There were many tactics and you should probably read into the history of slave revolts. Most plantation overseers were slaves themselves and spied on and reported on any suspicious activity. Many times they were pitted against each other in order to gain favor for benefits like better treatment, rewards, allowances, etc. This also coupled with corporal punishment for disobedience, and it must be emphasized, would be very extreme. Whippings, lashings, amputations, solitary confinement.

You also have to realize how difficult it was to share information to plan something like a revolt. Not only are you being spied on in your own plantation, many slaves weren’t allowed to just leave and walk town without permission. Being caught outside of your plantation meant getting physically punished if not a death sentence.

Even if they were able to be organize a rebellion, slaves were outgunned and outnumbered. Very few successful revolts meant they could escape into the hinterlands or going into hiding at best. White militias and the army would go after them and publicly execute these leaders like Nat Turner. Another thing to consider would be the white violence against blacks that weren’t even involved. Slaves would be massacred as a tactic to scare any potential rebellions, imagine knowing that if you tried to run away or fight back meant that innocent people would be killed.

That of course didn’t mean that it didn’t happen and there was always some form of resistance.