Card counting has been around since the 1950’s. Ed Thorp with his excellent book “Beat the Dealer” is often given credit for inventing card counting but the fact is that he was the one who first wrote about it in a way in which it could reach the masses.

The early blackjack pioneers were active with basic systems prior to that and could have been around earlier than what we ever imagined. In roulette, players were exploiting biased wheels during the late nineteenth century.

But card counting has been around for a long time so the casinos know a lot about it…..but then again they don’t. This alters depending on the country in which you wish to play but many casino staff basically only know enough to be able to spot amateur counters. The type who have read a few books and can count very well but who know little about evasion techniques or how to effectively ramp the money so that you can get action undetected.

Card counting is a difficult profession at the best of times but one of the primary problems for any card counter is to play enough hours in order to be able to play the game for a living. Even then in order to earn a decent wage, you must have some sort of sizeable bankroll behind you.

It is difficult to card count for forty hours a week simply because unless you live in Vegas or Atlantic City then the small number of casinos would make it problematical to get enough action. But the problem even with Vegas and AC is that the casino staff are very knowledgeable in this area. Playing blackjack for anything other than part time wages probably isn’t possible now and the arrival of the shuffling machines has worsened the situation.

Fewer casinos now have shoe games than before which is another problem! I seem to be talking about nothing but problems here but that just reveals what playing blackjack is in the twenty first century…..a problem. Could I still make money from blackjack in 2009? Yes…..simply because there are still shoe games to my knowledge in the UK. The question then comes down to “would I want to”.

The hourly rate would be relatively low and to be honest, I would rather stay at home and play online poker to make my money. In order to become a card counter you first have to learn a counting system and there was a big debate about this some years ago with regards the effectiveness of certain systems.

It was concluded that the simpler systems proved almost as effective as the more complex ones and when you consider the ease at which you can operate them, then being able to operate them for longer due to less mental fatigue is a definite plus point.

Most successful long term pro counters operate in teams and this overcomes problems of variance and detection as well as being able to get larger amounts of money across the table. But the life of a counter is not a great one, even though it may seem exciting to many. Most knowledgeable people consider it to be past its shelf life and has been this way for at least ten years.

I don’t agree, there is still money to be made playing blackjack but at the end of the day it all comes down to how much you want to make. Earning $20/hour is feasible if you can get the right casino but many people would not wish to work for such a low wage. When you consider that you need a bankroll and also the expenses incurred from travelling to casinos, blackjack isn’t financially viable for most people and that’s the life of a card counter.