Advice on how to start

Hi
I have been playing twenty one or commonly known as "vingt y un" since a small child and about two years ago i took an interest in Texas holdem poker, which i now play with friends for fun.
I now wish to try to learn blackjack and i would also like to learn the basics of card counting (I thought the HI lo technique looked good for me, maybe?) as i wish to be able to play blackjack and have a small edge over the casino when i play in order to gain a bit of money if i can.
I live in England but regularly go to canada for leisure purposes and i also go to the US sometimes, so ideally id like to be able to practice these skills in all three countries although i understand that there is a huge amount of difference in the way that they are played. My priority would be to learn strategies for playing in the UK but i would also like to be able to play in the others as well.
All help and advice is hugely appreciated and , thank you in advance.

The "Blackjack School" link on the left has a lot of great lessons. Take care to go through them all and you'll learn a ton.

After, take some time to memorize the basic strategy table for the rules of the casino you'll be playing at.

Counting cards is not difficult but takes time to practice. Most websites recommend being able to count down a deck in 25 seconds or so before betting any money, but that depends on a lot of things.

Search in the forums here for suggestions on which books you should read as well.

Read and practice. There are many people here very willing to offer invaluable advice, but make sure when you ask, you specify that you are a beginner as to avoid too mathematically technical advice

See the thread entitled "introduction" as we have 2 similar threads going here. (maybe the moderators would want to combine?)

Actually it's "vingt et un" n'est pas?

I second that.

I third that.

Also, Beers, make sure to read the thread "An Introduction to Card Counting (Please Read Before Posting New Threads)" by iCountNTrack... That seemed to be very helpful information.