The best way I can describe card counting is, it's not
difficult, but it is
hard. It's really just low level rote arithmetic, done while playing. What you need is practice to build up speed and stamina so you can do it in a casino environment. For an idea of what it takes to get started, there's a quickstart here for the basic system that I use:
However, at the level I'm doing it, card-counting is nearly a joke. Self-imposed bankroll constraints limit my max bets to $50, and at that level, playing six deck games, it's barely profitable over the long run. Plus, I do occassionally tip dealers, which probably makes me break-even at best. So I'm really just in it for the comped meals
And when playing on days like yesterday, when the cash is just slipping away from my wallet, I had to stop and ask myself "am I steaming?". And while I was indeed tired, and pretty annoyed, my counting skills still seemed as good, I was still betting the same, and if anything, I got more rigorous on avoiding negative counts of games. Of course, it didn't help me win anything, and I dropped $250 for the weekend.
Contrast that with online casinos this Monday evening, when I attacked four casino casino bonuses (those emails finally hit my inbox). Note that instead of the conservative strategy that aka mentions, I play bonuses really aggressively, so this evening was marked by a few minutes of
sheer insanity, followed by about 1000 hands of blackjack, and winnings of about $500 (which was a couple hundred better than expected value)