I am new to BJ, but have worked very hard to get up to speed. This includes about 60 hours of drills and playing on Casino Verite and 54 casino hours (49 of these hours attempting to count). Yet, I still don?t seem to be sharp enough to consistently keep the count (KO). I have trouble even adding up my own draw cards while on a soft hand (while maintaining the count). Give me a split with double opportunities and forget the count ? the ?I?m going to make or lose big? overwhelms me. In short, I can only keep count consistently in a mundane shoe. The result is that I am doing well at +1, +2 but have frequently lost track by the good counts at the end of the shoe. I have also caught myself making a few basic strategy mistakes (not because I don?t know them but because of rushed decisions). And what concerns me most is that I did not see much improvement in my most recent trip. Fortunately, I am right on top of my EV (1 to 8 spread), which means SD has been good to me (so far), even though I am only spreading 1 to 5 usually.

So, the basic question is this: Are there some people who are otherwise smart enough, but just don?t think fast enough to do this? Assuming that?s the case and I?m one of those, is it safe for me to keep on this way ? spreading very light and flat betting or leaving when I lose track? Or, is it to be expected that I would need a lot more practice than this to gain reasonable proficiency?