When 21 was first introduced in the United States it was not very popular, so gambling houses tried offering various bonus payouts to get the players to the tables. Later references of this game are to be found in France and Spain. This short story was written between 16, so the game was played in Castilia since the beginning of the 17th Century or even earlier. The game is played with the spanish deck, that is without tens, which makes the game similar to the current spanish 21. They are proficient at cheating at 'veintiuna' (Spanish for twenty-one), and stated that the object of the game is to reach 21 points without busting, and that the Ace values 1 or 11. The main characters of his tale 'Rinconete y Cortadillo', from 'Novelas Ejemplares', are a couple of cheaters working in Seville. The first written reference is to be found in a book of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, and a gambler himself. 3 Rule variations and the 'house advantage'īlackjack's precursor was 'twenty-one', a game of unknown origin.
