There are ways. A counter bets based on the composition of the unseen cards. But you get advantage on rounds by whether the count goes up or down on that given round. You can't predict this in advance so capitalizing on it is not obvious. I won't spell it out but think about a few things. Moving your bet around a lot is a dead giveaway that you are a counter. Winning streaks are most likely when the count is dropping regardless of the count when you you place your bets. If you raise your bets too frequently on a rising count that can be a red flag. Often, especially with a level 1 count, the difference between your waiting bet and your first advantage bet is a big jump or at least should be. That makes a possible need for an over bet when an advantage bet is likely to be made on the next round. So you make that over bet and there things can happen. The count falls and you made a more appropriate bet for the advantage round you played. The count rises and you need to make an advantage bet but don't have to more than double your bet to make it. Or the count goes unchanged and you played a neutral round. You can have some big winning runs as the count continues to fall. If you lose you leave. Sometimes the count recovers before you lose a hand.Stephen said:
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.
