How do you not look like a counter........

......when all you have had for an hour and a half is negative shoes betting the minimum and then all of a sudden you have a shoe that runs in the twenties and high teens running count and all of a sudden working your way up to betting your max for the majority of the shoe. Kind of hard to look like a gambler when this happens. You don't want to minimize your win rate by playing scared though so where is the trade off? Seems like the heat comes unless you truly are a gambler. What are the thoughts of experienced counters?

You really have to keep the sessions short, probably max 45-60 minutes at a table/pit. You also can't jump your bets too much. You shouldn't jump from $25 to $200 in one bet. My fatal flaw is that I sit out at the table during negative counts, although I've gotten better about that. Better to go to the bathroom or make a call, although could be a problem if you do it too much. By your question, you have probably noticed that you are not acting like other gamblers. As much as other posters criticize the pit for being stupid, most of us have been caught. Another factor is not being the biggest bettor at a table/pit/casino. You'll just naturally get more scrutiny. Also, don't give others advice or seem to know a lot. Another mistake that I make. Some people put on an act, often a drunk, but you need to beable to pull it off. Hope this helps.

Don't let them see you start off with another minimum bet.

This is the easiest, most basic part of card counting, The Act.

You say, "The hell with this nonsense...I'm going to blow off the rest of my allowance then go play some craps", and you send it in. If you lose, you "steam" and play another shoe because "your luck is due to change", "testing the waters" with a minimum bet off the top. If you smoked the previous shoe, you're "not supposed to leave when you're winning" and drop down to the minimum bet off the top of the next shoe so you don't "blow it all back". You just throw out all the standard nonsense tourists use. It's amazing what nonsense you spout and people will nod their heads in agreement because you're the big gambler at the table so you must know what you're talking about.

You casually look around you all the time without seeming to do so. You check out hot girls in the direction of the floor people and pit boss. If the pit is smiling you keep up the act. When you sense tension, you leave. If they walk away and appear oblivious, watch out. The cameras are usually rolling on you then.

All my career I sized up the pit first. Males between the age of early 20s to late 40s are the worst because they are usually looking to move up in the casino. Beyond that, they've usually settled into their routine.Females are the best as a rule. My theory is males are supposed to be the hunter/gatherers in our society so even if a female dealer figures out what you're doing, as long as you are funny and tip occasionally, don't overdo it and defend her occasionally from player abuse they won't rat you out. Tension on a dealer is simple to spot. The floor also is more mellow as a rule if it is middle aged and beyond females.

Asian female dealers go both ways. Some are super protective, trying to give the house cut to the exact card and watching out for advantage players while others appreciate seeing a player bet high and win and will cut as thin as they're allowed (even more so sometimes) and can be a goldmine. Again, it is easy to watch their faces and see which way they trend unless they appear blase then go rat you out on break. Watching a dealer when they leave on break is quite important. Do they run right to the floor or a pit boss or are they summoned to one before they leave the pit? If so, watch out.

Brothers tend to be mellow because they don't mind someone getting over on the establishment. Older Caucasian females as a rule tend to let you go about your business, again, as long as you tip occasionally, are funny and don't overdo it.

This is a small part of what I learned through my experiences. It isn't set in stone but is, for the most part, accurate. You can bitch that it's "racist", or you can make money with it. Either way, it is what is and I could care less.

I stuck around for another shoe and just bet half of my top bet every once in a while in mediocre true counts and cut back a little after a win and bumped up after a loss. Not sure if they were biting but it may have confused them if they had the cameras on me.

One way to not look like a counter is not to count! Giving that first impression buys much time. If your being watched drop the count and don't look at the cards. If they are still watching then smile and look at them and ask for a cocktail waitress. That usually gets them off your back. If you just sit down at a fresh deck/shoe and you are being watched don't count or look at the cards. If you can Wong in then bet your big bets, don't count (if their watching) and ride out the shoe. When your good you can scan a table and get a good idea if it's positive or negative or if the count is going up or down. Bet conservatively and parlay 1x your winning bets when your disguising your play. Look around, act like a friendly jerk if you want to. Then when the bosses go back to sleep play your game, fire away when the time comes and don't stay too long.

don't say "even" or "neutral" or "plus 3" as the next card is turned over. Since that is actually on your mind, it might come out. Not that I've ever done it, once.

I'm convinced that if they really are evaluating your game from above, any clever 'cover' plays or cover bets aren't going to help. As long as you increase your bet in positive counts at least part of the time, you are made. The real trick is never getting to the point when they decide to track your game. Short sessions, don't win too much from the same pit in a short time, act like a regular gambler, announce you are chasing your losses when increasing your bet ("Gotta catch up somehow!"), jazz like that.

If the boss starts staring or makes a phone call after staring, LEAVE. Don't hope to stay and play cover. This is my opinion from a session where I got backed off after playing a lot of cover (flat bet the entire shuffle even when it went positive, larger bets off the top, small changes in bets in the wrong direction). None of these cover plays threw them off. Also, I perceived that switching to two hands in plus counts was a big tipoff, and attracted needless attention because the ploppies and dealers all start talking about how it disturbs the sacred flow of the cards. I stick to one hand all the time, now. Ploppies seldom go back and forth from one to two hands, but may play two all the time.

After that session where I just started to kill the table winning every max bet in that shoe and playing cover a bit after, I left. You know I went back the following week same time, same pit crew was there, but this time I showed up with a glass of wine and my eyes were all red from smoke. The guy who was staring me down from the previous session looked at me with a glance and left me alone the rest of the night. It was amazing. I assumed it was the wine, because I still had a pretty good win. Plus, if they were paying any kind of attention they would have known that I was an AP.

I've found when I toke the dealer a bit leading up to a decent count, I hear "Checks Play" a whole lot less!

I hear a lot less "black out".