Blackjack is a game of skill and card counting can help you gain an advantage in the game. Edward R Thorp is considered the father of card counting. He discovered the principles of card counting and published his method in 1962 in his book Beat the Dealer. His book started the Blackjack revolution and it was also instrumental in the casinos taking action to ban card counters. Card counting is not illegal but casinos can ban players from playing blackjack if they detect that a player is counting cards.