make bets approaching the posted table limits. If you don't want them betting that much, drop the limits.

But know that in competitive markets, tight games have never meant higher profits and never will. Although most players don't exploit loose games, they still want them and they flock to the casinos that offer the best rules. Bellagio, Binion's, and Barona have some of the loosest rules in their markets, which they still dominate. There's a lesson in that.

They Take Their Time to Evaluate Players

Bellagio, Barona, and Binion's all avoid the crippling levels of paranoia that infect most pits by being patient with their players. They appraise "probable" advantage players at their leisure, which precludes tossing long-term profitable (for the house) players out the door at the drop of a (low) card. Even if it takes a few hours to determine that a player indeed has an advantage, the best operators go to the extra effort to figure out that he's counting or simply "watching" the cards. Almost every black-chip blackjack player has read at least one book on the game (millions have been sold), but pitifully few of them have the talent, bankroll, or discipline to play a sustainable winning game.

It's impossible to watch a player for only 10 or 15 minutes and accurately assess his skill. If, after time, the casino concludes that he's truly an advantage player, all it's lost is a few hours of expectation. So what? If -- as is most often the case--the player is a wannabe counter and the casino treats him as a valuable guest from the moment he first sits down at the table, he's liable to become a loyal and profitable guest forever.

Besides, premier blackjack operators know loose high-limit games attract better players and that a few of the more intelligent ones -- particularly those who know how to stay under the radar -- will slip through the cracks. They simply accept that their casinos have leaks and chalk it up to the cost of doing business.

That doesn't mean they shrug their shoulders and turn their backs on the situation. Far from it. The floormen still hawk their blackjack tables. The floormen, in fact, are your first line of defense, but that doesn't mean they have to behave like linebackers.

If he happens to spot suspicious bet manipulations or strategy deviations based on the bet level (insurance, odd doubles, surrenders, standing, etc.), however, he's instructed to make a phone call, continue acting as a good-will host to all (including suspect) players, and let the real counter-catchers evaluate the guest
Although it's hardly reached the epidemic proportions that the press would have us believe, many casinos have resorted to back-room interrogations, bully barrings, and even beatings (in 2003!) when dealing with card counters.