If you were a flat bettor, you'd probably never have to worry about being spotted as a card counter. Since all kinds of goofs play their hands all kinds of goofy ways, even your expert plays of doubling down with 10 against an Ace wouldn't draw much attention. No -- it's that uncharacteristically big bet in conjunction with the unusual play that causes both the pit and surveillance to do a double-take.

So how are you going to get the big bets out there when you need to -- and make the key plays in the right spots? If you're a $10-to-$100 bettor in a shoe game, you usually won't have to worry about it. But if you're spreading $25-to-$250 or bigger, it'll eventually boil down to a matter of trade-offs. Now and then, you'll have to make a slightly bad play for a small wager in order to preserve the green light on a key custom play for the serious money.

The trick is to;
MAKE BAD PLAYS THAT LOOK TERRIBLE, BUT ARE REALLY ONLY SLIGHTLY BAD
Lots of floor people might be sharp enough to spot a smart basic strategy departure when they see one. But very few can tell the difference between a horrible mistake and an insignificant one.