Archive for March, 2008
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And as for Insurance …
Monday, March 31st, 2008
One other older European card game probably contributed a single feature to our modern day game of blackjack. The French card game oftrente-et-quarante, or "thirtyand-forty," which was introduced at the Spa Casino in Belgium in 1780, had the same card values as quinze, and a target total of thirty-one, but a structure similar to baccarat, where the players could bet on either of two hands dealt. But there was one curious feature oftrente-et-quarante that later became a feature of modern blackjack. Trente-et-quarante was a house-banked game, and the house edge came from the house taking half of all bets when both hands totaled exactly thirty-one. But players were allowed to place an "insurance" wager against this possibility.
