7. Body Type: You put a fat man and a thin man at the same table, and the lanky guy will draw the heat first.

Now I’m aware of the fact that there are many exceptions to all of these prejudices. I know that fat counters, and female counters, and non-white counters have all been discovered and barred at one time or another. And I’m sure there are some pit bosses and surveillance personnel who will state emphatically that they only watch for playing styles to determine which players pose a real threat to their tables. But all of these prejudices do exist. I’ve heard so many stories from so many players who have found that one or more of these factors have helped keep them at the tables (or gotten them booted) that I believe these biases to be real-and many, as a matter of fact, aren’t unwarranted.

Looking at these biases, we can now draw a picture of the player most likely to be suspected of card counting, as well as the player least likely to be marked.
Most likely card counter: A young, white, American male, who is thin, stylishly dressed, and playing quietly by himself.

Least likely card counter: A heavy set, gray-haired, nonwhite woman, who speaks with a foreign accent, is loud and talkative, and dressed unusually, even badly.

The more a player looks like the “most likely card counter,” the more he will have to use costly misplay camouflage. The more a player fits the image of the “least likely card counter,” the more freedom he/she will have to play accurately, and with a wide betting spread according to the count. Just walk in looking like a seventy-year-old grandmother, wearing a sari or a babushka, ranting loudly in some strange language, and you can really take the casinos for a ride!

Obviously, there is only so much you can do to disguise yourself. There are stories of young pros who have colored their hair gray and shaved themselves receding hairlines in order to appear older. I know one very famous counter who attempted to pass himself off as female with a wig and a dress. (He didn’t fool anyone.)

I know another counter who dyed his skin in order to pass for black. Whether you think you could get away with such radical disguises will depend on a combination of what you look like, how far you’re willing to go, and your acting talents. It is always wise to keep these prejudices in mind, however, when you are getting ready to head out to play blackjack games.

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All betting and playing camouflage comes with a price tag. When you make dumb plays for the purpose of confusing the bloodhounds on your trail, it costs you. Holding down your betting spread, insuring your blackjacks, not taking advantage of surrender or soft doubling opportunities, et cetera, are all excellent ways of hiding your counting abilities because, in fact, you are relinquishing some amount of potential gain from counting. But if you make too many of these types of camouflage plays, you will no longer have any advantage at all over the house. What's the value of eliminating the possibility of discovery if there is nothing worth discovering? If you don't utilize the information you gather, then gathering the information in the first place was a waste of time. Use it or lose it.

Some camouflage, however, is free; and ironically, this free-ride deception is often the easiest to pull off. Misplays, as a form of disguise, require a knowledge of, and attention to, how much these plays cost, so that you don't kill your edge. Cost-free camouflage, on the other hand, is not based on misplaying hands, so it's a no-brainer exercise.
What is cost-free camouflage? Rather than misplaying your hands, you allay suspicions by projecting an image, by the way you look, by exploiting prejudices and preconceived notions among pit bosses and casino security personnel. Let's dissect these biases.

1. Age: If a young man and an old man are playing at a blackjack table, all other factors being equal, the younger man will be suspected of card counting sooner than the older one.
2. Sex: If a man and a woman are playing at the same table, all other factors being equal, the man will be suspected first.

3. Race: A white player spreading his bets will be suspected before a black or Asian player using the same spread. This racial prejudice, as a matter of fact, even extends to casinos in other countries. Asian card counters often find the casinos of Korea, Macao, the Philippines, and other Asian countries to be profitable, heat-free venues for their action. Their betting spreads and strategy variations are virtually ignored. Caucasian players, on the other hand, and especially Americans, are immediately suspected if they play for big money, and they often find themselves persona non grata if they spread their bets even moderately, or win any substantial amount of money.

4. Nationality: This is tied into the previous factor. Most of the notable books on card counting have been published in America, and few are available outside the U.S. This fact does not escape the notice of casino management here and abroad. In fact, there have been some very sophisticated and well-bankrolled Asian and European counting teams that have attacked casinos all over the world, including those in the U.S. In some cases, these teams have gotten away with incredible betting spreads for lengthy periods of time before anyone in the pit took notice.

5. Demeanor: You put a quiet, thoughtful player at the same table with a gregarious, talkative guy, and the quiet one will be suspected of counting first.

6. Dress code: A player who is nicely but casually dressed will be suspected of card counting before any other fashion type. Card counters don't wear 3-piece suits, nor do they dress like outlaw bikers. They don't look like hippies or punks. They're not decked out in Western gear. And they're usually not shabby, not if they're playing for serious money. That's a mistake on the part of these card counters, for real gamblers include all these types.

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As for insurance, casinos like to tell players one important rule: always take even money—that is, insure every natural. "It's the only bet on the table you can't lose." Players who do not always insure their naturals are highly suspect, and showing any sign of intelligence at a blackjack table can be dangerous. Actually, it's not all that expensive to always insure your naturals —if you flat-bet $100 per hand, it would only cost you about $1.35 per 100 hands. That's pretty cheap camouflage for a black chip bettor.

Ironically, it actually costs card counters less than one one-hundredth of a percent of their action to always insure their naturals. This is because counters bet more at higher counts, when more naturals occur.

The best way to insure your naturals is to quickly yell out, "Even money!" Do this before you've even had a chance to look at the other cards on the table. If you're playing multiple hands, take even money for your natural, but don't insure your other hands! This always looks great. (Of course, if the count justifies it, you do want to insure the other hands, but don't insure them if it's borderline.) Other than on this even money play, don't make stupid insurance plays. Follow your count.

I am of the opinion that small-stakes card counters should never make any idiot camouflage plays. Likewise for most hit-and-run counters, who get in and out of games, pits, and casinos quickly. If you don't get rated, don't get a VIP card, and don't give your name, you don't need camouflage; you need Reeboks.

Idiot camouflage is primarily for high stakes players who are going for the comps as well as the money. Even these players must remember that there's no real difference between a player who constantly uses idiot camouflage and a real idiot.

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Don't make stupid pair-split decisions. You're doubling your money on the table when most dealers don't know correct pair-splitting basic strategy anyway. One exception is in effect when you have a very high count and a pair of tens against a dealer low card. Your count may indicate that you should split the tens, and there are some Indian reservation casinos, riverboat casinos, and foreign casinos where most people play so stupidly that you can go right ahead and split those tens and just blend into the crowd. But in Nevada, and many major casinos anywhere, this is one pair-split hand you ought to play incorrectly. Likewise, it is one of the few hands you ought to play incorrectly when you have a high bet on the table. Splitting ten-valued cards is an unusual play for both stupid and smart players. Few players break up a hand totaling 20, and this play often looks suspicious because it's only made by rank beginners and card counters, and if you've been playing an otherwise intelligent game, you probably won't pass for a rank beginner.

There are a few pair-split basic strategy violations that fall into the category of two-bit deceptions, and some of these plays look pretty stupid. With a neutral count, failing to split a pair of nines versus a deuce costs little, and looks very amateurish. This is one of those errors tourists always make because they don't want to break up an eighteen. Better yet, and it costs just a bit more, splitting nines against an ace looks really dumb.
Finally, here are a couple plays that really do cost almost nothing (about 10 per $100 bet), and look far stupider than they are: hitting a pair of twos or threes against a dealer 4 instead of splitting.

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In general, don't make stupid double-down decisions, because twice the money is involved. If you hit your 11 against a dealer 5 instead of doubling down, the dealer could care less, and you just blew a good chance to make some money. Most tourists double down on 11. Doubling down on soft totals like A-2, A-3, A-4, or A-5 used to peg a player as a card counter, so many counters avoided these basic strategy plays.

These days, with so many casinos selling accurate basic strategy charts in their gift shops, it doesn't mean much anymore to play these hands correctly. All the same, there are a few two-bit double-down errors that you can make at neutral counts. It doesn't cost much to double down on your 10 versus 10, your 11 versus A, or your total of 8 versus 6. All of these plays look much dumber than they are.

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Most of the decisions you'll make are going to be about hitting or standing, so misplays on these hands can be costly. One great device that multi-deck table-hoppers can use is to always stand on hard 16 vs. 10. Since you're table-hopping to avoid negative counts, you'll only misplay this hand when it's a borderline decision anyway. This is one of the hands that casinos watch to see if players vary their decisions, so, don't vary.

You could even announce that you always stand on this hand, which is improper basic strategy, and then follow through with your seemingly stupid decision. This hand also occurs frequently enough that they're bound to notice your consistently wrong play. This ploy works best, and costs least, in shoe games. In single-deck games, where you are playing through all hands with a small bet spread, it would cost much more.

Another decision that you might always screw up without much of a loss comes into play when you have a pair of sevens against a dealer ten in a single-deck game. This is the one weird total of 14 where the correct basic strategy is to stand rather than hit. Unfortunately, just about every blackjack book (other than this one!) since Thorp's Beat the Dealer has explained this in detail. It's a play that smart players make, and many pit personnel know it. It's actually a borderline basic strategy play. You won't lose much by hitting your 7-7 against 10. (But whatever you do, don't split them!)

A few other cheap hit/stand mistakes: hitting a total of 12 versus 4, 5, or 6, and hitting 13 against 2 or 3, all look pretty dumb, but don't cost much at neutral counts. In fact, your Hi-Lo Lite chart indicates that you stand on all of these hands at a count of 0 or above. So, all of these hands may be played like 16 against 10 in shoe games—just stand on all of them. You'll be playing all of them correctly whenever you have any large bet out.

Any time you're close to the index number for altering your play, the cost of misplaying any hand is small. For instance, it would look pretty stupid to stand on a 16 against 7, and this would be a very costly error for a non-counter. But your Hi-Lo Lite index is +4, and if your count indicates that you are +3 or more, the misplay may be stupid, but not that expensive.

Always remember the two camouflage rules we began with: The bigger your bet, the more it will cost you; and don't make a foolish play unless you think it is necessary.

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Camouflage is a military term that means disguise, deception, or pretense. A soldier has a better chance at survival if he looks like the rest of the jungle. For a card counter, camouflage means essentially the same thing—it's an act that pegs you as Ted Tourist or Harry Highroller or Donald Drunk—anyone but Clyde Counter.

There are many aspects to camouflage. We have already described various betting types. There is also dramatic camouflage, which most successful players find to be as important as card counting when it comes to being a consistent winner. Dramatic camouflage would include such subtle touches as appearing uninterested in other players' cards, or being preoccupied with idle table chatter. It would include the ability to raise bets as if chasing losses, or feeling a winning streak. This dramatic camouflage is one of the most difficult aspects of card counting for a player to learn. Some people are born actors; most people are not. Show me a successful card counter and I'll show you a person who has all the innate abilities of the con artist.

One type of camouflage that many players use, often because they lack the subtle skills of the dramatic camouflage expert, is idiot camouflage.

As you might suspect, idiot camouflage is simply making an obviously stupid play. If the pit boss starts watching you suspiciously, you can play like an idiot. You split a pair of sixes against a dealer's ace, then you stand on your soft total of 14 (versus anything!). This, of course, looks so idiotic that the pit boss soon turns away. Now you can do whatever you want for the next hour and get rich.

Or, at least, that's the way idiot camouflage is supposed to work. Unfortunately, what usually happens is that ten minutes later, the new floorman comes by, or the dealers change, or you start to wonder about the eye upstairs, so you have to make another idiot play or two.

You may also have a floorman who doesn't know basic strategy well enough to realize that your idiot play was moronic, so you threw away your money for nothing. Or, you may have someone in the eye who observes that you only make idiot plays when the floorman looks at you, and your idiot play goes from camouflage to a tell. Or, you may be incredibly unlucky and have your idiot play go well for you, drawing a six onto your hard fifteen against the dealer's five, triggering suspicion in the pit over how you "knew" to make this weird play, since you haven't been making weird plays like this all along…

The counter's edge is small. It doesn't take many stupid plays to wipe out your profit potential. If you're not a born actor, and you feel that camouflage is what keeps you in the game, here are two rules to remember:

1. Reserve your stupid plays for your smallest bets
If you've got big money on the table, this is the wrong time to try to look dumb. If you're using a 1 to 10 spread, the same stupid play will cost you ten times more money when you have a high bet out.

2. Use a stupid play only when it is necessary
Don't try to prove to every dealer you sit down against that you're no threat. Most dealers don't pay attention to how you're playing. They watch players all day and they're bored stiff with the game. Try to make small talk if you can.

Two-Bit Deceptions
There are some errors that cost a lot, but others that don't take too big a chunk out of your bankroll. I call the cheap ones "two-bit deceptions," because they all cost about 250 or less for every ten bucks you have bet on your hand. For big players, this could mean a couple bucks for every black chip, but if your expectation is a few hundred bucks per hour, you may find occasional value in giving up a few of them to conceal your counting.

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