Why is blackjack so called? The objective of the game is to make a hand which comes as close to a numerical score of 21 without exceeding it, and achieving 21 in just two cards is possible if you are dealt an ace and a picture card or a ten. If you succeed in doing this, then you have made what is called a blackjack and, assuming that the dealer does not also have a blackjack, you are paid out at 3 to 2.

But the name still does not make sense. The cards do not need to be black, and you do not need to hold a jack, so why not simply call the game twenty one as it was originally when invented in Europe or even pontoon as it became known in the UK?

The reason that it is called blackjack relates to an old rule which is now defunct as it gives too much of an advantage to the player and can create a negative house edge. Originally, as well as what is today known as a blackjack, there used to be another special hand which consisted of the ace of spades and a black jack, either spades or clubs. This was paid out at a remarkable 10 times the original stake.

The online version of modern blackjack is no different from that played at live casinos apart from one very important feature. In live blackjack the cards are dealt from a shoe consisting of a number of card decks; perhaps four, six or eight. This means that each hand and each round is not a completely independent event for every time a card is dealt, the shoe has been depleted of that card. This means that card counters are able to assess when the structure of the deck is more conducive to a player winning and when the dealer is more likely to win. Thus by increasing the size of the bet when the shoe favours the player, the player can gain an edge over the house.

In online blackjack the cards are electronically shuffled, or randomised, after every round so as a result the cards do not carry any historical information and so card counting is pointless.

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