I discourage counting cards because the phenomenon of counting overall benefits the casinos: blackjack’s reputation for fairness – for being a fair game, a good gamble, “best wager in the house,” all of that – derives, directly, from the mythology of counting. From the stories and the books about it. Prior to the publication of Ed Thorp’s Beat the Dealer (which presented the first legitimate, publicly-available card-counting strategy, became a bestseller, and popularized the concept) blackjack was not trusted. In the 1950’s it was the third-ranked table game in terms of revenue, or house win. Craps was the most popular and profitable game. Craps was considered fair, a good gamble, “best wager in the house,” all of that. But today in Nevada it’s blackjack that’s number one for table-game revenue. Casinos win about three times as much at their blackjack tables as at craps.

Counting is the reason. The stories and books about it, hitting the public consciousness repeatedly ever since Beat the Dealer, have reinforced the notion that it’s beatable, that it’s susceptible to player skill. And this is true. It is. But it’s also true that this very susceptibility has made blackjack the most lucrative table game. Players lose more money at blackjack than they used to because it can be beaten. The beatability whets appetites and justifies hopes.

It’s a boon for the house. And that only means it fucks you. Most aspiring counters lose. All non-aspiring counters who spend some time memorizing basic strategy and then give the game a shot for the hell of it, knowing they won’t win but figuring it’s at least a good gamble, won’t win. You will not win.

I’ve written very little on this website about how to count. I don’t encourage people to learn. I don’t encourage them to gamble or to want to gamble well.

So, if you’re insistent:

• The Gamemaster Online Blackjack School is comprehensive, lucid, and good.
• Arnold Snyder’s introduction is good.
• Norm’s book is thorough and good.
• The BlackjackInfo message boards have much that is good.
• Stanford Wong’s message board is useful.
• With message boards you need to be selective: some posters are authorities and others are clowns; my own posts, often, are useless.