← Lessons

Lesson 2

Running count drill

Learn to keep the count under pressure

This is the core muscle of card counting. The cards fly by — you need to add +1, -1, or 0 instantly without thinking. Pro tip: cancel cards in pairs. See a 2 and a K together? They cancel (+1, -1 = 0). This is faster than adding them individually. Practice silently. Out loud will get you kicked out of a real casino. Target: count 50 cards in under 60 seconds with zero errors. That's casino pace.

Key points

  • Add values to a running total as cards appear
  • Cancel high/low pairs to go faster
  • Never speak the count out loud
  • Target: 50 cards in 60 seconds