The only time I have played against a CSM was in Germany and I did exactly the same - cashed up EURO 100.00 and played some BJ at 10.00EURO a hand. I walked away when I was 3 units up, as the EURO 30.00 I won paid for the evening out and I thought this was as good as it would get.
Continuous shuffling machines are a mainstay in the casino game of Blackjack. The game’s basic components contributing to your outcome is luck of the draw. Shuffling of cards automatically can affect both the odds of the players to win and the house advantage.
Blackjack is a game of strategy. The above house edges assume you are using the basic playing strategy for every hand dealt to you. A player who uses “intuition” for playing his or her hands stands to face a house edge of 1% or higher (even in a game with a favorable mix of playing rules). It is entirely possible that an adjusted basic strategy chart could mathematically tell players which hands should be sacrificed for the team when the deck set is below a certain advantage threshhold. The higher the number of cards out of the CSM, the more accurate the players insight unto remainder deck set composition will be.
Whilst this factor used to vary quite significantly depending on the shuffler of a game, with the advancements in technology new methods to shuffle cards have emerged, enabling a fairer game wherever played. Most casinos will not manually shuffle cards. Rather they will use machines which are called ‘continuous shuffling machines.’
Shuffling machines are used across the casino industry to create more efficient randomisation of cards for any game in comparison to shuffling manually. Since their invention, different variations of card shuffling machines have emerged, such as automatic shufflers and the continuous shuffling machine (CSM).
The continuous shuffling machine facilitates a type of automated shuffling used by most, if not all, casinos in an attempt to stop card counting in games. Continuous shuffling machines work by randomising the deck of cards, thereby allowing the game to be played at a quicker rate, (not having to wait for the dealer to shuffle and deal), whilst providing a fairer game through a more thorough, entirely objective shuffling system.
Typically, five decks of cards are placed into a CSM, with the machine throwing out and putting back in cards from each deck at random. The shuffling, as the name suggests, is going on continuously, with cards already used in the game having the chance to show up in subsequent hands. This makes attempts of card counting less likely to be successful than games with a traditionally shuffled deck of cards.
The original continuous shuffling machine uses an elevator-type system in which a shuffler will insert cards into the device’s shelves at random as the machine moves up and down. The Shuffle Master then randomly picks a deck for the game and places it into the dealing shoe. There are numerous different types of CSM, all providing a casino game with an effective, thoroughly random shuffle.
Whilst playing a game of Blackjack that involves a CSM, there are a few things to consider in order to develop an effective gaming strategy, and to further yield the best possible outcome:
Consideration of the above factors can help a player significantly whilst working out how to get the best possible outcome during a Blackjack game that uses a continuous shuffling machine.
It has been claimed that Blackjack is the only game players can learn to beat regularly. Those that learn basic strategy techniques are much more likely to win a game, and with experience under their belt, move on to card counting to further increase their chances of winning.
The implementation of continuous shuffling machines within most casinos has drastically restricted the lengths to which card counters can go to. There are still various things that can be done to put an advanced player’s skill set to good use!
There are many different types and models of continuous shuffle machines, one of which is made by leading manufacturer Shuffle Master and is the One 2 Six Machine.
The One 2 Six types of the shuffler, similar to most of the basic layouts of continuous shuffling machines, have cards inserted into it at random and throughout the duration of the game, and then presents a predetermined, thoroughly shuffled, number of cards into the dealing shoe for use in the game.
Although players cannot know the exact cards distributed, what can be determined is that the cards in the game will not be dealt for a few hands. Therefore, this provides players with a move accurate guess as to what will be in this new pack of cards by filtering through what is least likely to be in it.
However, each type of continuous shuffling machine will slightly vary in its techniques, being able to hold different amounts of decks within the shuffling process. The higher the amount of decks involved in the shuffling machine, the harder it is to estimate what is in the deck and therefore the lower the advantage for the player.
When playing Blackjack at a live online casino, determining what shuffling technique is being used is a bit more difficult as simulations and algorithms are used for the most part.
Therefore, to help guess what type of shuffling technique is used and adapt player strategy accordingly, here’s what to bear in mind with online casinos:
While continuous shuffling machines have made it harder for the more experienced Blackjack player to win, they level the playing field. Adapting your strategy towards beating the shuffler through a good knowledge of how your shuffling is done, and what this means for the hands dealt in a game.