Can a Shuffle Master machine read cards?

Hi Frank:

Being a serious craps player, I am a big fan of yours. I always enjoy your articles, books, etc. I am always looking forward to learning something new from you. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

My question today is not about craps, but about Let It Ride or, to be more specific, the Shuffle Master that is used at the table at that game.

Last week I was visiting the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida (sorry to see that they have no craps table, but I am hopeful that it will come soon). Anyway, I was watching the Let It Ride game. There was an issue at the table where the dealer mucked his cards after revealing only one player's cards and before turning over the other player's cards. The dealer called the floor person over and after pushing a few buttons on the Shuffle Master, the floor person was able to determine who had what cards. The machine read the cards. The second thing that I noticed was that when it was time to change decks, I could swear that the Shuffle Master was able to perfectly sort the cards into numerical order by suit.

So, was I seeing things or can the Shuffle Master stack the deck and read the cards? If so, do players have a shot at ever winning at that game?

Thanks for your time...

C.

Hi C.:

Shuffle Master does have an eight-deck shoe that can read the cards — it is used primarily for baccarat. Usually for Let It Ride, which is a single-deck game, the traditional Shuffle Master machine is used. This machine randomizes the cards so each round is strictly random. It doesn't read the cards as far as I know.

It is possible that a new machine is out there that does single deck and can keep track of the cards, but I couldn't find any information about that if it does exist.

Can you beat this game? No. It is fun and you can win on this or that night, but playing craps and making the good bets at craps is a far better game to have a chance to beat the house.

I am giving you a free 30-day subscription to my private members-only website at www.goldentouchcraps.com.

We have over 5,000 members on this private, members-only site and the conversations are interesting, enlightening and fun.

Enjoy!

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete