1) 50 cards (average 20 hands)
2) Betting every hand from the start but.... there will be a time when you will see a "50/50" in many of the shoes... I avoid betting those ones.
3) In single play, I've been using the $200+ to determine hands played at each table.
4) (Never look back when walking away from a table streak) I used to stay till the end of a long streak and although I would make an extra $1000-$1500 at those tables, I find in the long run it's better to make $200/table and walking away.