@SteveSoCal
Actually, somebody playing perfect blackjack basic strategy and not counting cards will lose in the long run. Casinos offer various forms of "comps" to lure gamblers in. Use of these comps can give the player a very slight advantage - for relatively low wager levels and over fairly short gambling sessions - certainly not full time.
Somebody who counts cards is able to completely turn the tables on the casino. However, the ability to do so does not make the game immediately lucrative. A top player can get an edge of 3-4% over the house (depending on the specific game variation and rules). This is a significant edge, but not enough to live off unless you are betting hundreds and thousands of dollars on individual hands. Moreover, there is no guarantee that, even the best player, can win on any given day. Folks who earn a living playing blackjack can have very high incomes, however, it comes with a severe cost: * It is stressful. Professional players can lose tens of thousands of dollars in an evening - and several evenings (weeks and months, too!) in a row. Many go bankrupt. *They have to be worried about getting thrown out of casinos, thus harming their ability to earn money. * They spend a lot of time on the road, traveling around the world to different casinos as they can't visit the same casinos too frequently. This makes family life difficult. * They have to study. They need to know to basic strategy on many different rule sets as well as the indices that tell how to adjust play in each game based on the card count. * As @SoCalMama says, it is a "grind." A player can sit at a table for two or three hours slowly losing money before the card count gives an advantage and s/he can raise the wager effectively, attempting to overcome the losses and make a profit in two or three hands. Even then, there is no guarantee of a win. It takes a ton of both focus and patience.
Very few folks are willing/able to do this. I am definitely NOT one of them. I play well and win more than I lose. However, I play on $3 and $5 tables and rarely bet more than $30 on a hand. I enjoy playing cards in general, so I think of it as "cheap entertainment." However, I am very competitive (Irene says "intense"
, so I work hard to win and have learned a fraction of what a professional knows.
Hard work builds character and homework is good for your soul.