Just looking back through some old threads at the moment and i have to agree with Bojack on this one. As long as game conditions contiue to deteriorate in the realms of hand shuffled blackjack the only way forward for the few that are dedicated enough to follow is shuffle tracking.
In honesty now, i don't play by the count at all. I simply track packets of high cards through the shuffle and play the good section of the deck. As it is not always possible to get the cut card, i find that playing the packets where they fall is another form of great cover as the few pit bosses who are savey enough to know what to look for, look for the person betting big off the top of the shoe all the time. It does mean that ever so often, my packet's cut out of play, but as i usually have a secondardy packet, i'm never that short.
Shuffle tracking is IMHO where blackjack advantage players will need to go in the coming few decades if the CSM's don't wipe us out completely. Of course i could be wrong and i am ever hopeful that one day the industry will realise that by losing the paranoia about card counters and such, it can gain massive amounts. But that would mean an increase in penetration and more importantly a decrease in shuffle complexity. That just makes my life easier :devil:
RJT.