for me it always depends on a couple of things: how confident do i feel, how does the audience respond and behave.
so if there are 5 or less spectators (which is almost always the case when i perform my magic, because i don't like big crowds, not only because they are harder to control and you have to watch your angles more, but i like to make my magic a more intimate experience which isn't possible with alot of people) i can recommend the pass, but only if you feel confident and the spectators are not burning your hands every second. the pass is a very strange thing when you start doing it: when i started doing it, i tried it out on my close friends and family, i got caught a couple of times although my pass wasn't that bad, but when i became more confident with it, i sometimes had to laugh or at least smile during the performance because i couldn't believe what you can get away with when you do it with confidence and add a little misdirection.
anyway, as i said above, for me it depends alot on who my spectators are, i even had some performances where i used the pass for almost every trick i did, also those where you can just do some cuts or something else, just because it worked so smooth and the spectators were freaked out when i did those tricks, although they all had the pass as the basic sleight.
so yeah, the pass is not the safest move to do, but you have to use it at least every now and then (after you've practiced alot of course;-)) and i'm sure you will become more confident and enjoy using it.
one last tip i can give you, because that's what i used to do wrong at first, is you have to be relaxed and act natural while you talk, and when you're about to execute the pass you need to get the focus off the deck and break the tension a little bit, i usually make a short joke or just say something that fits the situation and what's more important is while i do that i look at the spectators and make a very open gesture with my hands, that usually gets them to relax and take their eyes off the deck, because when you always hold it with both hands that makes you look a bit stiff and they think there's something going to happen so they watch closely, but if you spread your arms and just say a sentence or two and then bring your hands together, execute the pass and afterwards say something like "ok, but let's focus on the trick again" they will never know you actually did something.
probably some people here won't like my method, because it takes the focus completely off the deck and it sometimes hasn't that "oh my god, i was watching the whole time, he didn't do anything" effect, but i'm willing to make this sacrifice until my pass is fast and invisible enough so i can do it right in front of their eyes and they just don't see it.
by the way i usually only use the classic pass, only on very special occasions the dribble pass, and i'm working on the turnover and hermann pass.
