People forget that basic strategy was not calculated based on everyone at the table playing as they “should,” it was calculated using one top-of-the-deck hand and reshuffling after every play. There is no sacred order of the cards. Take it from me: That person who doesn’t “play right” saves the table just as often as he takes the dealer’s bust card.

So look for a good game. If you want to win, don’t just sidle up to any old blackjack game and start betting. Look for casinos that offer the blackjack rules that’ll help you win.

The infamous MIT team proved that card counting works - with a heavy emphasis on “work.” First you have to spend numerous hours in practice, practice, practice counting down multiple decks. Then you have to find those few online casinos that might have an exploitable game.

Then you have to look like you’re a clueless tourist while you perform fairly advanced math, all the while hiding the fact that you do know what the hell you’re doing. And do you know how much you’re supposed to make at most?

Two cents for every dollar!

That’s it! Even if you can master the most sophisticated and complicated card-counting systems ever devised, your advantage is - in the most perfect of circumstances - only 2 percent. True, the MIT team made a bit of money, but they had to bet millions of dollars to see any kind of decent return, and they suffered through some brutal losing streaks.

After all I’ve seen, I really think that if you want to count cards, you do it for the intellectual challenge and not because you think you can get rich. Even Professor Thorp didn’t make his fortune playing blackjack (he got rich in the stock market). If you’re willing to put in that much effort, there are better and easier ways to win at blackjack.