Once you understand the concept of card counting in blackjack, it’s only a small step to making the decision that you want to make real money doing so and therefore you need to hone your skills in the technique. In order to do that you can take advantage of card counting trainer. However the initial blackjack card counting practice can be done easily just with a pack of cards.

The real world experts spend hours developing their skills so that they become second nature. These skills are built one step at a time and in a logical sequence, so let’s look at some of these practice techniques.

Initial Blackjack Card Counter Training

1. The first step is to make sure you can keep the running count quickly. To do this you need to have memorized the value of each card so that it becomes second nature. Keep going through a single deck of cards until you can keep an accurate count even when the dealing speed is so fast that the full deck is fully dealt in 15 to 20 seconds.
2. The next exercise is to repeat the first exercise but with pairs of cards. You should aim for both speed and accuracy. Deal a single deck by turning two cards over at a time. At first, don’t keep the running count, simply call the count for each pair of cards.As an example, if we assume we are using the basic high-low technique. If a card is six or less then it is given a value of +1. If it is a seven, eight or nine then it assumes a value of zero and all other cards are valued at -1. Suppose the first pair of cards turned is a seven and a queen then the count of the pair is -1, the seven is given the value of zero and the queen a value of -1. The total count is therefore the summation of the two numbers.
3. Next, do the same thing but keep the running count this time. Keep repeating the exercise, increasing the speed each time. The third exercise increases the difficulty by using three cards. This simulates one on one play with a house dealer where you see dealers up card and your own initial pair. The technique is the same but the difficulty increases significantly when three cards are used.
4. Next it’s time to move onto trying out your skills in a simulated game. Deal four hands, with you acting as one of the players. Deal one card to each player then one card face down to the imaginary dealer. Now deal the second players card. Start counting and play each hand in turn as though it were a real game. Keep the running count.

Blackjack card counting practice is not simply about the mechanical skills of counting. You now need to start thinking about the behavioral aspects of the game and build your skills so you can keep the count almost without looking. Start to build motor skills into your counting, such as taking a drink and even making comments as the card are dealt, much in the way that real players do in a casino. Finally get a friend to help and see if you can keep a rapid running count while carrying a conversation. This is much harder than it sounds!

Remember that dealers sometimes change during a blackjack game and each dealer will have a different dealing speed. You should therefore practice with different speeds, since constantly practicing at one speed will make it harder when the speed changes.

Perhaps one of the hardest skills to learn in blackjack card counting is mass counting. This can typically happen when the dealer has a “Blackjack” and suddenly everyone throws in his or her cards, across the table, face up. This is real speed training and will certainly provide a significant challenge to your skills.

Blackjack Card Counting Trainer

Another great way of really developing your card counting skills is to use training software. There are a number of packages available, at a variety of prices. One example, which allows you to practice anywhere, is an IPhone App. Prices are low, at around $3 can be downloaded from the ITunes. There are also some good and free websites where you are dealt cards and can practice keeping the count. One example is: http://www.blackjackapprenticeship.com/resources/blackjack-training-drills/

The site will measure your performance in terms of accuracy and speed and you can also choose to deal from up to 8 decks.

Don’t underestimate the time it will take to really develop your skills to the extent where you can go into a casino and start to make significant amounts of money by ensuring that the probabilities are in your favor and that therefore you, and not the house, have the edge. Blackjack is a game of probabilities, which change as the cards are dealt. Once you know and understand the size of the edge at any given moment you can ensure that the real money is bet when the edge favors you!