Hey everyone,

I'm brand new to blackjack, and the casino in general. I few weeks ago I was on holiday in Canada, and over the duration I ended up profiting by using the Martingale system on roulette (dangerous I know, but at the time I thought it was a foolproof plan). So yea, when I got back to London, I opened up an online account with William Hill, and continued using the system, only to win £2 per bet. But due to a few close calls, where I was one bet away from losing all of my betting money, I decided that playing roulette that way was far too risky, and that at some point I would lose all I've gained and a lot more.

I then started to pay an interest in blackjack, and after finding the basic strategy, I was obsessed. Practically, I went into the William Hill live casino and used basic strategy on every hand. Luckily, I turned £35 into just over £300 using just basic strategy. I was so happy, and again, I thought this truly was a foolproof plan. I even planned to just win £10 a day, which would be £70 a week, a lovely £280 extra a month I could earn. But obviously the winning streak didn't continue as I had hoped, it ended up becoming 50/50, so I adopted a Martingale system again, with the thought that losing 6 blackjack hands in a row simply wouldn't happen, especially as I had basic strategy. Well lo and behold, I ended up losing 7 hands straight, and lost all my £200, but I wasn't distraught, I mean, I've always been prepared to lose that money. Besides, if I include my first batch of winnings playing blackjack, I still have a profit overall.

Anyway, before I withdraw another batch of money into my William Hill account, only to use basic strategy knowing it could go either way, I want to learn, read, study, and find out more about this fantastic game. Is my aim of earning a little extra money a month way too optimistic? I want to learn techniques such as counting cards (which I know absolutely nothing about) and other blackjack techniques which will improve my chances. Don't worry, I'm not just some novice who is going to rush into this, I really do want to put the time and effort into it so I can gather as much knowledge as possible.

Firstly, I would be really grateful if you could recommend some reading material for me. Secondly, I would like some clarification over whether I can actually profit playing on a live casino online (the dealer is on a live video link), and is my aim of making a small profit every month unrealistic?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Xagan