Hitting Stiff v Small Card on Negative Count

I have played BS without counting for many years.
I recenting began counting HiLo using DS's Catch 22.
It seems that nothing draws the anger of my table mates more than when I hit a stiff hand on a negative count against a dealer's small card. Once on a negative count, I hit 12 v 4 and drew a 10, which set off alot of ranting from a very excitable woman at my table. Another time, sitting at 3rd base, with a TC of -2, I hit 13 v 2, and again drew a 10, which attracted alot of angry advice from the "experts" at my table. This also draws the attention of the dealer and the pit.
How do experienced counters handle these situations?

What, there's other players at this table???

Ignore them.

Rookie,

At a TC of -2, you should be betting table minimum. The cost of following BS for stiffs vs. a small dealer card is then relatively small (compared to your top bet). At a TC of -2, I usually follow BS (including hitting 12 vs 2 and 3 which will still bring out the worst in the ignorant masses). At a TC less than -2, you should have found a reason to leave the table (of course, when you return, the ploppies will be mad at you for messing up the �flow�).

A ploppy that is mad at you for taking the dealer�s bust card will notice later when you stand on your 12 (at high counts with a large bet out). His complaints might alert the pit that you vary your strategy based on the count and could cost you more money in the long run.

Dr 21

If I am unfortunate enough to have another player at the table, and such a comment occurs, I ignore it and say nothing. But if the ploppy is persistent, I politely say, "Give me all your chips." They invariably ask why -- the answer: "If I'm playing with your money, I'll play how you tell me and we'll split the profit, but any loss is all yours. If I'm playing with my money, I'll play the way I want. Blackjack isn't a team game. I don't care if you win or lose." The dealer and floorperson usually laugh. The ploppy often gets flustered and leaves the table, giving me a heads-up game.

You get double free access to the free pages for February.

Thanks everyone for all your good advice.
It seems that different players handle this differently, depending on their act, their cover and their personality.
Even though I haven't developed much of an act yet, I think I will continue to make the correct index plays since I don't think I am getting any heat (other than from ploppies) because I only play reds and greens.
When I move up to blacks, I may have to rethink this.

Even though I haven't developed much of an act yet, I think I will continue to make the correct index plays since I don't think I am getting any heat (other than from ploppies) because I only play reds and greens. When I move up to blacks, I may have to rethink this.

Don't rethink it. Don't let ploppies influence the way you play. Make the correct play despite "ploppy heat." Often your "stupid play" will cause them to leave in disgust. As you move up in stakes, you will find it easier to get heads-up games where you won't have to deal with ploppies.

You must develop a thick skin to survive in the casinos. Ploppies should be the least of your concerns. They are there to lose anyway, don't worry about them in the least.

LVBear584,
Thanks for your comment.
My concern is based on the post by Dr 21 who said:
"A ploppy that is mad at you for taking the dealer�s bust card will notice later when you stand on your 12 (at high counts with a large bet out). His complaints might alert the pit that you vary your strategy based on the count and could cost you more money in the long run"
Should I care about possibly being outed to the pit by a ploppy?
Rookie Counter

Just my opinion and I'm not LVBear, but I've played for many years, and that has never happened to me. Besides 12 vs. 2 & 3, 16 vs. 10 is probably the most frequent hand when you change your strategy. Many ploppies say as long as you are consistent, you're ok. My answer to that when confronted with such illogical reasoning is that "the cards don't remember that I stood on 16 last time." The best thing to say or do is either nothing or just say that it's my money and I'll play my cards the way I want to.

I notice that many people including pit staff think that when I violate basic strategy, it's because I'm "afraid of busting with a big bet out".So strategy variations are more likely a camouflage than a give away.

Francis Salmon

dealers and PCs don't control this crap. I've seen very nice young ladies get berated. The dealer should say something like "everybody's welcome at our tables and they can play their own way" or "please don't hassle the other players". The problem is the dealers agree with the plops. The dealers should only question you when they think you're doing something wrong or missing something..."uh, mam, would you like to split those aces? Most people do.", or "sir, the 8 cards I've dealt you add up to 16, would you like another hit?".

When a plop criticizes my play because I took the dealer's 'bust card' by hitting my 12 vs. a 4, or some other nonsense, I usually say nothing. When he complains when I stand in a similar situation later, I sometimes say to him, "You obviously know this game pretty well. Last time you gave me crap about hitting my 12. Now, you're pissed because I stood. What is the best way to play the hand?'