The name blackjack comes from the fact that when blackjack was first introduced in the U.S. It wasn't very popular, so casinos and gambling houses tried offering different bonus payoffs. One of those was a 10-to-1 payoff for a hand consisting of the ace of spades and a black jack (that is, the jack of spades or the jack of clubs). BJ MathBJ Math is a site dedicated to the exploration of mathematics in conjunction with blackjack. Odds of winning roulette twice in a row one. The editors have done a great job collecting all of the important articles relating to blackjack probability and card counting strategies. The site also provides a 'Novice Corner' for those new to the concepts of blackjack mathematics. Understanding Blackjack Probabilities Many people use 'probability' and 'odds' as two interchangeable terms but in fact, there is a pronounced difference between the two. While inherent in gambling, probability is, first and foremost, a separate branch of mathematics that deals with the likelihood of different events occurring.
This is a classic probability puzzle. I just made up the story.
Puzzle
You are playing Blackjack and are lucky enough to have a psychic parrot on your shoulder. You are dealt three hands of two cards each, all of them face down. Because you have the help of the psychic parrot, you are only allowed to turn over one of the six cards. The parrot tells you that one hand contains two aces, one contains two jacks, and one contains an ace and a jack (a blackjack). You turn over one of the cards and see that it's an ace. What is the probability that that hand is the blackjack?
References
This is a classic probability puzzle. I just made up the story.
Puzzle
You are playing Blackjack and are lucky enough to have a psychic parrot on your shoulder. You are dealt three hands of two cards each, all of them face down. Because you have the help of the psychic parrot, you are only allowed to turn over one of the six cards. The parrot tells you that one hand contains two aces, one contains two jacks, and one contains an ace and a jack (a blackjack). You turn over one of the cards and see that it's an ace. What is the probability that that hand is the blackjack?
References
I got the idea for this one from The Riddle of Scheherazade: And Other Amazing Puzzles by Raymond Smullyan.
Probability Blackjack Math Problems
