I strongly recommend using your own information on your ID — it matches the name on your card, you already know every detail by heart, and you can answer anything about your address. Bartenders and bouncers are your toughest opponents; your card will look too real to reject on sight, so they'll pressure you with questions hoping for a slip-up that gives them probable cause to seize it. Know your info cold.

Start small. Stick to grocery stores and gas stations in the beginning to build confidence and a casual, unbothered demeanor before you ever walk into a bar or club.

Casinos are highly secure. Some may run the license number through a DMV database — which yours won't be in. It's rare, but casinos don't take chances: if someone is caught wagering underage, the casino can lose its gaming license. Even if you get in and win, they'll likely ask for two forms of ID and you won't be able to cash out. Roughly half the time you'd be taken to a backroom and authorities called. Don't risk it.

Timing matters — you don't want to bump into a friendly neighbor while carrying two handles of Tito's. Go later in the day or early in the morning during quiet hours; it also keeps your time in the store short. Keep your head down, dress like an adult, and keep small talk to a minimum.

Use self-checkout when you can — less time for employees to analyze you. When the worker asks for ID, pull it from your phone case or wallet, and make sure it isn't sitting next to any other visible ID. Hand it off calmly as if everything is normal; most workers glance for a second, some take a minute. If they linger, don't panic — they're reading your body language as much as the card.

After you buy alcohol from a store, never set foot in it again with your parents.

No high-school apparel at all. Know the year you would have graduated. If you do curbside pickup, don't leave any high-school parking passes visible.

When you and your friends go to clubs together, make sure you all carry the same state ID. If you don't, enter separately. A large group of kids is already a red flag and may be denied regardless, so don't add to it.

I recommend going to bars and restaurants out of town — places where you won't run into people you know.

This is very unlikely, but if it happens, don't fight it. At most, kindly ask for it back; if they say no, walk away and go home. They won't call the cops, but they will keep the card — this is exactly why you order duplicates. It probably won't happen in your home town, but on a college campus bouncers act on intuition alone. Let it go. DO NOT say you'll call the cops — they'll call your bluff, and it's no hassle for them to actually call.