I usually do. But I still usually lose money if I play poker in the poker room. I still get nervous playing poker in person w/strangers.
I typically play video poker to kill time which I've had pretty decent luck w/honestly. Then go play blackjack. If I pay w/cash for drinks and get singles in the change, I'll put those in random slots as I walk around.
I've never seriously counted cards in person. But if I move to vegas I think itll be fun to actually get good at doing it.
You also have to memorize the strategy tables. Which you should do to get good at even if not counting cards. Youd think it's simple but it's a bit more complicated than you might think.
My life goal for gaming is to get good enough that I can count at bj, make a chunk of $$, then use that as my bank in the poker room and win there. Then take however much I took from the casino initially by counting and give the house a chance to win it back from me by playing it at roulette. If I lose at roulette, i still take my poker winnings home (which I took from other players, not the house), and if I hit big at roulette, fuck the house, maybe I'll just take it.
Basically just playing in the poker room w/the casino's own money.
Every major casino uses AI on the cameras to know exactly what each player on the floor is doing, how much they won, how much they lose, what kind of bets they make, etc. So by giving the house back its money, I wouldn't be very likely to get kicked out for counting. Tho in vegas it doesnt matter so much bc theres so many casinos.