Twenty-One is first recorded in the 18th century under the name Vingt-Un or Vingt-et-Un, showing it to be of French provenance. In Britain and Ameria it was played under its French name throughout the 19th century, though at some time in England it was pronounced in such a way as to be occasionally spelt Van John.

Thought to derive from another popular card game called Chemin de Fer, also originating in French casinos, Blackjack was first known as Vingt-et-Un, which simply translates to Twenty-One.

Spanish 21 is similar to traditional Blackjack but with more options and payouts. One difference is that all numbered 10  cards are removed from the deck leaving 48 cards in each deck. Jacks, Queens and Kings count as 10. Aces count as 1 or 11 (whatever is to the Player's advantage).

The dealer must always hit on any hand value of 16 or less and stand on any value above 17. The dealer must always stand on hard 17 but the rule on soft 17 varies from table to table. It has become common for the dealer to hit soft 17 since that increases the probability of the dealer (house) winning.