In
general, do not deviate from the playing strategy
recommended in page 3 in an effort to hide your card-counting
ability. Strange as it seems, most casino personnel
do not even know basic strategy and do not recognize
an expert play when they see it. If page 3 says to
hit ace-7, then hit it. If the dealer thinks you are
stupid, fine. Let the dealer, the pit boss, and the
other players think that you do not know what you
are doing, that you throw your money away too rapidly.
Sometimes a pit boss who is watching you intently
will walk away when you split 10-10 or double down
on ace-9. You will be a preferred customer if you
bet heavily and appear to play stupidly. One word
of caution - when splitting 10-10 is a wrong decision,
it is a very costly wrong decision. Do not split 10-10
just to give the impression of playing poorly. Do
not deviate from the correct strategy for the pit
boss's benefit. The pit boss likely cannot distinguish
a good play from a bad play.
A reader says: Are there good plays you sometimes
avoid so as not to attract attention?
One comment related to this: Although dealers at some
casinos alert their pit bosses to some good plays,
such as surrendering, we still continue to use an
obvious basic strategy play. But sometimes it is annoying
to hear the dealer shout out, "Double on soft
eighteen," or "Hitting soft eighteen against
a 10!" |