What bet spreads will bring you zero or damn near zero heat?
Side bet:
Is it worth it to play rated at those zero heat levels or is it never worth it to play rated?
All casinos have different tolerance thresholds; some won't let you spread at all. You will likely need to find this out by playing (veterans of this forum correct me if I am wrong).
As far as it being worth it, that is up to your personal goals with counting. Most in the AP community will say never play rated, but if you care more about comps and never see yourself making a significant amount of money counting, then by all means.
You could play a 1 to 4 (green chips) or even 1 to 5 (red chips) bet spread to avoid any heat but you will not be playing a very profitable game, a little over breakeven game at best. Your true EV would come from the value of the comps - meals, shows or rooms etc.
To be sure, you should use the Casino Verite software (Chapter X It!) to determine the optimal bet spread for your playing conditions and bankroll to ensure you have a slightly profitable game and very low risk of ruin.
Avoid black chip bets - use four green chips vs 1 black chip to avoid the signal to a pit boss, the infamous "checks play"!
Last edited by CuriousOne; 05-12-2022 at 09:26 AM.
I played in Vegas last summer using 1-5 spread and I had no heat even in some notoriously tight places. I made some adjustments and returned in the winter and I was backed off in three different casinos. I changed my spread to 1-8 and 1-12. I was backed off in this then 30 minutes. I would rather use the higher spreads though.
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