[bluGill]

>The house tends not to like consistent winners.

Not exactly. So long as the house overall comes out ahead they love a consistent winner: people who lady luck smiles on tend to brag about how good they are not only bring in their friends, but also coming back to lose it all next time.

They can do this in a number of ways, some of them are because the game is setup so the house is the winner, others the house takes a fee off the top.

For the first we have games like blackjack where the house has a consistent winning strategy. They ban counting cards because this is a way someone can be a consistent winner instead of them. While there may be some skill in the game, no amount of skill will make you are winner, only luck.

For the second we have things like a sports betting where the they take a small commission but otherwise are not even playing the game. In these games they love consistent winners as such people tend to brag and bring in more people thinking they can do the same. If you are a great poker player it is worth paying the commission as the house provides security that the person you are betting against isn't cheating (marked deck, won't actually pay his bets...)