SHUFFLE TECH News (5 Viewers)

[tabletalker7]

i thought i'd do a riffle, riffle, strip, riffle & "race" it. i do that in 12 seconds.

That is fast, but still wasting 7 seconds. I can drop a deck in, push the button, and start dealing the other deck in 5 seconds or less. Besides the point of this thing is to take shuffling (you know, the one thing that keeps new players from wanting to play and makes existing players unhappy) away from people so they can just play and have fun.

 

[Dix]

i guess these aren't the kind of shuffler i'm thinking about.

Yea, remember the price point we're talkin' here.... 6 Bennies....

Which means it's smart enough to sense when it's jammed & try to work its way out of that, but not much more.

Recognizing & verifying that each unique card of a deck is present, & "shuffling" via random number generators & algorithms is the realm of a 5-figure-ish machine.

i thought i'd do a riffle, riffle, strip, riffle & "race" it. i do that in 12 seconds. the machine shuffled for a full minute

Check that timing again.... the "3 riffles & a strip" sequence starts at 13 seconds & ends at 40.... so you only beat it by 15 seconds.

And, the shuffler can be workin' while a hand is in play, you have to shuffle between hands. Depending on the speed of the person shuffling, that can add up to 5-10 more hands/hour easy.

 

[dimperdoo]

i'm decidedly "cool" with these shufflers. i still think a pre-mixed deck isn't a bad idea. &, if a guy's game had a heckler that didn't like the machine mixing the cards, it wouldn't hurt to throw a riffle after the machine (or, as mentioned a traditional cut)

if you're rotating the deal, a player who didn't like shuffling could sure avoid it readily.

sorry for the "fancy machine" talk. i honestly didn't know home shufflers were becoming a viable thing

 

[Dix]

These shufflers have been around for while... around a decade now I think... kinda.... sort of.....

They temporarily suspended selling shufflers for a short while back around 2015-ish until they could counter-sue Shuffle Master (yea, this happened) for filing frivolous lawsuits against them (and a couple others)... for patent infringement.

In the end Shuffle Master lost the legal battle, & ended up paying millions in a settlement. But, they were actually successful in what they wanted to actually accomplish. That being keeping competition out of the market. (ShuffleTech had partnered with a couple other outfits to develop a casino quality version to compete with Shuffle Master) ShuffleTech dropped that development & just stuck with the home market.

In the end, ShuffleTech & it's shuffler is a really small-time outfit. Probably even a one-man show from the sounds of things. & sure, the customer service record isn't stellar. But, for a single deck fully automatic shuffler that the average home game user can afford, it's the only game in town.

The 5 grand a used Shuffle Master DeckMate would cost will buy you 7 brand new ShuffleTechs with flush mount kits.

 

[BGinGA]

Or you could just shuffle yourself..... for free.

 

[Dix]

If it's cost you're worried about....

I'll take more hands/hr & let the shuffler pay for itself... & then some.

At $1/2 cash, with an extra 5-10 hands/hr & my current rate, that shuffler's paid for itself after 60 hours, after that, it's all gravy.

& that's if I'd paid for a brand new one.... which I didn't.

 

[BGinGA]

If it's cost you're worried about....

I'll take more hands/hr & let the shuffler pay for itself... & then some.

And here we come full circle once again.....

A shuffler doesn't save any time (or increase the hands/hour) when you have two decks in play.

 

[Dix]

IF.... you have 2 decks in play.

There are some people in this world that don't like using/won't play using 2 decks. & I happen to be in the midst of some of 'em.

& I'm likely not alone in that camp.

 

[BGinGA]

IF.... you have 2 decks in play.

There are some people in this world that don't like using/won't play using 2 decks. & I happen to be in the midst of some of 'em.

& I'm likely not alone in that camp.

Well, if you're using shuffler with only one deck, you're DEF not saving any time or increasing the hands/hour.

 

[Irish]

Or you could just shuffle yourself..... for free.

 

[Dix]

Well, if you're using shuffler with only one deck, you're DEF not saving any time or increasing the hands/hour.

Umm... yes I am.... 'cause the alternative is one deck, hand shuffled between hands.

What about that don't you get?

 

[BGinGA]

Lol at anybody who's that inconsistent on how/when two decks are acceptable/bad. Sorry you can't see the irony.

 

[Dix]

Who's the hell's inconsistent???????

You aren't paying attention....

I never said I was opposed to using 2 decks.... when the hell did I say that?

Other players at the game I regularly play at are. I also live in western freaking Maine.... how many local options do you think I have? (regardless of the fact that if you scroll up & do the math you'd see it's a pretty profitable game... So why wouldn't I play it? AND want to up the hands/hr count if possible.)

Slow down BG... take a freakin' breath.

 

[Goldfish]

Did I start all this? Well all I know is that we use a dedicated dealer (with a two deck set up). Not only does the game moves super fast, but he manages pots and the players. He makes hosting much much easier. We self dealt a long time ago, but there were always issues. Those issues often led to arguments. the players are either drinking, eating or not paying attention when they are not in the hand. As our stakes increased over the years, the cost of a dealer became Well worth it. Our dealer washes the cards after every hand when he brings them in, Deals the next hand and shuffles the old deck while people are looking and beginning to act. The two dealers I use are machines. Auto shuffler may be a nice add on but the dealer seems to handle the washing, shuffling and moving the game just fine. As previously mentioned we have one host who spent a lot of money on the same shuffler that the casinos use. Some dealers use it most don’t. Probably no right or better answer, just preference.

 

[WedgeRock]

 

[tabletalker7]

sorry for the "fancy machine" talk. i honestly didn't know home shufflers were becoming a viable thing

I had never heard of this thing until I joined PCF. This site can be amazing sometimes.

 

[tabletalker7]

Did I start all this?

You didn't start all this. Relax. One of the problems of PCF (and life in general) is that people who know the least tend to know it the loudest and no matter what you do, even asking them by name to add you to their ignore list, they just can't help themselves. All I know about this shuffler is that it works, and shuffling is a dreaded task for most of my players and this machine takes that task and makes it fun.

 

[BGinGA]

Who's the hell's inconsistent???????

You aren't paying attention....

I never said I was opposed to using 2 decks.... when the hell did I say that?

Other players at the game I regularly play at are.

Oh, I've been paying attention. How about you?

Those players you referenced are the inconsistent ones regarding the 2-deck issue. That's all I said.

Nothing wrong with using an auromatic shuffler. But it's not the -only- way to provide the same high # of hands/hour, as several others here have also noted (and for free, for those that care).

It's all about options, and having more than one viable way to skin a cat.

 

[BGinGA]

You didn't start all this. Relax. One of the problems of PCF (and life in general) is that people who know the least tend to know it the loudest and no matter what you do, even asking them by name to add you to their ignore list, they just can't help themselves.

Feel free to add me to your ignore list, since you seem to be passive-agressively trolling me and wanting to critique my posts.

 

[allforcharity]

I don't understand how serious card players would not take the time to learn to shuffle quickly and efficiently. It really doesn't take much time at all. OK, I get it if you've got serious arthritis or some nerve damage or something (it happens), but that should be the very minority of players, and often another person at the table would offer to shuffle the deck in that person's place.

 

[Coyote]

I personally do it very correctly, but I 'm annoyingly slow. @WedgeRock
If Shuffletech were more reliable and with better after sales service (including overseas) I 'd get one. To use with 2 decks anyway; one in action, one being shuffled in the machine.

pokerstore.gr has been offering this machine at the luring price of 999E ($1,100)
I may ask them one day if they can fix the machine locally, if it "ever" breaks down

 

[tabletalker7]

I personally do it very correctly, but I 'm annoyingly slow. @WedgeRock
If Shuffletech were more reliable and with better after sales service (including overseas) I 'd get one. To use with 2 decks anyway; one in action, one being shuffled in the machine.

pokerstore.gr has been offering this machine at the luring price of 999E ($1,100)
I may ask them one day if they can fix the machine locally, if it "ever" breaks down

https://shuffle-tech.eu/shop/ I have no clue how much vat is for you but they do now have a European Union distributor and warranty facility.

 

[Coyote]

Thanks for the link @tabletalker7
Whenever I make my next, "main", serious table, it seems I would have to give a lot of thought into it having a shuffler.
The maintenance / repair guys are located in Budapest, Hungary, which is located just 700 miles north of Athens, Greece which is still another country, though.

 

[tabletalker7]

Thanks for the link @tabletalker7
Whenever I make my next, "main", serious table, it seems I would have to give a lot of thought into it having a shuffler.
The maintenance / repair guys are located in Budapest, Hungary, which is located just 700 miles north of Athens, Greece which is still another country, though.

A lot of people have been putting these into rolling carts or drink tables - there are a few threads here at PCF showing off what people much smarter than me have pulled off. Check them out (at least then if you do need maintenance it won't leave a hole in your poker table). As far as location of repair guys, all I know is that is closer than sending it here to the States. Can't help any more than that.

 

[Dix]

Oh, I've been paying attention. How about you?

Those players you referenced are the inconsistent ones regarding the 2-deck issue. That's all I said.

I've never mentioned those particular players before.... so, how the hell would you know the 1st thing about 'em?

In fact, this is actually the 1st time I've even mentioned this particular cash game that I play in. & there happens to be a couple of 'em that b*tch about having to shuffle & play a hand at the same time.

Not to mention that my "dealer assistant" is now relieved of final table duty when we can get back to hosting the charity tourney I'm taking over.

Off topic.... but I like this game enough (and have made enough off it) that I just spent $400 of the profits & picked up a set of 1300 ceramics for it. We've been using my old version CPC Eagle set, but keep running low on fives. So when that set of ceramics came up on eBay for that price no way I could resist.

There's one of us not payin' attention.... but it ain't me.

Did I start all this?

Naaa..... it's all good.... just think of BG & I as a 21st century Felix Unger & Oscar Madison or John Gustafson & Max Goldman.

If you're trying to figure out who's who.... I'm too ugly to be Jack Lemmon

Besides, this is an old bone of contention in this joint.... you can count on it happening anytime the subject of the ShuffleTech comes up & anyone tries to say something good about it.

Invariably, you'll likely hear from someone in the Purity of Poker Praetorian Guard who believe that anyone who owns a ShuffleTech should be hung at noon in the town square & Rick Schultz should be drawn, quartered, & his parts hung from the end of the docks in Portland, Miami, San Diego, & Seattle.

Unfortunately for them (& fortunately for the rest of us) that would be illegal in this century.

You then have to wonder if some of them also b*tch about shuffling machines at the casino.

 

[BGinGA]

I've never mentioned those particular players before.... so, how the hell would you know the 1st thing about 'em?

Really?

There are some people in this world that don't like using/won't play using 2 decks. & I happen to be in the midst of some of 'em.

 

[tabletalker7]

I don't understand how serious card players would not take the time to learn to shuffle quickly and efficiently.

That is the whole point. Most of my guys and gals are not serious players. Playing poker is still fun for them, and while I know that my responsibility as host is to ensure a good time is had by all, I want time to drink some beer too instead of shuffling cards nonstop. This is where the machine comes in.

 

[Dix]

Really?

Yea, really.... meaning this topic on this day is the 1st time I've ever mentioned that particular group.

& by "using two decks" to mean having to shuffle & pass a deck around while playing a hand. Not meaning 2 decks via a shuffler being used. Nothing inconsistent about it.

So I deal the game, & use the shuffler to save time.... & everybody's happy.

Now, did I really have to connect all those dots?

I want time to drink some beer too instead of shuffling cards nonstop. This is where the machine comes in.

...or play as many hands as possible in a juicy game

 

[tabletalker7]

...or play as many hands as possible in a juicy game

My games are usually just nickel and dime so no real juice there. My players love the hot dog roller and they always make sure my poker room is STOCKED with beer. Sure would be nice to be able to get drunk alongside them instead of shuffling cards nonstop, especially since I don't have to drive to get home

 

[tabletalker7]

Do you think using stiffer decks that are already broken in beforehand might help with the unit not jamming? What about bridge decks?

OK now that I have had a few days to play with it, I can tell you that cards don't matter as much. Maybe it just needed some time to break in, but it has been loving my Fournier cards tonight. Don't quite know what to think about it, just glad it is behaving itself