Here are some common pieces of conventional wisdom about how to get away with card counting:


-Don't use a large spread
-Don't raise your bet after a loss
-Don't lower your bet after a win
-Don't back-count
-Play only short sessions and then move on


Before I explain why I disagree with these, let's walk through the logic behind this advice


In order to win money, you need to be able to play. In order to play, you have to ensure the casino doesn't catch you. If you take these measures they will give you more time at the table, which will enable you to win the money. In other words, we're trading EV for longevity. We're hoping to win less per hour, but make it up on volume.


The reason this advice gets so popular is that there is a sense in which these are all true. If you do things like this, it will probably give you more hours at the table. A person who has been backed off a few times, comes to the books or the internet forums and reads this advice will suddenly find they get backed off less. They'll be convinced. This is the way to play.


The problem is that they are not likely to be any more successful getting the money. This kind of advice can cut your win rate from 50-90% or more. I've seen it myself. Counters playing a "respectful" spread on a weak game, glaring at me because I'm spreading a lot on the same game. Their win rate is barely above minimum wage and they're glaring at me because I'm breaking the "unspoken rules" of the game. I've even had these guys make comments to me "you're being really blatant here."


Mind you, I never got backed off of those games where the "respectful" guys were mad at me. Including hundreds of hours on one game with a SCORE over 100. So, I wasn't actually doing anything wrong. I got in, got the money, and got out without getting caught.


There are better ways to evade casino detection. They are better because they don't involve giving up your advantage for a vague hope of longevity. These include:


-Studying the crew and finding weak pit bosses/shifts to pick on
-Studying the common methods of game protection so that you can avoid being caught by them
-Finding out how this casino protects its games, then designing an aggressive strategy that avoids their defenses
-Finding stronger games that the casino is not defending against
-Playing a strong game that falls into a casino's mental heuristic of how civilians play


I'm not promising you won't get backed off. I'm saying that you will be able to play strong games, with a lowered risk of backoffs, such that you won't have to worry about occasional heat ruining your livelihood.


I'll finish with an example. I was playing a good double deck game, spreading 1-12 on it. The same game where the guy got mad at me because I was being "really blatant." There was another guy who frequently played that game. Played like a total maniac. Min to max. But the guy was so good at making it look natural that even I didn't figure out he was counting for several sessions. He just looked like a hunch player. I finally heard he got backed off, but the guy must have gotten hundreds of hours into a strong double deck game, spreading table min to max, before he finally got tossed. 6 figures in EV easily. The guy with a "respectful" 1-4 spread in green with heavy cover can't get that kind of EV playing full time for a year.