It is possible to wong with table minimum and they probably won't care. They'll know what you're up to though, so longevity there may become an issue when you're ready to play-all or kick it up a gear. I'd advise against it if you plan to frequent this store. A white rabbit approach would look more natural and draw less attention.
I don't know where you're at financially, but if your bankroll is easily replenishable, it is possible to play with a greater RoR than you'd normally wish to accept. For instance, lets say you're able to build your BR by 1,000$ every month. If you take that 1,000$ and decide you'll play with it for an hour or until you lose it all, whichever comes first, you'd get get in some table time and build your BR a little in the process. With this approach, wong out if the count tanks. If you're adding less than 785$, you may want to wait until you reach that amount to play. When I plug in a 1:4 spread, wonging out at TC -1 (hi-lo), 75% pen on a 6D shoe, H17 DAS RSA, I get a standard deviation for 100 hands of 261.87. Having enough on you to cover at least three standard deviations is important. There are few things in life more frustrating than having to walk away from a positive shoe because you ran out of cash.
Stepping foot in a casino before you've corrected your mistakes is up to you. I flat bet table minimum while practicing counting in a casino for quite a while. My local store had 5$ minimum though, so I felt it was fairly cheap. Going in and flat betting for maybe 30 minutes would be beneficial since you've never done it before. You'll have a better idea of what to expect and where you stand. Counting before your mistakes are minimal can be expensive. You'll know when you feel ready. Until then, practice practice practice.