A lot of people make the mistake of picking tables that only use two decks of cards. It's pretty easy to count cards when there are only two decks, but the yellow divider is usually placed right in the middle of the shoe so you're only ever going to be playing with half of it.

Instead I think you have better odds on the tables that use 8 decks. On those tables the last 3/4ths or so of a deck isn't played, but by the time you get to it you've seen 90% of the cards in the shoe. That takes a lot of the guesswork out of what the next card might be.

Even when there is a known card counter at a table it doesn't mean the casino will kick them out. The managers (pit bosses) receive bonuses based upon how well the tables do. They also tend to be gamblers themselves, which makes the whole thing susceptible to human error.

One day I came into the surveillance room to start a shift, and there was a picture up on the wall of an identified card counter. I recognized him from a few times he had been in, and apparently he had managed to get a couple thousand from us the night before. His betting strategy more than his winning is what gave him away as a card counter. No more than an hour later he walked in the door. I informed the manager, who then came back to the surveillance room to see for himself the picture printout pinned to the wall. And then he apparently disregarded it.

The patron wasn't exactly a regular, but had been in a few times and the house had taken some of his money on those visits. Even though it became apparent that he had finally learned how to count cards well enough to take away the house edge, the manager didn't want to give up. Just like the gamblers who pull more money out of their pocket when they lose, the manager wanted to win back the thousands that were lost the night before. And even though he should have known the odds were not in his favor, he still played the game.

In the end our card counter didn't get a good count for several shoes in a row, lost a couple hundred in the process, and left. He probably went to one of the casinos next door to see if he might have better luck there. The manager's gamble did pay off... that time.

If you're planning on counting cards I strongly suggest you find a partner to help you. We only ever had solo card counters in the card room (as far as I know), and like I mentioned, it was their betting patterns that tipped us off (splitting 10's was another giveaway). Instead of suddenly increasing their bets a card counter could subtly signal a buddy, someone with a lot of bling, to join in. The high roller would politely ask if they could join, lay down hundreds of dollars, play out the shoe, and then walk away. As long as we didn't see the same thing happen more than twice we wouldn't be any wiser.

If you are going to count cards solo you should play with a betting pattern that allows for a lot of variance in your betting so when you do increase your bets it won't be obvious. My favorite was to double my bet every time I won, and then after winning three in a row take it back down to the minimum. My odds don't change one bit so the average cost per hand will remain the same. However if I push it even further no one will think anything of it other than I hit a streak of good luck or am placing frustration bets.

Another tip: buy your chips at a different table. Buying chips attracts attention, especially if it is more than $500. Buy a lot of chips at a blackjack table and surveillance will be keeping an eye on you (and the count). Buy a lot of chips at a pai gow table and we'll barely notice.