Help! New BJ card counter needs to speed up my counting.

Happy 2017!

I am still new at counting and the other day, I split my 2s against the dealer's 7.
I was dealt several low cards and busted on one of the hands that I just split.
The dealer then put the cards from my 'busted' hand in the discard tray
before I could count them.

Of course, I ended up losing the count at that point.

What do some experienced card counters do to keep the count in this situation?

Thanks!

Find a slower dealer?

I don't count cards, but some dealers are lightning fast, others not so much.

Ask the pit boss what the count is.

It might have been too late at that point. But if I were still adding up the total I might have held my hand out and said wait that was 21 if I could stop the dealer in time. But yes some dealers are lightning fast.

Question: what if while the dealer was sweeping your supposed busted hand and with your quick reflexes were to use your own hand to pounce on the cards to prevent the dealer from taking away your cards? Because even if you ask the dealer to wait while the dealer is taking away your cards the dealer probably won't wait so use your cat like reflexes to physically stop the dealer from taking away your cards, would that be a bad thing?

As Jack Benny repeatedly stated:
“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”
“Practice, practice, practice”?

Practice is dull; practice is repetitive; practice is not fun. But such routines are necessary to prepare one's mind, body, and soul for competition at the tables.

Poor old DonDiego used to just flip through a single deck as quickly as he could; the objective-to get through the deck in 15-seconds with a final count of zero.
Nowadays one can practice on the internets: Card Counting Trainer

With enough practice and actual game-time one learns short-cuts, . . . like scanning the table and "automatically" zeroing-out high/low cards pairs.

DonDiego wishes NewYorker17 "Good Luck !"
[Good luck is always good too.]

The PB would pay you a visit.
You may ask for a re count of your hand.

I try to group the discards as a pile,not individually.

Mostly the player is not permitted to touch dealt cards. You could try it once and play dumb, but not more than once. Not worth it.

I see.

Don't count your hand! Count the + _ minus count,ONLY.

The guys with the ties are trained to know what a "bust" looks like.

Well,I know very well what one looks like and I'll loose my count on that sight as well and may spill my drink,too.
Maybe that's why I like lady craps shooters with cleavage.

The casino will do ANYTHING to disrupt your play,if they suspect you of counting down a deck.
The cocktail ladies have caused many lost 'counts' for me.
You would be happier to watch for a slower dealer,so you can do your count down.
One more tip: Don't sit at 3rd or first,you may not see all of the discards.
#2: Don't play on a poorly-lit table.
#3: Wear a hat to help you see better(shade) and the PB cannot see your eyes so easily.
#4: Ignore the dealers cleavage. (The GG)
#5: More practice.

I remember when the MIT team was recruiting for the BJ counter people that they would try to distract the player. One of the ladies exposed her breasts.
He passed the test. No way that I would.

You need 2 separate brains to keep a running count AND play your hand correctly.
I prefer the buddy system/team play.
It's you against the deck and it's better to have some help,sometimes.
2 hours at a table, when counting,and I am burnt!

Time for craps.

I take a snapshot mentally of the table overall and average the count. It's a kind of speed count that has served me well over the years, and is VERY hard to detect.