The first woman blackjack pro

Today, with the number of people who enjoy playing casino classics like blackjack online, it’s hardly surprising that there are beginning to be as many female as male pro blackjack players at blackjack tournaments around the world, both online and off. But turn back the clock a hundred years, and female card players were few and far between.

It stands to reason that both sexes are now well-represented in online blackjack. Where they might have been some issues around a woman going into a casino – essentially viewed as a bit of a man’s world - and sitting down at a casino blackjack table even only a decade or two ago, there’s no such concern about being an odd one out when you play online or in land-based casinos now. When you play online blackjack at 32red.com, you have a wide range of blackjack variants to play, and you can always get some practice in without placing real money bets if you choose ‘practice play’ mode. And the fact that more women play online is probably why more women now play in land-based casinos as well.

Back in the 1850s, though, a French lady named Eleanore Dumont was one of a kind. She was born in France but moved to Nevada City, California and when settled there, she opened up a blackjack casino Vingt et Un. The clients were usually rough types – gold miners – but Mme Dumont wouldn’t accept any bad behaviour such as fighting or swearing in her establishment. Anyone misbehaving would be escorted to the door.

Eleanore usually dealt the cards herself and often won. All players drank free champagne supplied by Eleanore and many a miner said they’d rather lose to Madame Dumont than win blackjack anywhere else! When the Nevada City gold rush came to an end, Eleanore relocated, and did so several more times in her life. Wherever she went to, she set up a casino, through to her death in 1879. Although she was nominated for induction to the Blackjack Hall of Fame in 2006, over a hundred years after her death, she wasn’t actually elected.

If you’re thinking about starting out playing blackjack online, then most sites will offer new players a generous welcome bonus when they open an account. At 32red, for every £10 you put in as a first deposit, you’ll get another £32 of gaming credit from the site. So before you’ve even placed a bet, you’ll have more than trebled your money. What happens after that is down to the luck of the cards and your skill in playing blackjack!