You learn card counting with a little bit of study and lots of practice. It requires practice, practice and more practice. Fortunately, there is a free online blackjack game that teaches you count cards as you play. The free game performs the count you select and supplies the running and true counts so that you can check your own totals.

Here are the steps to learn how to count cards.

Step 1 - Learn basic multi-deck strategy. Memorize the basic strategy. Basic strategy minimizes the houses statistically advantage.

Step 2 - Memorize the point values of your chosen system. Commit the point values to memory. Practice counting through a single deck on card at a time. Double check your count at the end of the 52 cards (you should know what you expect to finish at). Then practice counting pairs of cards by flipping two at a time. Add additional decks. Practice getting to 30 seconds per deck.

Step 3 - Practice estimating remaining decks in the shoe and converting to a true count. This is only necessary for balanced systems. With an unbalanced system like the KO Count, skip this step since there is no true count conversion.

Step 4 - Learn the bet spreads. Set maximum bets between 5 and 10 times the minimum bet. Vary the wager according to the count and the Kelly Criterion.

Step 5 - Practice with the free online game. Use the computerized count and basic strategy advice to double check and refine your game. When you win consistently, it's time for the real thing.