Any good mental game tips?

[cc12b]

I played like a terrible newbie wannabe counter tonight

You are not alone.

[PinkChip]

Yes, there's something called Counter's Basic Strategy that minimizes index deviations. 16vT is such a close play, it only costs a few cents to always stay, since you have your minimum bet out when you should be hitting it. I don't recall where it was published. Apologies in advance to Don if it's in BJA3 :-)

The book I remember most regarding a Counter's Basic Strategy with fewer index plays is Ian Andersen's "Burning the Tables in Las Vegas", where he proposes his "Ultimate Gambit" strategy, which basically consist of BS deviations at high counts which are useful for getting the money as well as useful for camouflage. Always standing on 16 vs. Ten is a typical example. There are also some other "stupid" plays, e.g. Standing on 12 vs. 3 or even vs. 2, which are correct when the TC is high and the big bets are out. Negative index plays like Hitting 12 vs. 4 are not so useful because they are only correct when min bets are out (or even no bets at all when wonging), so you should omit them.