Its history only goes back as far as 1995, when it was introduced in Nevada. But it follows similar rules to Blackjack with a few twists. All the ten cards have been removed. Player's Blackjack always wins over the dealer's Blackjack. All ties are pushed except for 21 and Blackjack.
Player can double down on any number of cards, even after splitting.
Player is allowed to split pairs up to four times. Dealer hits on a soft 17. When the blank card comes out while the dealer is dealing the cards, he goes ahead and finishes the hand. After the hand is done, he should shuffle the cards. The blank card tells the dealer and the players that the shoe has run down to the point where you want to shuffle.