Do Card Counters Actually Use Disguises?

The backoffs are coming, but can you increase how much time you have before they do? Colin shares some advice from his career, as well as some other professional insight, on eluding the casino personnel for more EV during your next trip to the casino.
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[@MrChiprocks1]

I can vouch that Camo works. You guys didn't even see me watching this video. BigLike#33

[@CredituR]

I'd say a good way to stay undercover is just by being into the game if you're yelling "come on bust" when the dealer is drawing or yelling the value card you want while you are hitting you look like you're just a casual gambler. Pit bosses will definitely be more suspicious of you if you're just sitting there quiet & stone faced the whole time you're playing they know that card counters don't go through nearly as many emotions while playing as average gamblers do

[@2kiwis1aussie]

8:31

[@russlehman2070]

To state more concisely what Colin says about strategy and betting cover: I you overdo it, you will not look like an advantage player because you are not playing with an advantage.

[@mmorpgal4229]

I only play blackjack in GTA Online but I find this channel so fascinating

[@johna8341]

College student here! Just bought your book and I've been training myself to memorize basic strategy and keep a running count. Thanks for your fantastic content!!

[@pamagee2011]

The best camo is not pushing a bunch of black chips around. I have been out counting a few times, playing 1-12 and 1-10 spreads with $10 and $15 units. Nobody even blinks when I push out a +5 bet, then go back to the table minimum on the next hand. If you are playing two spots with a $100 unit you are getting noticed.

[@poojones1748]

Thank you for the great content, Colin.

[@EthanALS]

Wooow I also wore a suit the first time I went to a casino, thought that was normal. Now I wear sweatpants

[@b2thez305]

I just stumbled on this channel and now I'm 6 episodes in

[@Campy1]

Another great video Colin 💪

[@rhpmike]

I've never used a disguise because I don't think I could really pull it off, but I do think that with a hat and slightly different clothes you can get some cover. I really never make playing decision camo, but I do think you can make betting deviations, particularly when you're losing. My basic spread in high limit rooms is 4:1. But, particularly if you're losing for the session, that number can grow dramatically. You can get away with even 12:1 or 16:1 if you can disguise it as some sort of betting progression and/or chasing losses. Conversely, if a pit boss just thumbed through the deck and is hawking you and you just lost a hand, it can feel very unnatural to jump from 2 units to 4 units. My opinion is that you can use some betting deviations that give up value IF you also make deviations that get you more value. We talk about playing like a computer a lot, but given that technology today IS a computer, there can be value in making some adjustments. The most important thing is what Colin said: you need to calculate your decisions. Doing something out of fear or the HOPE that it is profitable is a sure way to blow money long term. The only thing that I'd add to that is that you need to calculate the ENTIRE value. It is true that some deviations will cost you money BUT if it allows you to play longer, play rated and enjoy comps, etc., then it's possible it could be worth it. Pressing every edge as far as you can in every scenario is not always correct. Burn the tables down when you're playing in some off-the-wall casino you're likely to never return to, but entertain the possibility that making selective deviations at a place that is important for you to keep can be worthwhile for the long term value of the relationship. Better to play a +.25% game for years than a +1.5% game for an hour.

[@chrisharris1884]

Great tips!

[@1Bolzard1]

I used AP to pay my way through college, beating casinos for a total of $271,970, as a statistics major. I even wrote several papers for advanced classes on Blackjack. As a statistics major, I considered camo, but didn’t want to look too out of place for what I was: a college student, but also wanted to see what pieces of camo were the most effective. So, as a baseline, I timed my play in casinos and looked at roughly how frequently I was backed off. Over 20 days, playing every day, i averaged a backoff once every 461 minutes exactly, or once every 7.68 hours. I added one piece of camouflage when possible: I used a blackjack basic strategy card at every casino that allowed it, one of the small ones you can keep in your wallet, and occasionally glanced at it, and made sure not to glance at it when i was using deviations; during the 20 casino trips that I timed, i averaged a backoff once every 573 minutes, or 9.55 hours. That’s a 24.35% increase in playing time! I added a little bit of acting into it and got better with it over time, but it really helped; even if i have basic strategy totally memorized, the casino doesn’t KNOW that I do. I use very heavy camoflauge via play and betting changes at the casino closest to me, (totaling an EV loss of roughly 56% of optimal EV), because i very much do NOT want to be backed off there and only go there with friends and colleagues, but that is a personal choice that I am aware hurts my EV. ALWAYS do the math and crunch the numbers when making changes to your play, and make sure to keep track of how valuable those changes are to your playing time. If for example you never take insurance regardless of count, you can hurt your EV as much as 17% of optimal EV (depending on game rules and such), so if you’re not getting at LEAST 17% more playing time out of not taking insurance, then that deviation isn’t worth it! Always do the math.

[@FilthyFingers42]

8:30

[@xEmji]

I can imagine a family guy version of this, where he walks in with a clown suit on like “silly guys, they are going to be looking for people wearing camo”

[@stevenhelgason8190]

I'll often pretend to agonize over decisions that will confuse an average player, like whenever you get soft 18, or a 15 or 16 vs. a high card. Sometimes you do get a "toss up" descision play. When this occurs, I'll ask other players or the staff what to do and then take their advice. Like the last time a played I had a running +7 with a little less than 3 decks left. A 12 versus a dealer 2 came up.

[@Reloadeez]

I straight up tell them, when I come to a new casino I'm loud and arrogant, I tell the dealers I'm the best counter on earth, I tell the pit boss I'm going to hurt their quarterly profit. I tell them the faster they deal the faster I win. I tell them I'm splitting my 10s versus any dealer 6. They think I'm an idiot, you can get away with almost anything. I tone it down towards the end of a session, and become more friendly. Still arrogant but friendly on subsequent trips. It's called reverse camo, there is none, you tell them what your going to do. Try it, it works, they can't fathom somebody acting so blatant and arrogant actually being able to count cards.

[@hp8448]

Colin, just starting watching your videos and it’s really helping me to start to learn all about counting much appreciated for the effort you put into this. One question I have is do you have any experiences of counting in the UK? Are there any differences to be aware of and anything you can pass on? Thanks for the help !

[@ambrose7196]

In my local casino, its connected to a hotel so some people just waltz right in their pajamas with a 'coat' covering it, flip-flops and shorts.