No, they are not rigged. There are basically two types of card shuffling machines. The first is the general card shufflers that are used on baccarat that can shuffle 6 or 8 decks (maybe more) they are used because of the number of cards and the shuffle isn’t programed against players save to be random. Editor's Note: For this answer, we turned to the inimitable Arnold Snyder, among the world's greatest blackjack and table-game experts. First off, if this shuffle machine is on any table game in a Nevada casino, it would be unlawful to program it with a 'set-percentage' payout, as truly random shuffles are required by law. For the beneit of other readers, my blackjack appendix 10 explains, the house edge in a five-deck game is 0.028% less if a continuous shuffler is used, as opposed to a hand shuffle. The difference between five decks and two decks, all other rules being equal, is 0.18%. Easy to play at, Shuffle Master Blackjack Rigged you don't have to go outside Shuffle Master Blackjack Rigged your door, just relax behind your computer and play slots roulette or any other game you like as if you are in a real landbased casino, the Shuffle Master Blackjack Rigged graphics of the casino slots or great, scharp en you can play.
Few gadgets are as ubiquitous on the casino floor as the card shuffler.
The rectangular box looks simple enough, but its low table profile belies an inner core that’s been patented and has the potential of not only shuffling, but also sorting multiple decks.
You don’t have to tour many casinos before determining Scientific Games, the Shuffle Master folks, dominate the market.
The shufflers have passed inspection by multiple gaming regulatory boards and commissions, but they still generate a steady stream of worries, rumors and legends. Gambler comment boards are riddled with everything from rank speculation to genuine curiosity about the engineering design and propriety of the shufflers.
In fact, I regularly receive contacts from players and at least one dealer who swear those shufflers are out to get them and are capable of not only sort and reading cards but arranging outcomes that favor the house.
One example from an Internet comment: “Here is how I feel about shufflers, every shuffler which shuffles the cards in blackjack & poker are made by same company they are programmed & machine is rigged to make fixed hands.”
I’m inclined to disagree, but I grew up in Las Vegas back when carney games were common place. If you’ve never bet a chicken in Tic-Tac-Toe, pal, you haven’t lived.
As it turns out, the closer you get to expert opinions on the subject, the less likely you’ll find conspiracies about the machines. In a post on Oct. 21 in the widely read and respected Anthony Curtis’ Las Vegas Advisor, gaming expert Arnold Snyder replied with skepticism.
First, he said, programming a shuffler to distribute certain cards or hands would be illegal. By law, there is no “set percentage” payout, Snyder said. The shuffling is random.
He did, however, allow that not all jurisdictions are as rigorously regulated as Nevada and New Jersey, so it’s possible some machines in some clubs might be tilted against the player.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if jurisdictions that allowed these scam machines also allowed other types of rigged equipment,” Snyder said. But for a shuffler to consistently cheat players “would be a true marvel of programming and engineering, at least for a game like blackjack where players make their own decisions on how to play hands, the number of players at the table can change at any time, and the number of hands any individual player has in action can change according to player whim.”
Officially, the card reading function on the shuffler is designed to prevent players or dealers from slipping cards into the deck.
Looking at it another way, Snyder observed, “A card order that might work for three hands in play would be useless if a player exited the game after the deal hand begun. A single player misplaying a hand could wreck the order of delivery.”
And a gaffed machine? It would fail to perform.
Headquartered in Las Vegas, Scientific Games is one of the casino industry’s more intriguing companies. With a worldwide reach, it provides devices for the casino floor and the lottery kiosk and figures to play a substantial role if, as anticipated, the prohibition on sports betting outside Nevada is lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Scientific Games is an industry leader, but it’s not without its critics. To wit: the federal litigation by comparatively diminutive Shuffle Tech against Scientific Games in the Northern District of Illinois. In April 2015, Shuffle Tech filed a $100 million lawsuit against Scientific Games Corp., alleging its subsidiary, SHFL Entertainment, of conspiring to use its patents for an automatic card shuffling device to create an illegal monopoly in the market. Two patents in question were held by Shuffle Tech for “Deckmate 1,” a shuffler and retrieval device.
A federal judge dismissed most of the allegations, but in September Scientific Games’ motion for summary judgment was denied, Cookcountyrecord.com reported. Shuffle Tech’s claim that Shuffle Master has been perpetrated a fraud to control the card shuffler market could go forward to trial.
With single and multi-deck shufflers, “intelligent shoes,” and continuous shufflers, some containing computers and costing many thousands of dollars, you can’t really blame players for their confusion or for feeling leery about the flow of the cards.
But for the record, the gaming industry’s regulated rectangles are on the square.
Of course, you don’t have to believe that if you don’t want to.
Contact John L. Smith at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith
In 2000 Shuffle Master introduced the first Continuous Shuffling Machine (CSM) for the game of Blackjack. Their machine was called “The King” and its main purpose was to help casinos foil card counters. In fact, the ads for Shuffle Masters Continuous Shuffling Machine proclaimed, “The King continuous shuffler is the card counters worst nightmare.”
For years casinos have been trying to thwart card counters who gain an advantage at blackjack by using expert play. While card counting isn't illegal, casinos don’t take kindly to it. In Las Vegas, casinos are allowed to bar players they suspect of counting. In Atlantic City, casinos can't ban players but they can limit the size of their bets and shuffle up on any player suspected of counting.
Card counters all over the country do their best to disguise their skills to avoid getting caught. It has become somewhat of a cat and mouse game and casinos would like nothing better than to eliminate card counting permanently.
Shuffle Master heavily lobbied casinos for the benefits of using CSMs for their Blackjack games. They claimed the advantage of a continuous shuffler is three-fold:
- It eliminates card counting.
- It speeds up the game by eliminating shuffling time.
- It offers substantial cost savings because it uses four decks instead of six or eight in the shoe.
Six years later many casinos around the world have adopted the Continuous Shuffling Machines for use in their blackjack pits, much to the displeasure of players and dealers alike. We spoke with several dealers and the consensus among them is a strong dislike for the automatic shuffler. Shuffling gives them a welcome physical and mental break from the game. While shuffling, they can talk and interact with the players and friendly conversation can also help their tips.
How A CSM Works
After a hand is over the cards just used are placed back into the shuffler to be mixed with the other cards in the shoe. Shuffle Master’s King uses an elevator system to randomize the cards. As the elevator is moved up and down, cards are randomly inserted into one of the 19 shelves in the elevator. The shuffler randomly selects a shelf of cards to deliver into the shoe. Because of the non-linear process, every discard re-inserted following a hand has a chance of appearing in the next round.
Although Shuffle Master says The King differs from their competitor's continuous shufflers because the others use a linear design, most CSMs do the same thing. They put the discards back into play and do away with the dealers having to physically shuffle the cards at the end of a shoe.
The House Edge
The continuous shufflers have no benefits for the player and have been dubbed the 'uncomfortable shoes.' It eliminates card counting for the skilled player and has a major disadvantage for the basic strategy player: it speeds up the game!
When the CSM was first introduced, many players felt it would likely increase the house edge. As it turns out this is not entirely true. Michael Shackleford--The Wizard of Odds--did a mathematical analysis of Continuous Shuffling Machines and found that there was a very slight reduction in the house edge.
In a four deck game the edge is 0.034 percent and in an eight-deck game it is 0.014 percent. Before you get excited about the slight reduction remember that when casinos use a CSM the speed of the games is increased by about 20 percent. The basic strategy player stands to lose more in the long run because they are exposing more money to the house edge.
Shuffle Master Blackjack Rigged Odds
It’s a treat to visit a casino that offers double and single deck games and it would be unfortunate to see them eliminated altogether. Even a multi-deck shoe game is preferable to the Continuous Shuffling Machines. The best way to make yourself heard is by refusing to play Blackjack at casinos that use a CSM for their Blackjack games.