Shuffling Machines

[Rick Nebiolo]

I'd say a holdem table with a shufflemaster (once the dealers are trained to use them) gets about four more hands per hour. I don't have access to financial figures so these numbers are an insiders guestimate [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

~ Rick

[RyanTheMick]

I have been a Hold 'Em dealer for close to two years now, and I have to tell you that I've played on tables with machines and I just don't like them. I have never dealt with one, but observed the dealers closely to see how they handled it. They didn't seem to let the dealers ever get into a flow.
I know when I deal, that I can deal 35-40 hands per hour without one. If you have a need to play more hands than that per hour, play online. But 35-40 hands per hour in a B&M is pretty damned good. And, in tipping situations, players are more likely to tip more when there is no machine involved, when there's a personal touch. When a dealer rivers you a lock on a monster pot, you know it was fate talking through that dealer's hands.

Like my friend Pots McShipit says : "The river....she's a whore."

[Louie Landale]

Here they said they are getting around 30% more rake. But these games already go fairly fast. Slow games won't make much difference since a much lower %age of the time is spent manually shuffling.

- Louie

[Louie Landale]

My favorite was with Villian with a pair and Hero with a flush draw and double belly buster and made one of his straights. Villian complained that Hero stayed all the way "with a gut-draw" and snagged "the case 5h".

- Louie

An in a rare case of self-control, after a long silent pregnant pause I said nothing.

[Phat Mack]

Has anyone at the bike put a made-up deck in the machine, then taken it out and spread it? Then continued the process? The reason I ask is that there was a belief among bridge players in the 50's and 60's that if you shuffled a deck more than six times, it started to come back together. There's an MIT site (I can't seem to find it) that did some experiments on this and concluded the same thing.

I like to "play" with stuff. Has anyone at the Bike sat down and played with a machine and made any interesting observations?

[andyfox]

What about abusive behavior? Do the jerks get less pissed off at you when they get rivered?

[Al_Capone_Junior]

In Vegas, I tend to preferentially play at rooms (or tables) that have shuffling machines. They are simply fantastic IMO.

I heard a rumor that the guy who owns the patent won't give it up (or something to that effect) and that the rooms have to lease out those machines for some ridiculous amount. This might be true, might be total BS, I don't really know. Anyone who could elaborate (in great detail of course) please feel free...

al

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
Has anyone at the bike put a made-up deck in the machine, then taken it out and spread it? Then continued the process? The reason I ask is that there was a belief among bridge players in the 50's and 60's that if you shuffled a deck more than six times, it started to come back together. There's an MIT site (I can't seem to find it) that did some experiments on this and concluded the same thing.

I like to "play" with stuff. Has anyone at the Bike sat down and played with a machine and made any interesting observations?

[/ QUOTE ]

About a couple of years ago I took notice of the Shufflemaster machine when another casino started to use it on an ever increasing number of tables. The customers and casino staff and dealers seemed to love it (plus the RGP response was positive}. I passed the information on up the food chain and the Bicycle Casino now uses Shufflemaster machines at most tables where games are regularly spread.

Anyway, your idea sounds cool. I'll pass it on upstairs. From what I understand, the machine performs about seven shuffles and the processor uses some sort of seed into its RNG that is more or less asynchronous. In other words, it is supposed to produce a much better shuffle.

I hope that Shufflemaster has people "who like to play with stuff" [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Regards,

Rick

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
I heard a rumor that the guy who owns the patent won't give it up (or something to that effect) and that the rooms have to lease out those machines for some ridiculous amount. This might be true, might be total BS, I don't really know. Anyone who could elaborate (in great detail of course) please feel free...al

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, the machines are leased but I don't know for how much. My guess is that Shufflemaster makes a tidy amount. But to use an overused cliché, it's a "win win situation". You really get extra hands per hour, a more up-tempo game, less dealer abuse, less workmen's comp (fewer carpel tunnel type claims), and other pluses that escape me now (I'm beyond exhaustion tonight, always a good time to write [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] ).

Regards,

Rick

[Rick Nebiolo]

[ QUOTE ]
An in a rare case of self-control, after a long silent pregnant pause I said nothing.

[/ QUOTE ]

You remain one of my favorite forum mystery men, but I can't imagine a Louie Landale without self-control [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

~ Rick