One thing I've done ...
... is the basic rube ploy, part of my cover is to chat with dealers anyway; in some instances I might give a "Lordy, why do you cut off so many cards!?!" to which the dealer will always say, "It's so people can't count cards," or something to that effect, and I scrunch my nose and say, "Aw, do you really have a problem with people doing that?" to which the dealer will say, "Oh, I guess they do sometimes." The point is to get to the line where I say, "Well, jeez, let us play some cards. All that does is screw up the deck."
I've tried this maybe a grand total of ten times, never in earshot of PB's, and only with young, obviously new dealers. Half the time the dealer has given better pen the next shoe and shoes thereafter. They haven't turned into robots yet, they want to be liked, they want to please the customers, they can't recognize a counter, and probably haven't been hammered by a PB yet.
You have to be careful. It breaks a cardinal rule of ever being in a discussion about counting while seated at a table, and if you try it with a dealer who has any experience he'll roll his eyes and figure you are counting.
I also like Cyclops's suggestion, the Potential Tip method. And agree you couldn't do it at any of your regular joints. But I could see trying it in a place you won't be at again for a few years, if ever.
SJ