Stephen said:
After years of play and study, one thing that I continue to struggle with how to capitalize on the TONS of hand that are won during less than favorable TCs.
By thinking about how to use this knowledge to find solutions to multiple problems you face in a casino you can increase longevity while making more money even though you are giving up EV. Thinking about how your bet moves look to the casino can produce opportunities to make more money while looking stupid. I have played 5 decks into a shoe without losing a bet pair. When I finally lost, the count was massively negative after playing such a high percentage of advantage rounds and I took my $1K profit and left. I have also had the count drop way below my wong out point when playing lots of advantage rounds where I expected big disadvantage rounds based on the count only to have the count recover without losing a round and make a lot of money while expecting disadvantage rounds but playing advantage rounds while waiting for the opportunity that materialized and a lot when I expected advantage rounds. If I am losing my disadvantage bets I am gone at the wong out point. Hopefully some of the more imaginative can figure out how to win more while creating great cover. two things happen at the table for the counter. There is the count expected before the hand is bet, and the count played determined by the cards that are played that round. Your expected win is based on the former, but your actual win tends to follow the latter. Try to make your cover use the actual, to win money while giving up EV.