Improve "groove" when playing acoustic covers alone?
 

"Alone", meaning guitar is the only instrument, though I'm often playing in acoustic duo (+singer). In that kind of a band, I often use looper pedal to fill in some solos etc., yet I want to improve in a basic sense - playing interesting rhythm patterns, that do the justice to a particular song.

Right now I'm not talking about fingerstyle (though I do use it for some of the songs), but the strumming, syncopated or not, with pauses and everything else that brings the right "groove". I often listen to covers on youtube of a specific song that brings me some ideas about what rhythm should I incorporate, though I'd like if I can myself come up with patterns that sound just "right". I'm not a beginner, I can always improvise the rhythm that will sound OK, but I'd like to know how do you guys come up with rhythm patterns, with arrangements and everything? There're few tricks I've "learned" - for example, sometimes (to break out of the basic rhythm), I play exactly how the lyrics are pronounced (take Hit the Road Jack song for example, the part "no more, no more, no more, no more!" - I play exact hits with the right hand as the singing goes: no more (2 hits that overlap with "no" and "more"), no more (2 hits), no more (2 hits), no more (again 2 hits in a faster succession), and the second "trick" that I use is to listen to a drummer of a particular song that I want to cover, and try to mimic that with the right hand pattern. Any advice?

Definitely think like a drummer. A quickly choked lower note becomes a bass drum, A drop of the fingers on muted strings is a snare, an upstroke on the higher strings mimics the swish of a hi-hat. Listen to great drummers--when they fill in, and when they lay out and keep time.

Also, pay attention to the overall feel of the tune...is it a 8th note feel? 16th? Keeping your picking hand moving to the general pulse allows you to drop in rhyhtmic accents at will--again, like a drummer.

One suggestion...

Borrow rhythm patterns from other kinds of music. Especially, if they are patterns that are those associated with dance.
This won't always be a way to go but you may come up with some good new rhythmic arrangements of your tunes.

All the best!

I agree with thinking like a drummer. A good drummer, obviously... ;)
Not so much for mimicking the "bass-snare" sounds, but the way drummers can put in accents and syncopations without losing the groove.

Nothing specific beyond that.

I should be clear, I'm not advocating trying to play drums on guitar, but rather, that's how I "feel" those particular sounds...So if you're going to play some muted low notes, place them where a drummer might place the bass drum, essentially...

I'm not a fan of the whole "smacking the guitar" thing, gets tiresome quickly.