| The
earliest card games are
believed to have
originated in China
around 900 A.D. when the
Chinese began shuffling
and dealing paper
dominoes and paper money
into new games and
various combinations.
The belief of the
Chinese being the
inventors of early card
games is supported by
the fact that paper was
invented in China as
well.
In the Moslem world
the four-suited decks
with court cards evolved.
Europeans later imported
them around the year
1370. Thus the earliest
authentic references to
playing cards in Europe
date from 1377. At this
time, the cards were
hand-painted and
consequently only the
wealthy part of the
population could afford
them. Later, though, the
invention of woodcuts
made it possible for the
Europeans to
mass-produce the popular
game cards.
The cards we use
today are derived from
French designs; the
suits of spades,
diamonds, clubs and
hearts. The French also
began using simple
shapes and flat colors,
which helped facilitate
manufacture. Thus French
cards soon became very
popular and were
exported widely. Firstly
they became the standard
in England, and because
of the British Colonies
in North America, the
knowledge and use of the
playing cards expanded
quickly.
The first accounts
of gambling were around
2300 B.C. and just like
the playing cards it is
believed to have
originated in China.
China and the rest of
the Far East, though,
were not the only parts
of the world where
gambling was known. In
Ancient Greece gambling
was also very popular –
though it was illegal
business. Throughout
history gambling always
has been illegal and
viewed with suspicion
and disgust from the
various opponents in
society.
In spite of
the fact that gambling
worldwide had a long
time been illegal, some
states in the western
USA made it legal in the
1850’s. Casinos were
also legalized and Black
Jack soon became one of
the primary gambling
games offered to
gamblers. The rest of
the States have followed
ever since, but many
states have only
legalized gambling and
casinos in the 20th
century. |
