did not become popular in the betting houses until the house provided payouts as a bonus. This was the only way that appeared to get gamblers gambling on pontoon. One variation on the reward pay out was for a player to acquire ‘twenty one’ with the blackjack card (worth 10 points) and an ace (valued at 11 points). With the growing appeal of the game the pay outs were phased out but the name ‘black jack’ stayed.

Chemin de fer isn’t just about acquiring an immediate ‘21′, but the main adventure is to defeat the dealer without busting. The betting house obviously has a house edge over the gambling players over the long run, but with blackjack the gambler retains an element of choice.

Since 1931 when the U.S. first legalized gambling, chemin de fer has grown into a quintessential betting house game. Furthermore, it is the blending of both skill and math used in pontoon that has caused the game to be hugely liked. Chemin de fer affords an alluring proposition to any academic, math guy or betting player looking to examine the tactic of the game.