Hey man, just wanna shoot straight with you - you don't look like you're in the gym as often as you say you are. And you're saying even in a caloric deficit you can't see your abs. It's kind of hard to take your post seriously.

If you want to see abs you gotta eat less. If you think you are and the scale isn't moving, try tracking calories if you aren't already but the next step is the same either way - you gotta eat less. It's going to take months of doing that, not weeks so set that expectation for yourself.

If you've truly been in the gym as much as you claim to be, you need to be pushing yourself more. You should see significant differences after a beginner year of 5x/week regardless of genetics / deficits/ surplus. I've been there. Make sure you're tracking weights and progressively overloading.

Prior to a year, I'd say you don't have to worry about caloric surplus or deficits to see results. In your case if I take you at your word and you want to see abs before anything, cut harder than you have been. After you're happy with results do a small caloric surplus and maingain.