Sorry this message got posted as response to another post a few minutes ago which it was not. So I am reposting as a new message. Sorry for the confusion.
I don't post much, but I do read a lot of the posts. I live in Northern Nevada and exclusively play single-deck in the following areas - Reno/Sparks, Carson City, Minden, Jackpot, Wendover, Mesquite, and Laughlin. Now to my point. I've read quite a few posts about guys who worry about how much to spread and worry about being barred or backed off. Things like "I was getting funny looks from the pit, and "I get nervous when splitting tens", and "Should I avoid that place because I won a few times in a row?" and "I think they are getting suspicious" etc. etc.
Here is my two cents for what its worth.
1.) take the time to seek out the best games like I do. Drive if you must, even if it means getting on a plane and flying, and then renting a car and traveling another two hours. Hell, Wendover and Jackpot are 6 hours drive for me and I make the drive at least once a month.
2.) Stop worrying about being backed off or barred, period. If it is going to happen it is going to happen. No big deal. When I get backed off in a club, I just wait a couple of months, change my appearance and go right back in (usually on a different shift) and start pounding that club again. Stop fretting and have a thick skin. They don't like winners at the blackjack tables and will often treat you poorly, get use to it. Until they read me the trespass act and tell me I will be arrested if I come back, I just keep on going back and pounding away.
3.) Stop fretting about spreading. If you can't grow some balls to get the money out there when the counts are good, than you can't make any real money. My bank roll is about 200k, so I can comfortable play up to the table max in just about any of the single deck games in the towns listed above. Most have table limits of 300 max bet or 500 max bet, some have a max bet as low as 100 or 200. I'll start at 75 or 100 and back down to 25 or 50 if the count goes negative, and bump up to 150/200 at +1 or +2 and table max at +3 or more. (Obviously, I adjust these numbers accordingly if the table max is 100 or 200). I use high/low with about 68 indices. Do I get shuffled up sometimes, absolutely, but not as often as you'd think. So grap your sack, hold on, and throw your money out there when you are suppose to. I also throw in a bathroom break and a maybe a seperate trip to the cigerette machine on bad counts (better to thow away 5 to 7 dollars on a pack of cigerettes even if I chuck them out after I leave the casino than to lose 100 or 150 on a bad deck).
4.) Practice, practice, practice. Then go practice some more. Practice at home is free. Save your money. Build a sizeable bankroll, before ever playing in a casino. In my opinion, I've bumped into far too many counters that have too small a bankroll to make there winnings very substantial. Who wants to work for only 10 or 20 dollars an hour? I don't. Besides, who wants to get backed off from a singledeck game betting 5 to 25 or 10 to 50? At least if you get backed off playing up to the table max, you'll have something to show for it other than a few measly dollars. Trust me, it's a hell of a lot more satisfying to be up 3 or 4 grand in a night AND THEN get the tap on the shoulder.
5.) You've got to be hungry. You've got to want it, and put in the time and practice to get it. The casinos are not just going to hand that money over willingly. You are going to have to pry it out of them. The casinos can and will try anything to keep you from being a winning player - the chatty dealer, the chatty pit boss, the evil eye pit boss with the glaring stare, the disturbing cocktail waitress who always appears when you have a big bet out and the count is strong, the shuffle ups, the lightning fast rude dealer, the over serving of free cocktails ( I've had drinks brought to me that I didn't even ask for!!), and when all these things fail, they throw you out. It doesn't seem fair and it doesn't seem right. So, the hell with the casinos and everybody who works for them. Take their money, and take as much as you can and as fast as you can. I will make over 100k this year playing backjack. You can too. Good Luck!
