how to show my class a global variable

ok sorry for the silly post name but it does explain what i need help with.
im pretty sure that i need to use a pointer but i get errors and crashes when i try to use them.

i have a main program which includes a few classes i made for a basic(very basic) blackjack game.

i have a funtion called twist

Code:

---

void player::twist(card drawn)
{
        myHand[cardcount]= drawn;
        cardcount++;
}

---

is there some way i can make only one version of cardcount when i make
player player1; player player2;
because if i deal 2 cards each with the current way it deals them the same cards
im sure if i made cardcount a pointer to a global cardcount then it would work but i dont seem to be able to i have a theory that i may be able to use "extern"
but im not sure what that is or if it would help me.
thanks in advanced im sure i didnt include the right info you will need so feel free to give me a nudge :)
oh i think i could include a file which has the cardcount to my player class and main program but dont know if thats the best way i mean a whole file for one int?

Are you saying there should be one instance of cardcount for every instance of player?

Make it a static data member.

yes i think thats what i need i want to make cardcount as 1 global int across the many player objects i make im not sure how to use static data members but ill look it up quick thanks for the help :)

Thinking about the problem domain more, maybe you want to create a class called "hand" or "dealer" or "game" that maintains the card count, and then have players hold a reference or pointer to that object.

that sounds more like what ive been trying to do except that im a novice with pointers and get lots of errors and crashes .
ill try again with pointers and see if i can get it working :)